2-2-17

2

T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

the Oracle the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966

Editor in Chief Jacob Hoag oracleeditor@gmail.com Managing Editor Miki Shine oraclemeditor@gmail.com Assistant News Editor Chelsea Grosbeck Sports Editor Vinnie Portell oraclesportseditor@gmail.com

Multimedia Editor Jackie Benitez oraclemultimediaeditor@gmail.com

Graphic Artists Destiny Moore Mark Soree Advertising Sales Alyssa Alexander Jess DiLiello Destiny Moore Dylan Ritchey Cover Art Destiny Moore The Oracle is published Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and once weekly, Wednesday, during the summer.

The Oracle allocates one free issue to each student. Additional copies are $.50 each and available at the Oracle office (SVC 0002).

Lifestyle Editor Nicole Cate oraclelifestyleeditor@gmail.com Staff Writer Abby Rinaldi

Main . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sports ................

Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . .

Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Website: Facebook: Twitter:

T H E O R AC L E

The Index News........................................................3 Opinion.................................................4 Lifestyle................................................6 Classifieds...........................................8 Crossword..........................................8 Sports...................................................10

BY PHONE

Opinion Editor Breanne Williams oracleopinion@gmail.com

●

974-6242 974-5190 974-1888 974-2842 974-2620 974-6242

usforacle.com facebook.com/usforacle @USFOracle

CORRECTIONS The Oracle will correct or clarify factual errors.

Contact Editor in Chief Jacob Hoag at 974-5190.

News Briefs

news

Students ‘flexing their political muscle’ Renderings of Morsani UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

●

T H U R S D AY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

●

T H E O R AC L E

Heart Health Institute unveiled

Online campaign started to defend the media

The #PressOn campaign has been circling around social media for the last 24 hours as a response to White House Strategist Stephen Bannon’s comments about how the media needs to “keep its mouths shut.” Jordan Brenner of Bleacher Report started the campaign. It is geared toward encouraging personal investments in journalism and has been spread by journalists, advocates and Hollywood stars alike, according to CNN. It’s also trying to encourage people to get subscriptions to credible, non-partisan news sources.

Quote of the Day “The commissioner is a weak guy. When he made the Ray Rice deal, everybody said, ‘You’re stupid. You’re weak.’ And it was such a weak deal. So now he’s going overboard with their star, Brady. The commissioner is a dope. He’s a stupid guy.” President Donald Trump spoke out about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday in an article by the New York Times.

MORE COVERAGE ONLINE

New York Times best-selling novelist coming to USF Read it at USFOracle.com

3

By Abby Rinaldi S T A F F

student loans, Pell grants and work-studies, according to Castor. While some issues, like infrastructure, will more than likely garner bipartisan support, many are divisive in nature.

“Everyone has got to ratchet up their level of involvement,” Castor said. “Sometimes people will make a phone call to their congressional office or the White House. They’ve got to do more than that now.

An asymmetrical glass tower reaches into the night sky, boasting a big, bright USF logo.

Poised at the intersection of two streets, it stands out among the backdrop of rectangular skyscrapers that define the downtown Tampa skyline.

This is the image presented in the preliminary renderings for the new Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Health Institute, USF’s addition to the downtown renovations Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has been moving along with since last year.

These renderings are right where they need to be on the timeline for the building, Dean of the Morsani College of Medicine Dr. Charles Lockwood said.

“Right on schedule, right on budget, right on scope,” he said.

For the past six months, the college has catalogued everything that needed to be in the new building, such as dedicated office spaces, educational spaces, clinical areas and labs. Lockwood said the building must meet not only the needs for today, but also the needs of the college 30 years from now.

“This building will be our home for the next, who knows how long, but a significantly long period of time,” he said.

“So, we carefully designed all the educational space in a way that would facilitate small group learning, active learning, classrooms, simulation and kind of a very high-tech approach to medical education, cognoscente

n See ACTIVISM on PAGE 5

n See MORSANI on PAGE 7

Hundreds of students and community members filled MLK Plaza on Monday in protest of President Donald Trump’s immigration ban. ORACLE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ

Millennials are standing up in hope of change

By BREANNE WILLIAMS A S S O C I A T E

E D I T O R

Hundreds of students gathered at USF on Monday to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration ban. 20,000 people attended the women’s march in St. Petersburg. Thousands attended political rallies during the election.

An increase in student activism has caused many to question the realistic impact of citizens influencing the actions of the government.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa said it is important for students to “flex their political muscle” and reach out to their local representatives and make sure their voices are heard.

“Just a little while ago I had about 10 new college students in my office who were up here for a couple of days and of course for the historic women’s march on (Jan. 21) there were all sorts

“

The millennial generation is now the largest generation and the more cohesive and the more active the generation becomes on key issues, the more the political system has to adjust.

Susan MacManus, a political analyst at USF

of young people,” Castor said.

“I’ve really never seen that before … it’s great to see the activism of students and young people mirroring what is happening all across the country.”

This could mean calling local representatives, emailing Congressmen and women or mailing letters to lawmakers. For Castor, the current political climate requires an increased form of activism.

Congress plans on debating

W R I T E R

”

Opinion

4

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

●

T H U R S D AY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

Boy Scouts late to the game on transgender rights Miki Shine COLU M N I ST

The Boy Scouts organization took a strong and daring position this week when it announced it would finally allow transgender boys into its ranks.

True, the organization has been around for 107 years, and for that entire time, potential scouts were required to put the gender listed on their birth certificate.

However, as of Monday, Boy Scouts’ leadership decided to admit those interested in its boys-only programs based on the gender the child identifies as — i.e. trans boys are welcome here.

“The Boy Scouts of America is committed to identifying program options that will help us truly serve the whole family, and this is an area that we will continue to thoughtfully evaluate to bring the benefits of Scouting to the greatest number of youth possible — all while remaining true to our core values,” the official announcement stated.

Opponents argue this will lead to corruption in the organization and psychological damage for the boys forced to be in a troop with those who are different from them.

Obviously, this inclusion is surely a sign of society’s fall, which will only lead to a decrease in funding for the organization until it either corrects its decision or is no longer able to function.

Except that’s not what history has proven will happen. In fact, the Boy Scouts are behind the times on this issue, not

making groundbreaking societal stances.

Their female-centered counterpart, the Girl Scouts, started publicly accepting trans girls in 2012.

However, the organization also didn’t have any rules against allowing those who identified as girls to join the troops prior.

It was ultimately one leader in Colorado who didn’t fully understand the organization’s policy which lead to an official statement on the issue.

A stance currently spelled out on their website says, “If the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe.”

Despite the threats of a cookie boycott over the inclusive mindset, the Girl Scouts made $785 million for 2012, which landed them as the No. 3 cookie company in the U.S., according to USA Today.

While the Girl Scouts had no issues taking this stance while already accepting the rest of the LGBT community, the Boy Scouts were still debating whether or not to accept gay youth.

It wasn’t for another three years — 2015 — until the organization dared to take a stance by accepting openly gay troop leaders.

The new policy doesn’t address the issue of transgender troop leaders.

And it’s not like the Boy Scouts are terrified of opening their doors for other programs.

The group sponsors the pro-

gram Venturing, which allows older scouts to work on leadership skills, for those of either gender and has done so since 1998, according to their website.

Females have been allowed to participate in a section of the Boy Scouts for nearly 20 years, but trans and gay boys couldn’t based on the concern that they’d convert others.

So, since 1998, gender hasn’t been a barrier for the scouts as long as that gender fell within their perfectly square boxes.

Yes, the Boy Scouts do deserve some semblance of praise for taking this stance given the current climate for transgender people.

Bathroom bills, which would require people to use the restroom that matches their birth certificate rather than how they identify, are currently up for debate in 12 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ website.

Members of the community also face higher risk of suicide, of physical or sexual violence, of work or housing discrimination than their non-transgender counterparts and aren’t allowed to serve in the military, according to multiple studies on the community.

So, yes, the Boy Scouts of America deserves cookies for taking a stance on this hot-button issue by addressing a flaw in its policy. But it doesn’t get a whole box for jumping in on the Girl Scout Kumbaya for the sake of looking progressive.

Miki Shine is a junior majoring in mass communications.

●

T H E O R AC L E

What you said Lifestyle Editor Nicole Cate asked students what they think the best way to get engaged in activism is.

“Social media seems to be a good way nowadays.”

- Maryam Adesunkanmi, a junior majoring in biomedical sciences

“I think the most effective way is calling the representative for our state and talking to them about it.”

- Jacquelynn Shelton, a junior majoring in marine biology

“First of all, social media. If it doesn’t work, if there’s no other way to do it, protest.”

- Mohammed Al-Alawi, a freshman majoring in engineering

“Making sure everybody votes. Get out and vote.”

- Kevin Bronson, a junior majoring in communication

T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

●

T H E O R AC L E

Protesters hold signs at Monday’s rally defending immigrants and making a stand toward President Donald Trump. ORACLE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ adopted a new rule to eliminate political party organizations that the Office of Congressional Ethics, focus on activism. Nearly every Continued from PAGE 3 the public responded by calling, major issue, whether it be the emailing and taking to social environment, human rights or foreign affairs, has an organization “They’ve got to use all the tools media to object to the change. on campus. Many of these, though And politicians are listening. that social media provides, interact Within 24 hours, Congress had issue focused, encourage students with members of Congress and the White House on Twitter, on to rescind the decision to remove to be aware and speak out when their desires are being ignored.

Facebook pages, emailing and the office.

Hlavac has been a part of “The millennial generation is making phone calls and showing USF’s United Students Against now the largest generation and up at various events back home in the district with their elected the more cohesive and the more Sweatshops since 2015 and said active the generation becomes on college is the time many realize officials.”

A.J. Hlavac, a senior majoring in key issues, the more the political they have a say in creating change advertising, said students’ opinions system has to adjust,” said Susan politically.

“Anything that puts pressure on are able to impact national change MacManus, a political analyst at lawmakers and lets them know USF. “You always have to think if voiced in unison with others about who hires and fires an there’s people who care about this wanting the same change.

“We are going through this elected official and that gives you cause, enough people that care renaissance of student activism,” a good idea as to who they listen about a certain cause, is effective,” said Hlavac. “Every voice matters, Hlavac said. “I know in the to. especially now when there’s so “So whether you’re a Congress ‘60s and ‘70s it was way more prominent with people going member, or a state legislature, or a many people mobilizing and through things like the Vietnam city council member, or a county having their voices be heard. It’s War, if you’re looking at this from commissioner, you’re gonna listen important to not just yell and a historic point of view, but it kind to the people who contact you and scream on a milk crate, but to take action and do something about of fizzled out in the ‘80s and ‘90s. weigh in on issues.”

The key to true political change, it.”

“I’m definitely seeing this new Hlavic said it was crucial to rise of activism now though, and however, comes in being proactive, remember students’ voices rather than waiting to respond to my opinion on it is it’s absolutely matter and that volunteering wonderful. I feel like it will change an issue, according to MacManus.

Following Congressmen and their time, showing up physically things and we should keep the women on social media, signing to movements and writing to momentum going.”

Castor echoed this sentiment up for email updates and checking senators and representatives is an and said she had seen the impact in on politicians websites are easy effective way to let the government of unified opposition from the ways to monitor what politicians know what the people want.

“If the people speak out loudly public on the first day the new are doing in Washington D.C., enough, they can stop legislations according to Castor.

Congress was sworn in. After There are multiple student that hurt our interests from it was reported Congress had groups outside of the typical becoming law,” Castor said.

ACTIVISM

5

Award-winning faculty member strives to influence others

David H. Allsopp received the 2017 Sam Kirk Educator of the Year award. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Sam Nieto C O R R E S P O N D E N T

After receiving the 2017 Sam Kirk Educator of the Year Award, David H. Allsopp plans to continue to work on developing and implementing an innovative teacher preparation program in special education at USF, as he’s done for the past seven years.

Since May, Allsopp has worked as the assistant dean of the Department of Special Education at USF, as well as the director of USF’s David C. Anchin Center — a program that engages the expertise of professors, researchers, educators and social and educational leaders to develop innovations that advance the boundaries of learning and teaching.

“We have the opportunity to kind of push the envelope, in terms of professional development and innovation around the needs of kids who struggle,” he said. “It’s kind of fun to be in this position and have a different opportunity in a different way to carry on the same kind of values and mission that I’ve had in my career.”

Allsopp began as a substitute teacher in Ocala in 1984, and has been teaching ever since.

Originally venturing to psychology at the University of Florida, Allsopp took on the role as a full time substitute teacher for a high school’s self-contain unit for students with severe emotional disturbance.

“That is where I fell in love with

working with kids,” he said.

A year later, Allsopp landed a permanent position as a middle school teacher, where he found he enjoyed the age group the most.

After eight years, he took a break from teaching to complete a twoyear residency for his doctorate program in Gainesville, where he married his wife Margaret, a former teacher who is currently in a doctoral program for applied anthropology.

After earning his doctorate’s degree, him and his wife moved to Virginia, where he taught at James Madison University for six years before coming to USF in 2001.

In his early life, Allsopp was interested in becoming a veterinarian. Growing up, he lived in a 25-acre property in Ocala as a middle child with his parents and two brothers. Since his mother taught horseback riding and helped rehabilitate horses, Allsopp was always around animals and developed a love for them.

“We learned everything about horses,” he said.

Allsopp attended Furman University where he played football, not making the grades necessary to get into vet school.

Pondering this, he later switched his major to psychology.

“I always enjoyed people, and I always wanted to understand why people do what they do,” he said.

One of his favorite professors, Gilles Einstein, a cognitive psychologist, was interested in understanding memory and identification processing, and

n See AWARD on PAGE 9

LIFESTYLE

Tampa cultural centers reveal future renovations 6

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

●

T H U R S D AY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

●

T H E O R AC L E

By Breanne Williams A S S O C I A T E

E D I T O R

Three leading institutions in Tampa met Tuesday morning to announce their renovation and expansion plans, promising an improving art scene for the Tampa community.

The Tampa Theatre, the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and the Tampa Bay History Center all detailed their plans for modification in a downtown debriefing series titled, “The Arts are Alive in Downtown.”

Tampa is renowned for its unique atmosphere, as the city is home to amusement parks and zoos, has an eclectic mix of residents from retirees to college students and sports many unique businesses.

The bountiful art scene is one of its major assets. As the city continues to grow, this scene is making necessary changes to ensure they’re not left behind.

With the estimated $3 billion worth of renovations Jeff Vinik has planned for Channelside, which will bring focus to the riverfront, the three art centers announced they too were undergoing major changes to attract the new Tampa audience.

The Straz Center for the Performing Arts, which is still in the feasibility stage of renovations, plans to build a rooftop terrace, a waterfront sculpture, a new building for offices and an expanded home for its restaurant, Maestro, which it hopes will be open full-time rather than around show times.

The Center also hopes to soon be connected to the rest of the Riverwalk.

“We’re advocating for the continuation of the Riverwalk on the river,” said Lorrin Shepard, the chief operating officer for the Straz. “It’s the one missing element now of the Riverwalk. When you get to the south end of the performing arts center, you have

Displayed in Maestro was a model of what the Straz Center for the Performing Arts will look like if it passes the feasibility stage of renovations. ORACLE PHOTO/BREANNE WILLIAMS to leave the Riverwalk to come up on to the arrival plaza and find your way past the railroad tracks back down to the river alongside the museum.”

It also wishes to realign roads for a more sensible entry to the theater and create an event pavilion for additional programming space.

The upcoming changes promise major construction downtown, and if all the plans come to fruition, the Straz will inarguably become a destination location on the Riverwalk.

The Tampa Bay History Center is also revamping its collection, with an $11 million expansion project that will add 8,500 square feet on its third floor. By the end of the year, the center will have a Treasure Seekers Gallery full of artifacts

recovered from shipwrecks off the coast. Pirates will be the major theme of the new attraction, which is fitting for the city that throws an annual parade for the sea rovers and allows them to kidnap its mayor.

There will also be a 60-foot replica pirate ship and visitors can learn to navigate the seas using the stars and technology, like an astrolabe. The Pirates’ Life interactive theater lets people live the life of a pirate and fight battles against other ships, which will undoubtedly attract hoards of children.

The center also partnered with USF to create a map library that will be home to more than 6,000 original maps dating back to the discovery of the New World. It will be the only cartographic center in the

Southeast and one of nine in the U.S. The beloved Tampa Theatre, which has been in the city since 1926, is also undergoing a $6 million restoration project.

“There’s not a great city in the world that does not also have great cultural facilities,” said John Bell, president and CEO of Tampa Theatre.

The majority of the theater’s renovations are centered on restoring its beauty and improving comfort for customers because it is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city.

The cramped aisles will soon be a thing of the past, and viewers will soon be able to have legroom when watching classics such as The Wizard

of Oz on the big screen. The balcony will be renovated to a VIP area with bistro tables at the seats, which Bell said will be ideal for concerts and other special events.

Post-Vinik Tampa may end up being one of the hottest cities in the country and ensuring the arts are not left behind is essential to keeping the culture this city has grown around intact.

Downtown is no longer simply where you go for meetings or to change your voter registration. There is an entire world of restaurants, museums and entertainment woven among the skyline. It seems that this thriving atmosphere will only continue to grow as iconic venues continue to evolve along with the city they call home.

T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

●

7

T H E O R AC L E

MORSANI

Continued from PAGE 3

Renderings of the new Morsani College of Medicine Heart Health Institute were unveiled on Monday. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

of the fact that … when this class that just entered the Morsani College of Medicine in September graduates, medical knowledge will double every 73 days.”

The renderings show not only a high-tech building, Lockwood said, but a beautiful one. He said he thinks the aesthetics of the building will be attractive for Tampa’s downtown, making it a jewel in Vinik’s plans. The building is also functional, he said, optimizing the educational, research and even office spaces that he said are cutting edge.

The downtown relocation as a whole adds an aspect of convenience and proximity to the college, Lockwood said.

The move will help bridge the distance between faculty at the school who have patients at places such as Tampa General Hospital, moving them closer to the these hospitals where their clinical activity takes place, Lockwood said. It also moves students closer to their clinical locations.

Lockwood said he feels the

new building also gives the college a chance to change the educational environment, as the old building was designed for an older style of medical teaching that was based on lectures. “... The ability to create an architecture that comports with the new educational approaches we take with medical students is probably the most exciting aspect …,” he said.

Now that the opinions of the administrators, researchers and educators that will be working in the building have been taken into account, the next steps are in the hands of the construction group, Skanska.

This company will be handling the construction and, as of right now, the task of making up the detailed plans for the plumbing, HVAC, wiring and other systems the building need.

According to the company’s website, Skanska has been involved in projects such as the construction of University Medical Center at LSU and Metlife stadium, where the New York Giants play.

The new college and institute should be open around September to November of 2019, as long

as plans continue on schedule.

When completed, the project will cost about $153 million, according to Lockwood. Most of the money spent so far has been on things such as soil analysis at the site and architectural design.

“We’ve spent kind of a fraction of what we’ll soon start spending on the actual construction part,” Lockwood said.

All but $41 million of the final cost is being provided by the Florida government, Lockwood said. He said about $18 million has been raised in private funds so far, but he is hoping for more to finish the building.

As more renderings and preparation for construction goes on, Lockwood said his job is to continue to recruit for the incoming classes at Morsani.

Lockwood is also in charge of recruiting researchers for the new building, a task he said is running ahead of schedule.

He said he sees the number of students applying to the college continue to climb with each passing year.

“Each year I say it’s a record number, but we keep going up each year, so that’s pretty exciting,” he said.

8

Classifieds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

To place a classified ad go to CHILD CARE Driver/tutor Female driver for middle school student, from Tampa Palms to Land’O Lakes. 2X a day, around 6-8am, & 3:15-4:15pm. Pay time will start out from driver’s home & end at driver’s home. Will pay gas. Some Saturday night coverage.

Email kejiazhang@yahoo.com

●

T H U R S D AY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

http://www.usforacle.com/classifieds HELP WANTED

Crossword

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Landscape commercial maintenance and service company accepting applications for part-time/full-time field technicians. Will work with schedule.

Experience not necessary. Earn, learn and grow with us! 813-961-6075/ greenbandit90@verizon.net.

myAPAeditor@gmail.com

●

T H E O R AC L E

T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

AWARD

Continued from PAGE 5

he would refer to studies that involved individuals with learning disabilities, which introduced Allsopp to the idea.

Through his doctoral coursework in psychology, he developed an understanding of behavior and how the brain processes information from a learning standpoint, which helped when he became a teacher.

“My passion has always been

●

9

T H E O R AC L E

around trying to bridge the research practice gap for teachers in particular,” Allsopp said.

“Translating research into how do you put it in place has been a big part of my work and scholarship.”

Through Anchin, Allsopp and his team have over 30 projects in the works, one of which is the Teacher Leadership Academy, whose mission is about building teacher capacity by taking coursework around being a teacher leader.

“My interest has always been about not just being a

professor who teaches a course at a university, all of my work has been around linking what we’re doing from a course perspective to the field. It’s teaching, but then integrating that into rich clinical experiences for students and being a part of that,” Allsopp said.

Although Allsopp receives support and encouragement from Margaret and their two dogs, Mona and Graycie, he believes that he owes his success to his students.

He keeps in touch with some of them, as well as his colleagues, through social media.

National Signing Day 2017

“Like everything, you hope you have a positive impact on peoples’ lives, but I’ve always said the impact that they’ve had on me is far greater than the impact I’ve had on any individual person,” he said.

Allsopp continues to teach at USF at both the undergraduate and doctoral levels, where his scholarship revolves around effective instructional practices, with an emphasis on mathematics, for students with high incidence disabilities, and other struggling learners who have not been

identified with disabilities.

Allsopp encourages students who are interested in the special education field to “just do it.”

“It’s not easy work, but it’s enjoyable work. It’s the kind of thing that where it can be the hardest day, and then something will happen and you will just laugh and think it’s not that important,” he said.

“For them, going to school is such a struggle, and then they keep coming, and they’re smiling, and you think okay, we might be doing something right.”

WIN

for players like her and Pujol to hit open shots even when Laksa isn’t at her best.

“We have to remember that part of the reason why Ariadna (Pujol) and I get to sit here with good stat lines in because of Kit,” Jespersen said.

“She draws so much attention from the other team and it opens the floor up and the possibilities for Ari and I. Kit’s stat sheet doesn’t show her best game, but she’s a big part of other people having a good night.”

With the win, USF extends its AAC home winning streak to four games.

The last time the Bulls lost an AAC game at the Sun Dome was Jan. 10, 2016, a 75-59 defeat at the hands of the four-time defending national cha mpio n C o n n e ct icu t Huskies.

USF goes on the road next week to take on Memphis and East Carolina, and returns home Feb. 12 to host Tulane.

Continued from PAGE 10

Dominating the boards on both ends of the floor, No. 20 USF’s +23 rebound margin on the night held Cincinnati to only seven second-chance points.

Pujol, one of three Bulls in double figures including Jespersen and sophomore forward Kitija Laksa, finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Starting the game missing nine of her first 10 shots, Laksa finished with 11 points while going 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Coming in to the game, Laksa was tied for 22nd in the country with 64 made 3-pointers.

Despite having an off night shooting, Jespersen said Laksa’s presence alone is enough to open the floor up

10

Sports

Short time, Strong class UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

The Rundown Outside USF

Illinois State signs Kobe Buffalomeat Hundreds of teenagers pledged their future football careers to their respective colleges Wednesday, but one Illinois State signee had social media buzzing. Kobe Buffalomeat, an offensive lineman from Lawrence, Kansas, had thousands of people tweeting about his name Wednesday afternoon.

The 6-foot-7, 285-pound recruit is named after Kobe Bryant. His high school coach, Dirk Wedd, had much to say about how far Buffalomeat has come. “He couldn’t walk and chew bubble gum last summer,” Wedd told the Chicago Tribune. “Then he figured it out. By the end of the season, he was first-team allconference.”

Quote of the day “USF football has gone from a KIA to a Cadillac. Willie Taggart had absolutely no relationship with local coaches, and Charlie Strong has already shown us that he is interested in the area.”

— Longtime Hillsborough High coach Earl Garcia told the Tampa Bay Times on National Signing Day. Garcia, who has coached at Hillsborough for 24 years, said he’s not the only local coach who feels this way.

Garcia said he had “never seen so many coaches pull against South Florida” than when Taggart was at USF. He went on to say that he has already been talking with Strong and has full faith in him.

Football

●

T H U R S D AY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

●

T H E O R AC L E

Strong finishes with 18 commits despite limited time on the recruiting trail

Women’s Basketball

Jespersen scores 26 in win over Bearcats

USF junior forward Maria Jespersen recorded her eighth double-double of the season on Wednesday, with 26 points and 12 rebounds.

ORACLE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ

Despite beginning National Signing Day with 11 commits, coach Charlie Strong wrapped up his first USF recruiting class with 18 recruits. ORACLE PHOTO/JACOB HOAG As newly hired coach Charlie S t r o n g stood at the podium for his first National Signing Day press conference at USF, Jacob Hoag he looked far from CO M M EN TA R Y ecstatic.

Maybe it was the stress that accompanies signing day coupled with the exhaustion that follows. Or maybe it’s just his personality.

BY THE NUMBERS

13

What can be said for certain is that Strong strung together a solid list of signees in a rather short time to pull USF from the depths of the AAC recruiting rankings and finish fifth in the conference Wednesday — USF was ranked 12th in the AAC by 247Sports as recent as Wednesday morning.

After succeeding Willie Taggart, who was able to secure two recruiting crowns in the conference in five attempts, questions circled Strong.

He had the task of fusing together a scattered class in just seven weeks, much like Taggart did after being hired in December of 2012.

Amount of three-star players USF added in its 2017 recruiting class, which is the sixth most in the AAC.

Despite the concerns, Strong did just that.

“We were just behind in getting to know the recruits and building that relationship,” Strong said. “We had to go in there and try to change some of their minds there at the last second and some we were successful in doing, some we weren’t.

“You really don’t know until that paper comes in on the fax machine what you’re going to get, but we were able to really get some good ones today.”

Pulling recruits from all over Florida, including Taggart’s coveted Bay area, Strong

n See RECRUITING on PAGE 11

5th

Where USF finished ranked in the AAC for its recruiting class, according to 247Sports.

By Chuck Muller S T A F F

W R I T E R

Overcoming a sluggish first quarter in which they led by six, the USF women’s basketball team came alive in the final three quarters to beat Cincinnati 72-52 on Wednesday night at the Sun Dome.

Bulls junior forward Maria Jespersen led all scorers, finishing with a double-double and tied her career high with 26 points, to go along with 12 boards.

This was the third time Jespersen scored 26 points this season.

“We just wanted to go back on defense in transition and get the ball to matchup fast so that we could get the ball on the offensive faster,” Bulls’ junior forward Ariadna Pujol said.

n See WIN on PAGE 9

T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

●

11

T H E O R AC L E

Football

National Signing Day completes comeback for USF signee

Incoming USF freshman Bentlee Sanders said he wants to start as a true freshman and sees the Bulls going undefeated in 2017. ORACLE PHOTO/VINNIE PORTELL

By Vinnie Portell S P O R T S

E D I T O R

Bentlee Sanders was distressed.

The defensive back from Tampa Catholic High School spent many nights alone in his room during his sophomore season, crying to himself while he patiently waited for his torn posterior cruciate ligament to heal.

“Is this the end of my career?

Am I going to get an offer or anything?” Sanders thought.

Wednesday afternoon at Tampa Catholic, Sanders made his commitment to USF official when he signed his National Letter of Intent alongside friends and family.

“I’ve been looking forward to this day since I started putting pads on,” Sanders said. “It’s a great feeling, I can’t ask for anything better than this.”

Though the injury sidelined Sanders for his entire sophomore season, he battled back to earn a three-star rating and offers from 10 schools, including USF, Toledo and Arizona.

“He never showed it outwardly, he’s that kind of kid,” Tampa Catholic coach Mike Gregory said. “He kind of internalized that. If he sat in his bedroom and cried, we didn’t know about it until afterward when he told us.

“But at times, you could tell it was getting to him a little bit. The first thing you think with a knee injury is, ‘Uh-Oh, can I recover from this?’ You’re 15 years old, you’re vulnerable. But he very rarely externalized that and that speaks to his character.”

Gregory described Sanders as “a warrior” who isn’t bothered by adversity or pressure. For Gregory, what sets Sanders apart from the pack is his “no quit, even-keeled” attitude.

Sanders, who recorded 104 tackles and five interceptions over his final two seasons, said even though the injury tested him, he’s become stronger because of it.

“I learned that if you pray to God, work hard and don’t quit on yourself, then you can accomplish anything. It taught

me courage,” Sanders said. “I feel accomplished. I feel like I did what I had to do and I got it done.”

The 5-foot-8, 165-pound defensive back became one of 18 recruits to pledge their college years to USF on Wednesday.

USF’s 2017 class was projected to finish last in the conference, but is ranked fifth best in the AAC after some surprise additions on National Signing Day, according to 247sports.

Sanders, who is ranked as the sixth best commit of USF’s 2017 class, said he envisions himself earning some immediate playing time as a Bull and even starting as a true freshman.

With new coach Charlie Strong returning most of last season’s record-breaking team, Sanders predicted that the Bulls will have an even better year than they did in 2016.

“11-2? You can’t go wrong with that, that’s a great record,” Sanders said. “Next year, I feel like we’ll go undefeated. I think we can do that, easily.”

RECRUITING

Continued from PAGE 10

signed 18 additions to an already talented, 11-win team.

The first letter of intent rolled into the fax machine in the Lee Roy Selmon Athletic Center before 8 a.m. from 6-foot-5, 201-pound tight end Frederick Lloyd.

From there, the faxes kept pouring in, with USF adding 10 recruits by 11 a.m.

The class was highlighted by a trio of players from state champion Carol City High School in Miami.

Defensive backs Donelle Thomas (2-star) and Naytron Culpepper (3-star), along with receiver Kevin Dingle, made their surprise commitment together on CBS Sports Network midway through the day, bolstering Strong’s class.

Dingle, a 6-foot-1, 185pound 3-star recruit, was ranked as the No. 14 receiver in the state after catching 44 passes for 753 yards and five touchdowns in his senior year.

Another standout hails from Jefferson High School in Tampa. 6-foot-4, 285pound offensive lineman Jean Marcellus (3-star) stayed committed to USF throughout the recruiting cycle, even with the departure of Taggart.

“He’s a really great coach,” Marcellus said of Strong. “I think he will bring the toughness out of USF and bring USF back to where it used to be.

And if I can help make that happen in any way, I’m going to.”

From Jacksonville to Miami to here in Tampa, Strong showed he could scour the state in search of the high school gems and compete with other schools, much like his predecessor.

But it wasn’t just about checking the boxes in certain regions.

Strong’s staff added a fair amount of depth in this class in key places such as the offensive line, which was decimated by injuries last year, and the secondary, which lost seniors Johnny Ward, Lamar Robbins, Nate Godwin and Jalen Spencer.

One of those defensive back signees was Nick Roberts, a 3-star corner from Oakleaf

High School. Some recruiting services are deeming Roberts as the gem of this class, with the possibility of taking over the No. 1 corner spot after the departure of senior Deatrick Nichols following next season.

But to his credit, Strong didn’t just piggyback off of Taggart’s efforts, at least not completely.

Sure a lot of the guys were already in place upon his arrival, but he had to allure these young talents to stick with the up-and-coming program.

“Just coming off an 11-win season was really a great selling point for us and talking about the direction of the program,” Strong said. “Everything is so positive right now, so it wasn’t real hard to sell what we needed to sell.”

Some recruits left. Some, like key target Bruce Judson, followed Taggart to the west coast. But most stayed the course.

Duran Bell Jr., a 2-star, twoway athlete from Hillsborough High School, said he was close to de-committing once USF swapped coaches, but Strong won him over.

“He’s a great person honestly,” Bell Jr. said. “He’s more like a father-figure type of guy.

He’s real laid back and he means what he says and I like that about a coach.”

Others, like 3-star defensive back Bentlee Sanders out of Tampa Catholic High School, welcomed the change, citing the defensive mind of Strong as a big selling point.

“It’s fine with me,” Sanders said of the change. “Coach Strong is a great person, a great person to talk to, a great coach I’ve heard and I can’t wait.

“And he’s a defensive coach, which makes it even better for me because he’s going to get me even closer to where I want to get, which is the NFL.” With arguably the most stressful leg of the offseason behind him, Strong now looks to spring practice, which begins March 6.

“Spring ball will be hitting us in the face before you know,” Strong said. “But we have a few weeks before we get to it, so we’re gonna have to really go.”

-Additional reporting by Vinnie Portell

12

T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 2 , 2 0 1 7

●

T H E O R AC L E