USF men take 3-0 record to Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic

The University of South Florida mens' basketball team hits the road this weekend as it heads to Uncasville, Conn. to take part in the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic.

The Bulls will fact Old Dominion at 2 p.m. on Saturday and will face either Kentucky or Penn State on Sunday. Saturday’s game will be on ESPN3 with Mike Crispino (play-by-play) and Tim Welsh (analyst) having the all. In addition, Jim Lighthall (play-by-play) and Todd Kalas (analyst) will call the action live on WHNZ 1250 AM Radio with the pre-game show starting at 1:30 p.m.

USF head coach Stan Heath returns the majority of his roster from 2010-11 including 77 percent of his scoring and 67.8 percent of his rebounding.

The Bulls have four returning starters in forwards Augustus Gilchrist and Ron Anderson Jr., and guards Jawanza Poland and Hugh Robertson. Other returnees include junior guard Shaun Noriega and junior forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, who saw action in every game last season.

Sophomore Victor Rudd (Arizona State) will look to make an immediate impact after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. Overall the Bulls return eight players who have seen action in 443 career games.

The Bulls are off to a good start and are 3-0 after coming off a 73-43 victory over Florida Southern College last Wednesday night.

Rudd is averaging 16.7 points per game to lead the team in scoring. Other double digit scorers are Gilchrist (12.7 ppg) and Ron Anderson (11.3 ppg). They are also number one and two in rebounding with Gilchrist averaging 9.3 boards per game and Anderson 9 rebounds per game.

Gilchrist opts to return to USF for senior year

USF leading scorer Augustus Gilchrist did not declare himself an early entry for the 2011 NBA Draft and will be returning for his senior year

The deadline to declare was Friday and the final list of early entries had 69 college underclassmen and 22 international players. Among the most notable opting to return to school was North Carolina freshman sensation Harrison Barnes and Ohio State's Jared Sullinger.

The 6-10 Gilchrist averaged 13.4 points per game last year and was the key factor in the Bulls frontcourt, which was the strongest part of their team. USF will now have seven of its top eight scorers returning losing only 6-11 center Jarrid Famous.

Players, who submit their names but do not hire an agent have until May 8th to withdraw and retain their college eligibility for next season.

Last year, 80 college players and 23 international players declared as early-entry candidates and 48 withdrew from the draft leaving 50 college players and five international players as the early-entry candidates.