TAMPA — USF men's basketball coach Bryan Hodgson hasn't had much downtime since he was formally introduced on March 28th. He takes over a program in a unique rebuilding situation. Former head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim passed away days before the regular season began. The Bulls won a school-record 25 games in coach Amir's lone season at the helm. After his untimely death this offseason, USF went 13-19 under the leadership of assistant Ben Fletcher.
Now, the Bulls are ready to start a new chapter and relight the fire under the program.
"I think a big part of it is Coach Amir did a phenomenal job show how special this place is and what it’s capable of," Hodgson said in a studio sitdown at ABC Action News. "We want to continue to build on what he started."
The transfer portal took its toll on the Bulls roster for a second straight offseason. Guards Jayden Reid and Kobe Knox entered the portal, but Hodgson says that's just life in the new era of college sports.
"I tell my staff ‘You can sit and complain about it, but that’s not going to win you any games,'" he explained. "Just prepare to reconstruct your roster on a yearly basis, and we’re really excited about the group that we’re recruiting right now and the potential that we can have heading into this season."
Hodgson, 38, was an assistant coach under Alabama's Nate Oats from 2019-'23. Oats and his staff turned the Crimson Tide into a national power. Now, Hodgson wants to use what he's learned to lead another program to prominence.
"They told us we couldn’t win at Alabama. 'It’s a football school.' We won four SEC championships in four years. We broke the single-season win record at Arkansas St. in year two, and went to the Sun Belt championship back-to-back years," Hodgson added. "I just think it’s a combination of great staff and finding great young men that want to represent this program and compete at a high level.
Hodgson joins an athletic department that's experiencing growth on and off its respective fields of play. Put simply, he says it's a great time to be a Bull.
"We’ve got a lot of positive stuff going on in our athletic department. The one common theme across the board is the passion and how excited everyone is to be here," he grinned. "It’s a lot easier to show up to work every day and be motivated when you pull in and you’re really passionate about the place that you work for."
Hodgson's well aware of the So Flo Rodeo that's part of the "Amir Abdur-Rahim Student Section" at every home. He says he can't wait to put a product on the floor that will pack the Yuengling Center.
"Very exciting style of play. I’m really excited about the So Flo Rodeo. I’ve seen them on video. That’s a big deal at this level, to have that kind of support. We’ve got an exciting brand of basketball that I think it’ll be pretty easy to get behind and generate interest across campus."
“You know, I gave him probably the biggest hug I could ever recall giving him, and he held on tight"
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