More photos » Alex Brandon - AP

This photo sums up USF basketball last year.

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Welcome back to the longest 15-person countdown about the 2009-10 USF men's basketball team in the history of mankind. If you forgot about the countdown, or want to check back on the previous entries, click here.

"Ya'll come watch Dominique Jones play!"

That quote pretty much summed up the USF Basketball team this season. Before the year started, there were a lot of things that needed to happen for the Bulls to have some sort of success this season. We needed Chris Howard and Mike Mercer to bring their experience and defensive intensity (check). Jarrid Famous, Augustus Gilchrist, and Toarlyn Fitzpatrickneeded to stay healthy and not wear down towards the end of the year (pretty much a check) We needed a freshman to step up and drain shots from three. (/headdesk) But the one thing we needed was for Dominique Jones to continue his progress and take his game to another level. (triple check)

We've spoken at length about what DoJo meant to the team. Without him we don't win a single Big East game and Stan goes squarely on the hot seat next season. He is the best player EVER to don a USF jersey. I know some of the old school Bulls fans will try to say Chucky Atkins or Charlie Bradley should deserve the number one spot, but there is nothing that they can do to convince me otherwise.

Toro went to the Georgetown game in Feburary, and there is no way I can beat his description of Jones:

I've had a basketball crush on him since his freshman year, because it’s been clear his hoops IQ is Mensa standard. He sees the game the way I’ve always wanted every player with obscene talent like his to see it. He also has the physical talent to execute everything that mind can visualize. I’ve often called him a poor man’s Dwayne Wade. That’s not fair. He’s a middle class version with a matched 401k and stock options. Before the last two weeks I wondered about his size, quickness, and ability to compete at the next level. But I think I let my wall color what my eyes did see. I couldn’t believe that a player this good would actually play for my alma mater.

I know everyone will miss DoJo next season. We tried our best to keep him here, but in the end he made the right decision declaring for the draft. He looks like he will compete for minutes with the Mavericks, and I know he will do great things in Dallas.

So the question for you V5 readers is a good one: Who will be the 14th Most Important Player for USF Basketball next season? We've got three options for you, and choose wisely.

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

Thanks for 4 great years Chris.

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Welcome back to the longest 15-person countdown about the 2009-10 USF men's basketball team in the history of mankind. If you forgot about the countdown, or want to check back on the previous entries, click here.

There should be no doubt who Number 2 on the countdown should be. He was the wise old sage of the team, and I don't think we win 15 games without him this past year. So with that said, Chris Howard, COME ON DOWN! You are #2 on the Most Important Player for USF Basketball list this year.

Chris came to Tampa from Friendly High in 2005, but was redshirted due to a torn ACL he sustained the week before the season started. He looked ready to take over the point guard duties in 2006, but tore his left ACL again less than a year after the original injury. At the time I really thought Chris' career at USF was over before it even started, and the curse of the Sun Dome had claimed another victim. Howard wanted to show everyone that his knee was going to be OK, and he made his USF debut against Louisville that year. After coming off the bench his first game, Howard started the rest of the season, and he rarely left the starting lineup after that, only coming of the bench three times over the next three seasons.

Howard started all 33 games this past season, playing an absurd 35.8 minutes a game. Chris averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists this year. The Defensive Player of the Year did a fantastic job getting the Bulls set on the defensive end, and Chris grabbed 23 steals and blocked a career-high 9 shots this year. Howard also had a great knack for taking over a game when Dominique Jones was having an off night. You guys might remember the 23-point, 5-rebound effort Chris had against Notre Dame when DoJo went only 3-for-17 from the field.

Sometimes I wonder how different Chris's career would have been if he never tore his ACL. Some said he was the quickest point guard they've seen at USF. Howard did successfully adjust to an old man game, taking his guy down in the post and was pretty effective in getting the shot he wanted, but I would have loved to see a healthy Chris run with Mike Mercer, Dominique, and Jarrid Famous for 40 minutes. That would have been a pleasure to see I'm sure.

No poll today, as there is only one guy left. I promise I will get Number 1 up before football season.

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

Gus Gilchrist, getting some love in Brazil and NBA love from his coach.

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There are some pictures and a game recap from the event organizers of Team USA's 103-31 demolition of the Chilean representative today in Salvador, Brazil. Of course, it's written in Portuguese, and I'm struggling with the little U.S. flag translator in the corner of the screen. So I took the text over to Google Translate and had much better luck.

Here's the story in English, more or less:

United Sta tes and Chile opened the second round Cup P an American University Basketball 2010 in Salvador (BA), on Tuesday (10/08) in the gymnasium of Salesian College. The Team USA reached the triple-digit scorer in Chile and won by 103x31.

The pivots Augustus Gilchrist and Jarrid Famous, highlights of the team of South Florida University in the 2009 NCAA season, the league American in basketball, are also drawing attention from fans of Bahia. Famous was the leading scorer of the match between USA and Chile with 24 points.

And Gilchrist, says U.S. coach Stan Heath is quoted for the tests in the next NBA season. "Last year one of our best athletes entered the NBA and I believe that Gilchrist is likely to follow suit."

Heath leads the team from South Florida four years ago in disputes NCAA, Big East (east). The team was invited to represent the USA Basketball Pan in 2010. "We were very happy for the invitation and despite having a team with several new athletes who are in the first year of college, we are confident of a good result," he points out.

The game fast and strong on defense are the weapon of the United States. "The idea is to put pressure on defense and always have speed on the pass," adds Heath. And this Wednesday (11/08) Brazil will be the opponent of the Americans.

The Pan American Championship College Basketball 2010 is an achievement of the Brazilian Confederation of University Sports (CBDU) in partnership with Koch Tavares Sports Organization and Pan American University (ODUPA) and supported by Wilson, SporTV, Salvador City Hall, Municipal Education, Culture, Sports & Leisure, Sports Superintendence of Bahia State, Government of Bahia, Bahia TV and Sports Ministry.

Greg Auman got a call from Stan Heath with some more information about the game, in which obviously everyone got a good amount of playing time. See his story for more, including how much it costs to call the United States from their location in Brazil.

Also, Jordan Heath's daily blog from Brazil is also available on GoUSFBulls.com.

P.S. I'm really digging the color of the court in those pictures. What is that, walnut or birch or something? Someone should try this in the States.

For those new here, I made a list back in October choosing each member of the then 15 man roster, and ranking them on how important they were in terms of success with the basketball team as a whole. I'm going back now and redoing the list and seeing how I did. For the countdown so far, and to see each of the entries, click here.

There really isn't much separating Mike Mercer and Chris Howard on the countdown. Both guys did a tremendous job this year for us while logging an insane amount of minutes. Both brought completely different elements to the team that worked perfectly in the system. There really isn't a 2 and 3 on the countdown, but more of a 2 and 2a. But since we are doing this, the Third Most Important Player for USF Basketball This Year is Mike Mercer!

Mike had a fantastic senior year for us, averaging 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists this year for the Bulls. We don't need to go back on Mercer's history, but it's great to see that a guy who had a 2nd chance took the opportunity and relished each moment on the court this year.

Mike was guarding guys 3-4 inches taller than him regularly in Big East play, and more often that not locked them down. Mercer's wingspan and athleticism bothered opposing wings when going to the basket, and when they pulled up for a jumper Mercer's vertical persistently bother them.He really shouldn't have been able to take care of guys like Tom Abromaitis, but he was such a bulldog on that side that he wouldn't be denied.

Mercer's explosive dunks were a joy to watch this season. You could always count on at least one backdoor alley oop from Chris to Mike a game. Just watch this replay at around the 23 second mark and you can see what a beauty of a play it was. It could never be stopped. My favorite play of the year is the exclamation point that Mercer had to the end of the Georgetown game in DC. I'm sure Toro still has dreams about the reverse pump action slam. In can not be said how that play made everyone realize that USF was going to be a force. I still get a smile on my face whenever I think about it.

I hope Mike finds a place overseas to play ball. He certainly deserves the opportunity. If not, he can always fall back on the degree he earned here and make a good living for himself.

So who should be Number 2 on The Most Important Player for USF Basketball Countdown? Your answers are below.

For those new here, I made a list back in October choosing each member of the then 15 man roster, and ranking them on how important they were in terms of success with the basketball team as a whole. I'm going back now and redoing the list and seeing how I did. For the countdown so far, and to see each of the entries, click here.

When we last left you, Toarlyn Fitzpatrick finally landed in the countdown at number 5. If you look back on this season 10 or 15 years from now, what will you think about when it comes to the overall play of the team? It won't be for the play in the post save for Augustus Gilchrist's tremendous first 10 games. Nope, this year's team was based off the perimeter, and that's why Number 4 in TMIPFUSFB countdown is Jarrid Famous!

The JUCO All American chose the Bulls over schools like Missouri and Arizona after averaging 25 points, 16 rebounds, and two blocks a game as a sophomore for Westchester Community College in New York state. This year, Famous played in all but one game and averaged 10.4 points and 7.5 rebounds a contest in almost 30 minutes of play. Famous also averaged 3.1 offensive boards a game, which ranked fifth in the conference.

You could count on Famous taking advantage of his length against smaller post players like Luke Harangody, in which he came home with 18 and 14 points in the two meetings against the Irish. Jarrid ran the floor so well on the fast break, beating his man down the court often and getting his points that way.

He did have trouble defensively against most of the bigs in Big East play, and players like Alex Rivas and Fitzpatrick drew the tougher defensive assignments. Famous gave up as many offensive boards as he grabbed, and he was late on defensive rotations that led to some open baskets.

What will this year hold? Hopefully with another off-season of conditioning, and playing with a guy like Ron Anderson Jr. who will do a lot of the dirty work, will help Famous improve on both sides of the court. With the team transitioning into a running team, this should fit right into Jarrid's skill set, and prepare him for the next level.

So who do you think will be Number 3 on TMIPFUSFB Countdown? Your choices as always are below.

Road trip is kind of pushing it as I live about five minutes from the Thomas and Mack Center, and of course Dominique's first game as a pro was too important to miss. So I woke up at a reasonable hour for once, and headed down the street with my snazzy new Flip Cam to cover the first day of what we all hope is a long and successful pro career for a former Bull.

If you're an NBA junkie, I can't recommend a trip to the Summer League highly enough. I sat next to the budding entourages of two emerging players, who were very willing to share their thoughts on the game with insightful commentary such as "he sorry" and "break him down yo!" I saw Ty Lawson miss wide open jump shots, which was of course the knock on him coming out of UNC.  I saw Coby Karl find a professional basketball game where he was a factor instead of the guy in a suit.  I saw that Harvard's Jeremy Lin might be the best player to come out of the Ivy League since Bill Bradley, and he might become a decent role guy in the NBA. I goofed on Ric Bucher for getting scooped on Bosh/LeBron/Wade by Stephen A. Smith (as did everyone who covers the League, and QUITE FRANKLY I didn't see that coming). However, since I couldn't get anyone to go with me, and I think drinking alone is a sign you have a problem, I didn't take advantage of either the beer stand or the rather awesome Jack Daniels concession booth. And yes, both were doing quite a brisk business at 1pm on a Friday. Only in Vegas, people.

My original goal was to talk to Cuban about Dominique at halftime, but he got swarmed (and I do mean swarmed, he was easily the most popular person in the building) by real media people. This was the day following the LeBron debacle and Dan Gilbert's Comic Sans reaction, therefore it made sense that the press would deluge the NBA owner most likely to give you a great quote. So I ended up chasing him down the stairs of the Cox Pavilion after the game was over. Sorry for the sloppy camera work, but it was 115 degrees outside, and I don't move like I once did.

Our postgame interview with Dominique, after the jump:

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After a two week hiatus, the TMIPFUSFB countdown is back. For those new here, you can view a brief background on the countdown, and find all of our previous entries here.

When we last left you, I was mildly reprimanded for putting Gus Gilchrist in at number 6 due to him missing half the year. The next two players on the countdown should be easy to place, so let's get to it. Number 5 on The Most Important Player for USF Basketball this season is Toarlyn Fitzpatrick!

The 6'8" freshman out of King High School in Tampa was by far the most improved player as the season progressed. For the season, Toarlyn averaged 4.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and one block a game for the Bulls this season, and towards the end of the season he was defending the opposing team's best post scorer. The biggest thing you could see throughout the season is Toarlyn's confidence within the team. Fitzy said it best when he spoke with Greg Auman earlier this year,

"I'm learning something every game, and I'm starting to get more comfortable with my teammates. In practice, they're always pushing me to be better, and that's gotten me ready to play at this level."

I can say with the utmost confidence that no one had a bigger moment this season for the Bulls basketball team than when Fitzy made his miracle three at the buzzer versus Providence, one of only three triples Toarlyn made all year mind you.

Watching that still puts a smile on your face, doesn't it.

So do we expect out of Fitzpatrick next season? With Ron Anderson Jr. eligible next season, Toarlyn's minutes will go down to around the 15-18 range, but his stats should stay about the same.

So who should Number 4 be on the countdown? Your options as always are below.

After being selected with the 25th overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies, Marc Stein of ESPN (who basically has an office in the American Airlines Center) quickly reported that Dominique Jones is heading to the Dallas Mavericks after the Mavs bought the pick from Memphis. Jones is the first Bull ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.

This is a really nice fit for DoJo -- much better than Memphis would have been. (Can you imagine Zach Randolph as his role model? DO NOT WANT.) The Mavericks are a veteran team who won't allow Jones to get a big head and say anything crazy. And he fits on the court as well, because if they want Jones to play some 0-guard like Jason Terry has at times, they have Jason Kidd for him to learn from. He's also the scoring, slashing two-guard the Mavericks have needed for years and years, and he won't kill them on the defensive end either.

It's a nice fit for me personally, too. When he says "Y'all come watch Dominique Jones play," it's only 30 minutes away for me. I've been drifting away from the Mavericks as a fan the last couple years, but I'm very pleased on every level with this move.

P.S. I guess I should also apologize to Jones for being skeptical about his decision to leave USF. Of course I wanted him to stay -- I want the Bulls to do as well as possible and they would be better next year with him than without him. Anyway, it's worked out exactly like he wanted it to, so DoJo, if you're reading this, I'm sorry.