American Athletic basketball was a lot of fun to watch this year. Every team played fast, every team loved to shoot threes, and a lot of teams had some explosive scorers. There was one team, though, that sticks out above the rest because of their extreme sleeper ability—the South Florida Bulls. The Bulls, to no one’s surprise, won the American. There wasn’t much debate heading into championship week about who the likely winner of the American would be and who would be representing the league in the NCAA Tournament.
Bryan Hodgson coaches South Florida, and he has successfully done what he was hired to do: get the Bulls back to the NCAA Tournament. It is the first appearance for South Florida since 2012, when they received an at-large selection. This is the fourth overall appearance for the Bulls in the NCAA Tournament. South Florida received an 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they are going to win a couple of games.
Track Meet
Some teams play fast, and then there is the pace that South Florida plays with. The Bulls love to get out and run, getting easy baskets at the rim or on a transition three. If you play South Florida, you better be ready for a track meet because they are going to get out and run regardless of which safeguards a team may put in to prevent transition.
Why are the Bulls so good in transition? I am glad you asked. Coach Hodgson coaches and recruits guys who can play that style, obviously, but what are the things that South Florida does to help them play fast? Â
The Bulls are the second-best rebounding team in the country. They average 43 a game. Those rebounds allow the big men, who are great passers, to get the ball to the players streaking down the floor for easy baskets. The Bulls get a ton of steals and block a lot of shots, which also allows them to get out in transition and throw down highlight reel dunks or hit another transition three. Be ready to run when you play South Florida, because if you are not ready for i,t, they will run you out of the gym quickly.
Izaiyah Nelson
I hate to use the term "Dude" when referring to a player, but there really is no other way to describe Nelson. The big man was the American Conference player of the year. He is one of the best big men in this tournament, and, being as athletic and skilled as he is, he will cause a ton of problems for every team they play in the NCAA Tournament. Nelson is the most important player for South Florida.
The big man shoots 56% from the field. That includes 63% from inside the three-point line. Nelson isn’t bashful and will shoot threes when wide open, but he only makes 15% of his looks from outside. The big man is better suited to stand out on the perimeter and drive the lane for a highlight reel dunk, which happens at least 5 or 6 times a game. He is a matchup nightmare. He will destroy another big man off the bounce to get to the rim, and if you put a guard on him, he will take him to the lane and likely get your guards in foul trouble. Offense is just one part of the game for the Bulls' centerpiece. He is an elite rebounder who led the Americans in rebounding. Â
There are not enough words to describe how good Nelson is. This does need to be said about him, though. In the current climate of NIL and multiple transfers, the fact that Nelson has only played for Hodgson when he could have made a ton of NIL money at a power-conference school speaks volumes about the type of kid the multiple-transfer climate is in and, more importantly, the type of coach Hodgson is.
Wes Enis
Nelson is the superhero, and Enis is the sidekick. At least that is the way it is going to look. The way Enis plays, he is no sidekick but another superstar and an absolute elite scorer and shooter. There is a lot to like about Enis' game.  He didn’t play for South Florida last year, and the Bulls didn’t make the tournament. He does play for them this year, and they are in the tournament.
The junior guard was a Division 2 All-American last year at Lincoln Memorial, so it wasn’t like he was an unknown within college basketball circles. The guard currently leads South Florida in minutes, points, three-point shooting percentage, and three-point attempts. He is going to get up about 10 threes per night and will make a lot of them. The hard part here is that if you commit to stopping Enis, then Nelson will dominate you; if you commit to stopping Nelson, Enis can dominate. This is a pick-your-poison type of thing.Â
The other story to catch on Enis was his comments on media day, when he said the Bulls were the better team and almost guaranteed a victory in the first round. South Florida is a trendy pick to make a deep run in March because it has two of the best players in the entire tournament and one of the best coaches. Don’t sleep on the Bulls; they are probably going to bust a lot of brackets.