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South Florida courting Paschal

The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.)

August 8, 1986

Author: J.C. HATCHER; ACADIANA BUREAU

LAFAYETTE -- University of Southwestern Louisiana head basketball coach Bobby Paschal is being sought to fill the same position at the University of South Florida.

Paschal, who has been USL's head man for eight seasons, was asked to apply for the job by South Florida officials. Sources close to the situation told the Advocate earlier this week that the USF job was Paschal's for the asking.

Paschal is the guest lecturer at a basketball clinic this week in Venezeula and could not be reached for comment. South Florida athletic director Paul Griffin has been busy in meetings for the past two days and has not been taking telephone calls.

USL athletic director Dr. Terry Don Phillips told the Advocate early Thursday that Paschal had told him that South Florida officials had contacted him about the job.

Phillips said he was aware of the situation and that USL president Dr. Ray Authement has also been apprised of Paschal's possible departure.

Coach Lee Rose led the Tampa-based South Florida team to a 14-14 showing last season but left to take an assistant coaching job with the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA.

Rose feuded with school administrator's prior to his decision to leave. The basketball program had its funds cut and a coaching position was not filled when it became open.

Rose also objected when the administration forced him to schedule the University of Tampa, a Division II NCAA member. South Florida is a member of the Division I Sun Belt Conference and Rose did not schedule Division II teams.

Paschal, a native of Enterprise, Ala., has significant ties with Florida basketball. After his Enterprise all-state prep years, he started his college basketball at Chipola, Fla., Junior College. He then transferred to Stetson University in Deland, Fla., to finish his eligibility and gain his bachelor's degree.

After starting as a prep coach in Alabama, he served as head coach at Florida Southern University at Lakeland for four years. He then served two years as an assistant at USL when Jim Hatfield was head coach.

When Hatfield left to take the head job at Mississippi State, Paschal was named head coach. In eight years as head coach Paschal owns a career record of 151 wins and 85 losses.

He has taken USL to two NCAA national tournament appearances and three NIT berths. His 1984 team reached the NIT final four in Madison Square Garden and his 1980 team gained the NIT quarterfinals.

Paschal's teams have never suffered through a losing season.

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5 STILL IN RUNNING FOR COACHING JOB AT SOUTH FLORIDA

Charlotte Observer, The (NC)

August 13, 1986

Author: Associated Press

The list of candidates for the basketball coaching vacancy at South Florida

has been trimmed to five names, including South Florida assistant Everett Bass and George Scholz of Florida Southern.

Southwestern Louisiana`s Bobby Paschal, Joe Harrington of George Mason and

Marty Fletcher of Virginia Military were the other finalists picked by

athletic director Paul Griffin and a five-man search committee as possible

successors to Lee Rose, former coach at UNCC.

``It`s a good group of coaches, each of whom brings a set of credentials

that makes them an excellent candidate for the job,`` Griffin said.

Rose, who came to South Florida in 1980, resigned July 9 to become an

assistant coach with the NBA`s San Antonio Spurs.

Bass was an assistant under Rose for 12 years, including South Florida and

UNCC. Scholz has won the Sunshine State Conference in three of his four years as head coach at Florida Southern.

Paschal has led Southwestern Louisiana to two NCAA and three National

Invitational Tournament appearances in the past eight years, while Harrington guided George Mason to the second round of the NIT last season.

Fletcher was 28-31 the past two years at Virginia Military. He was head

recruiter at N.C. State before that.

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Paschal to make recruiting top priority at USF

The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.)

August 22, 1986

APRecord Number  AP

TAMPA, Fla. -- Bobby Paschal won't promise how fast he'll turn the University of South Florida basketball program around, but he guarantees he won't waste a lot of time getting started on the job.

Paschal, who led Southwestern Louisiana to post-season tournament appearances in five of the last eight seasons, was named head coach at USF Thursday and said he can't wait to hit the recruiting trail.

"Sept. 1 is the first day we can officially visit recruits. I want to be in somebody's home that day, and I want my assistants out there too," said Paschal, who reportedly received a four-year contract worth $75,000 per season.

"We will go after the very best players," he added. "We feel like we have a quality enough situation that we can attract them."

Paschal replaces Lee Rose, who resigned after six seasons at South Florida to accept an assistant coaching position with the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs.

USL Athletic Director Dr. Terry Don Phillips expressed regret at Pachal's departure and said the school soon will begin looking for someone to succeed Paschal.

"Our university is very appreciative of Bobby Paschal and what he has meant to our athletic program," Phillips said. "He, his staff and his players have built a very solid program, one which we can look to with pride and one which he has challenged us to continue."

Among the criticisms of Rose at USF, where he compiled a 106-69 record but never enjoyed an ultra-successful season, were that he didn't recruit well enough and that he preferred a style of offense that bored fans and, in some cases, players.

Paschal has a reputation as an outstanding recruiter, and said the Bulls will employ an up-tempo, fast-break offense even if the players he inherits are not suited for that style.

"I don't think I could come in and totally change my philosophy," he said. "We like to be the aggressor, attacking instead of being attacked, on both offense and defense.

"We're going to start establishing that right away because that's what we want to do over the long haul," Paschal added. "It's my feeling that the players like that style of play, and the fans do too."

USF Athletic Director Paul Griffin introduced Paschal at a news conference where the coach made no predictions about how long it'll take to build a team capable of challenging for the Sun Belt Conference championship and the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

"I'm not a person who will stand here and say I'm going to do this or that," Paschal said. "There are not a lot of things I can come in here and do alone."

Paschal won the job over four other finalists -- Marty Fletcher of Virginia Military Institute, Joe Harrington of George Mason, Florida Southern's George Scholz and Everett Bass, an assistant under Rose for the past 11 seasons.

He takes over a South Florida team that returns three starters from last season, including leading scorer Doug Wallace. The Bulls finished with a 14-14 record in 1985-86 -- Rose's first non-winning season in 19 years as a head coach.

A former player at Chipola Junior College and Stetson University, Paschal was an assistant for three years at Southwestern Louisiana before succeeding Jim Hatfield as coach in 1978.

The Ragin' Cajuns prospered in eight seasons under Paschal, compiling a 153-85 record, earning two NCAA tournament berths and making three trips to the NIT. From 1982 to 1984, Southwestern Louisiana averaged 23 victories per season.

Among the players Paschal recruited to Southwestern Louisiana as a head coach or assistant are Philadelphia 76ers star Andrew Toney and George Almones, a former Lakeland Kathleen High School standout who was considered the best prep player in Florida in 1982.

Rose stepped down on July 9, and recommended Bass as his replacement.

Paschal said South Florida contacted him about the job, but added: "To be honest, I was just about to pick up the phone and call them."

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BASKETBALL FEVER HITS IN EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS

THE ORLANDO SENTINEL

November 18, 1987

Author: By Barry Cooper of The Sentinel Staff

If you want a season basketball ticket for the Florida Gators, then you must carve out a place in a very long line, for there are none to be had. Gators basketball is hot, hot, hot -- and UF isn't the only state school basking in such glory.

The pulse of college basketball in Florida never has beaten stronger. The Gators likely will perform to a full house every time they play in the O'Connell Center, no matter the opponent.

At Florida State, where the Seminoles are waging a frantic race to keep up with the Gators, ticket sales also have soared. The Seminoles play in a 12,500-seat arena and say more than 9,000 season tickets have been sold.

Within two years, FSU Athletic Director Hootie Ingram predicted, the Seminoles will affix a sold out sign to their box office on opening day and leave it there the entire season.

All this excitement is in a state that hardly has been a basketball hotbed, a state where football is spoken year round and the announcement of a spring football scrimmage often has created a bigger stir than any basketball game.

Now things have changed, and dramatic turnarounds aren't being limited to the UF and FSU campuses. Consider:

A year ago, the Stetson Hatters joined an obscure league called the Trans America Athletic Conference. There are no big-name schools in the TAAC. It is a league of schools such as Texas-San Antonio, Samford, Houston Baptist and Arkansas Little-Rock. Yet, after only a season, Stetson's fans have so taken to the league that officials predict this year's game in DeLand with Arkansas-Little Rock will be a sellout.

The University of South Florida has struggled for years to attract good crowds. This year, the business community has offered its help. As many as 4,000 tickets have been sold for some of the Bulls' games, and school officials see the promotion as an ideal way to get new fans into their arena -- fans who eventually may become season-ticket holders.

Florida International University, which used to play its games in an airplane hangar, now has a spiffy new gym that seats 3,600 -- ''and it can be expanded to 5,000,'' Coach Rich Walker said. Until this year, FIU played in Division II. Now it has moved up, in terms of NCAA classification and fan interest. When the Golden Panthers recently held their Tipoff Dinner, 650 people -- representing virtually all of Miami's countless ethnic groups -- crowded into the banquet hall. Not long ago, 175 would have been a good crowd.

The Gators, with perhaps their best team ever, will be on every major network this season -- CBS, ABC and NBC. CBS so wanted a Pittsburgh (Big East) versus Florida (Southeastern Conference) matchup that it got the Gators out of a contract with Illinois, found Illinois another opponent and scheduled UF- Pitt for national exposure.

Schools cannot buy the kind of exposure the Gators will get this season. When high school seniors begin compiling their list of favorite schools, they tend to think most of the schools they have seen on TV. It is one of the first questions they ask recruiters -- will the school's games be on the tube?

''I used to have to dance around that subject,'' Gators Coach Norm Sloan says. ''Now, if they don't bring it up, I do.''

This surge of interest in Florida schools may seem sudden, but it isn't. The seed was planted over the last decade with arenas that sprouted in Tallahassee, Gainesville and on the South Florida campus in Tampa. Then came exciting new coaches, such as Sloan, FSU's Pat Kennedy and first Lee Rose and now Bobby Paschal at USF.

Coaches at the state schools always have wanted to win, but their successors seem even more driven. Kennedy is a workaholic who pauses for only a few hours of sleep each evening.

Sloan, a grandfather, has proven he intends Gainesville to be more than his eventual retirement home. He has recruited like no other coach in the state's history, keeping a majority of the state's best players at home.

This year's team, with 10 of the 15 players from Florida, should be better than last year's 23-11 club that earned UF its first NCAA Tournament berth.

Here is evidence of how well Sloan has recruited in the state: The Gators played two games in the NCAA Tournament last year and Floridians played every minute of both games for the Gators.

Kennedy has been quick to follow Sloan's lead. Last year's recruits -- they will play as freshmen this season -- represent one of the best group of signees in the country. Some recruiting experts say FSU had the fifth-best recruiting class in America. Junior college signee Tony Dawson and Florida high schoolers David White and Mike Polite lead the list.

''In real estate,'' Kennedy said, ''people talk about location, location, location. In college basketball, it's recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. I think the face of college basketball in Florida has changed dramatically.

''The time for making excuses is over with. I think the days of the ACC Atlantic Coast Conference, SEC and Big Ten schools coming down here and taking our best players is over.''

''Florida basketball is on a roll,'' said Stetson Coach Glenn Wilkes. ''There is no doubt about it. I have been in this state a long time, and I can't remember seeing this kind of enthusiasm. And you take the University of Florida -- they are there. They have got it going now. They're going to be good every year.''

For sure, nothing turns on fans more than an exciting, winning team -- and the Gators are just that. The enthusiasm that the Gators are generating has proved infectious. Even the Seminoles feel it.

''In two years, we will be where the Gators are now,'' Kennedy said. ''I can envision the day very soon when the Florida State-Florida basketball game is really something special.''

College basketball in Florida already is special, so improved that coaches have goals that only a few years ago would have been laughed at.

Sloan: ''Now when I go into a home to recruit and the kids ask me if we can win a national championship, I tell them, yes, it is possible. Before, I couldn't tell them that.''

Memo:  College closeup Filling it up Florida State Season Avg. attendance 1986-87 6,812 1985-86 3,811 1984-85 4,787 Florida 1986-87 10,767 1985-86 7,562 1984-85 8,745 Miami 1986-87 2,537 1985-86 3,030 Season tickets sold this season Florida State: 9,500 (est.) Florida: 10,300 (sold out) Miami: 2,700 (est.) Source: Sentinel research.

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Paschal's contract extended

St. Petersburg Times

June 28, 1988

Author: JOHN ROMANO

TAMPA - South Florida athletic director Paul Griffin said a contract extension given Monday to basketball coach Bobby Paschal was not a vote of confidence.

Griffin said a vote of confidence is given when things are bleak. The one-year contract extension through the 1990-91 season was granted because things are going so well at USF, the athletic director said.

''Coach Paschal has made progress in areas of academics in athletics and recruiting. He has instilled a level of discipline in the program,'' Griffin said. ''He has put the foundation and fundamentals in place and we have to recognize that.

''We're quick to note that one thing not accomplished is our mutual desire to have success on the scoreboard.''

South Florida has had very little of that success during Paschal's first two years. The Bulls posted records of 8-20 and 6-22 with consecutive seventh-place finishes in the eight-team Sun Belt Conference.

Paschal has revamped the program and will go into next season with 14 players he has recruited in his two years.

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Paschal reaps just rewards for Bull rebirth

The Tampa Tribune

December 28, 1990

Author: Tom McEwen

Less than a month after a prominent Tampa athletic coach with an Alabama background was fired with a year to go on his contract, another Tampa athletic coach with an Alabama background was given a three-year extension to his contract with most of his final season still ahead.

It was Ray Perkins, former University of Alabama star wide receiver and head coach, who was relieved of his position as Buccaneers head coach, and Thursday it was Bobby Paschal, pride of Enterprise, Ala., who had his current coaching contract with the University of South Florida extended by three seasons, through 1994.

Neither move was unexpected.

"This is one of the most unpleasant moments of my experience," Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse said when he fired Perkins on Dec. 3.

"This is a most pleasant announcement for me," USF Athletic Director Paul Griffin said Thursday. "Bobby Paschal was just what this program needed, and he is proving it."

Griffin hired Paschal to repair the USF basketball program, left in disarray with the departure of Lee Rose.

Paschal has put it back together, carefully and craftily.

He knew what he was getting into, knew it would take time. He signed a three-year contract in 1986 and had it renewed through 1991, despite a 14-42 record in his first two seasons. Griffin kept his faith, in fact, as did the USF friends and alumni. He had one more poor season, 7-21 in 1988-89, then came 1989-90.

Turnaround came suddenly

Last year, Paschal's Bulls, of his own creation -- assembled by search and design and in some cases with a little bit of luck -- won a first-ever Sun Belt Conference championship, produced a 20-11 season and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.the Sun Belt (at Old Dominion, 82-75 in overtime), and with The Tampa Tribune Holiday Invitational at the Sun Dome starting tonight.

The Bulls are co-favorites with Penn State (5-2). The Bulls open tonight with an opportunity for some celebration of the new Paschal contract, for they play New Hampshire (0-7). Penn State opens against Brown (3-3).

"I knew when we came here we had a lot of work to do," Paschal said. "I knew it was a great location, a big, modern school with a good basketball facility, an appealing place in a good conference. I also knew basketball in high schools in Florida was improving. And if we did our job, we could get our share of the home-growns."

Example: Two of the four recruits already signed by USF are from Miami, 6- foot-8 forward Terry Hanks of Edison and 6-4 guard Mike Greene of Killian. In his first three games this season at Killian, Greene scored 36, 35 and 44 points.

Saw USF's potential

Rose's foremost failing was in recruiting. And Paschal was fully aware of the talent level when he accepted the job in 1986, leaving a solid program he had built at Southwestern Louisiana.

"I saw the possibilities, the opportunities," he said, "and I knew the area," having been head coach at Tampa's Plant High (1968-70) and an assistant at Florida Southern (1971-76). "I felt like we could get the administration, the students, the community behind us and it happened, even during the tough times."

Paschal, his assistants, his boosters, his boss, and the students expected a good year in 1990-91, and so far they are getting it. The Bulls have been carefully prepared, but, again, have had a break or two, "which you have to have," admitted Paschal, a modest man not given to the temper tantrums so common in his craft.

"Yes, we were able to get Radenko Dobras [from Yugoslavia] sight-unseen," Paschal said. "It was a break that Fred Lewis was at the University of Tampa and wanted to transfer to our place. We picked up [guard] Marvin Taylor late because his school dropped the program, and what a help he has been. And Bobby Russell and Gary Alexander have come off knee problems to play so well.

"But, we must not forget the others who came with us to help build the program, like Tony Armstrong, Steve Williams, Chris Risey and Maurice Webster. It has taken us all, and my staff, of course."

The staff was of particular help at Old Dominion last week when Taylor hit a three-pointer at the end of regulation to tie the game and give USF the chance to win. Assistants Dennis Donaldson and Bobby Bowman wore the same ties that night they had worn Dec. 3, 1983, when Southwestern Louisiana, where they were all coaches, beat Mississippi 80-62. Assistants Tommy Tonelli and Rodney Tention wore the same suits they had worn last year at North Carolina Charlotte, when the Bulls also opened with a Sun Belt win. Have to have those assistants.

"I couldn't be happier," Paschal said. "I said when I came here we wanted to build and stay. I want to continue to do that. I have no desire to go anywhere else."

As for this Bulls team, picked to win the Sun Belt, "We do have a good team," Paschal said. "The difference between this year and last is that we were the underdogs and won last year. Now, we will be favored in many of our games and that offers a different circumstance."

The danger is overconfidence. The plus is just enough confidence, as displayed twice this year with late rallies for wins, and holding on to beat Florida.

Griffin is not the only one to recognize what Paschal has done, and what his Bulls have to offer.

Membership in the Green Jacket Club is sold out at 300, with a waiting list, and season-ticket sales exceeded 2,200.

Pleasant to write of a coach who has produced.

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Running with the Bulls

St. Petersburg Times

November 20, 1994

Author: BRIAN LANDMAN

Bobby Paschal could have been lost in the moment.

Before him stood the usually stoic Radenko Dobras, pumping his right fist triumphantly after hitting a free throw to seal the University of South Florida's improbable win against North Carolina-Charlotte in the 1990 Sun Belt Conference tournament.

And behind him were 125 delirious USF fans, huddled in the nearly vacant 17,000-seat Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center, chanting something they'd only heard others sing:

""We're going to the Show. We're going to the Show.''

But Coach Paschal didn't simply anticipate the coming attractions - the school's first NCAA Tournament berth. He paused to remember and appreciate the opening credits. He knew the success was tied to all that had occurred from the program's humble beginning in 1969.

""I felt a tremendous amount of happiness for that particular team,'' he said recently as he prepared for the 25th USF season, which starts Friday. ""No matter what else happened, they would always be known as the first team to go to the NCAA Tournament. But I also felt a tremendous amount of happiness for all the players, coaches, administrators, support staff that had worked here before.''

On June 29, 1969, Don Williams, a former coach at Hillsborough High, enthusiastically left Millikin University to build a program at USF from scratch.

""We didn't have a pencil or a shoelace in the whole department,'' said Williams, now 71 and living in Zephyrhills. ""We didn't even have a basketball. Everything had to be done from nothing.''

Williams, who had to teach some classes to earn his $16,500 salary, scoured the nation for players interested in being pioneers, racking up 40,000 miles on the family car.

But the five scholarship players and five walk-ons he landed were virtually anonymous on a campus where academics came first and last. A ""Meet the Team'' mixer attracted 14 students and one faculty member.

That would change.

On Dec. 4, USF's freshman team debuted with a win against the University of Florida junior varsity, 85-78 at Curtis Hixon in downtown Tampa. The run-and-gun Golden Brahmans, as they were called, averaged 100 points and finished the season 19-4.

But the real test would come the next season, their first as a varsity team, beginning Dec. 1, 1971, at Stetson.

""No one gave us a chance to win that game,'' said John Kiser, the first recruit. ""We were down the whole game, but we battled and battled. We just weren't going to quit.''

Kiser, now 42 and a computer salesman back home in Indiana, scored 25 of his game-high 30 points in the second half to key a stunning 74-73 USF win. He said that ""set an attitude.''

When Williams resigned after the 1973-74 season, USF looked for a big name to lead the program into the big time. It found one in Bill Gibson, the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 1971 at Virginia.

His first USF team did well and seemed poised to take that next step. But on July 23, 1975, Gibson had his second heart attack in a year and died. He was 47.

""It was like a (bad) dream, I couldn't believe it,'' said Doug Aplin, a senior guard who's now coach at Chamberlain High.

Assistant Chip Conner, then 32, took over and masterfully guided USF to a 19-8 record, which included a win against a South Carolina team that featured future pros Alex English and Mike Dunleavy.

""Nobody ever said we were dedicating the season to him, but it wasn't necessary to say it,'' said Conner, 52, a real-estate developer in North Carolina. ""We did play on greater emotion.''

By 1976, funds were approved for a swank, on-campus facility, the Sun Dome. No longer would the team travel like vagabonds among the school gym, Curtis Hixon, the Bayfront Center, the Lakeland Civic Center and Fort Homer Hesterly Armory, which lacked hot water and adequate dressing rooms.

That summer, USF helped form the Sun Belt Conference to facilitate scheduling woes. But midway through his fifth season, Conner was fired and a bright future looked dimmer.

Lee Rose, who had taken two teams to the NCAA Final Four orth Carolina-Charlotte in 1977 and Purdue in 1980 - was viewed as the light to energize the program.

""We had a total rebuilding project, but there was an opportunity to build something,'' said Rose, now vice president of player personnel for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks.

The Sun Dome was used for the opener against Florida A&M on Nov. 29, 1980, even though some of the 5,213 fans had to sit on folding chairs. But they had plenty to cheer about. Tony Grier and Willie Redden led USF to an 18-11 record, including an NIT loss at home to Connecticut - the Bulls' first post-season appearance.

USF continued its ascent the next season, beating both Florida and Florida State to win the inaugural Florida Four tournament at the Sun Dome in December. Sports Illustrated covered the tournament and did a four-page story, tabbing the heretofore unheralded Bulls as a legitimate top-20 contender.

""Everything happened so fast,'' Grier said. ""For us to be in a position to be considered the best team in the state and then to be in SI was tough to comprehend.''

The Bulls were shellacked in their next game, losing to No. 1-ranked North Carolina and James Worthy, Sam Perkins and freshman Michael Jordan 75-39. They never fully recovered and failed to reach the post-season.

Grier, Redden and Vince Reynolds were selected in the 1982 NBA draft, so the future was in the hands of sophomore guard Charlie Bradley. Those turned out to be good hands.

Bradley, the former Robinson High star who averaged 5.0 points as a freshman, led the nation in scoring for 11 straight weeks and finished fifth (28.2 points per game) overall.

""I had worked hard over the summer and after the first couple of games, I was in one of those so-called zones,'' said Bradley, whose No. 30 is the lone retired jersey hanging in the Sun Dome. ""I felt like I could do anything.''

Against archrival Florida, in front of a rabid crowd of 10,259 at the Sun Dome on Jan. 11, 1983, Bradley almost did anything and everything. His 25-foot shot at the buzzer forced overtime, and he finished with 38 points in a losing effort.

""He was one of the finest collegiate players I've ever coached,'' Rose said.

Bradley, Curtis Kitchen, Jim Grandholm and Lewis Card led the Bulls to their finest record at 22-10, which culminated with another NIT berth. After a third NIT trip in 1985, the Bulls flattened out in 1986. Rose, angered that many blamed him for the $650,000 department debt, resigned in July.

""I feel we missed something while I was there not going to the NCAAs, but I felt the program was going in the right direction,'' said Kitchen, who was taken in the sixth round of the draft by Seattle and became the first Bull to play in the NBA the next season. ""But somewhere, we lost the zest.''

Under new coach Paschal, the Bulls struggled mightily for three years to regain that zest. With a nucleus of Dobras, Hakim Shahid, Fred Lewis, Bobby Russell and Marvin Taylor, Paschal, the antithesis of flamboyance, fashioned a grandiose turnaround in 1989-90.

The Bulls, perennial conference doormats, reached the Sun Belt final on March 5.

""I remember the game going back and forth,'' said Lewis, who made several key plays in the waning moments before Dobras clinched the historic win with two free throws.

Final score: USF 81, North Carolina-Charlotte 74.

""I remember that like yesterday,'' said Dobras, who is playing in Israel. "" We were all in the clouds for a week.''

Although some folks in Long Beach, Calif., were confused by the initials USF (remarking that they didn't know the University of San Francisco had made the tournament), the Bulls led powerhouse Arizona at halftime before falling 79-67 in the NCAA West Region.

Gary Alexander, back from an injured knee, replaced Shahid in the middle the next season and USF continued to win. But Taylor was dismissed from the team in midseason. USF had to settle for an NIT bid.

Dobras, Alexander, Lewis and Russell returned for their senior years in 1991-92 as USF entered the Metro Conference. They helped USF gain recognition nationally and adoration locally.

""When I came there, we were not winning the games; we were playing good and were close, but there was not much school spirit,'' Dobras said. ""When I left, it was totally opposite. The school was very, very involved.''

USF beat Florida, Florida State, No. 23-ranked Iowa, Louisville and No. 15 Tulane en route to earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Georgetown, however, defeated the Bulls 75-60 in the first round.

""That was the biggest disappointment because that was the last time we (the seniors) were ever going to play together,'' said Lewis, who also is playing in Israel. ""We all grew up together at USF.''

During the past two seasons, the Bulls have had to rebuild and have struggled in the Metro. Paschal said the program has progressed and this season's group is convinced it can build on that.

""We have a huge amount of pride about the tradition that has already been established, and we want to keep it up,'' senior forward Jesse Salters said. ""It's a driving force. It's something we owe to everyone. The fans. The guys in the past.''

- Library assistant Mary Mellstrom contributed to this report.

USF highs and lows

June 12, 1969 - USF president John Allen announces school will play basketball.

June 29, 1969 - Don Williams, a former coach at Hillsborough High and Millikin University, named the first coach.

Dec. 4, 1970 - USF freshman team wins debut against University of Florida junior varsity team 85-78 at Curtis Hixon in Tampa.

Dec. 1, 1971 - In its varsity debut, USF beats Stetson 74-73 behind John Kiser's game-high 30.

March 2, 1974 - Bill Gibson, former Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year at Virginia, hired to replace Williams.

July 23, 1975 - Gibson has second heart attack in a year and dies at age 47. Assistant Chip Conner takes over.

Aug. 5, 1976 - USF, North Carolina-Charlotte, Jacksonville, South Alabama, New Orleans and Georgia State form Sun Belt Conference.

April 3, 1980 - Lee Rose hired to replace Gordon Gibbons, 2-13 as interim coach after replacing Conner in midseason.

Nov. 29, 1980 - The Sun Dome opens, but USF loses to Florida A&M 65-63 before 5,213.

March 12, 1981 - Connecticut beats USF 65-55 at the Sun Dome in the Bulls' first post-season appearance, the NIT.

Dec. 4-5, 1981 - Tony Grier leads USF to wins against Florida (58-56) and Florida State (82-67) to capture inaugural Florida Four tournament at Sun Dome.

Dec. 14, 1981 - USF's victory in the Florida Four, as well as the rise of the Gators, Seminoles and Jacksonville Dolphins, is profiled in a four-page story in Sports Illustrated.

June 29, 1982 - Willie Redden becomes first USF player to be selected in NBA draft. He is taken in third round by San Antonio.

Dec. 10-11, 1982 - Charlie Bradley, a sophomore from Tampa Robinson High, scores 42 points, still a USF record, in a 90-77 win against FSU in the first round of the Florida Four tournament. The Bulls beat UF 77-73 the next night for their second straight tourney title.

Jan. 11, 1983 - Bradley hits a 25-foot shot at the buzzer to force overtime against Gators, bringing crowd of 10,259 to its feet. UF wins 92-79. Bradley scores 38 points. He led nation in scoring for 11 consecutive weeks before finishing fifth overall (28.2 points per game).

March 15, 1983 - The Bulls beat visiting Fordham 81-69 in NIT first round - their first post-season win. Six days later, Ole Miss beats visiting USF 65-57. USF ends season 22-10, still its best mark.

March 14, 1985 - USF beats Wake Forest 77-66 in the first round of the NIT. It loses at Louisville 68-61 six days later.

July 9, 1986 - Rose, upset that he's blamed for mounting athletic department debt, resigns to become an assistant coach with San Antonio Spurs. He had a 106-69 record in six seasons.

Aug. 21 1986 - Bobby Paschal, who in eight seasons led Southwestern Louisiana to the NCAA Tournament twice and the NIT three times, is named Bulls' sixth coach.

March 5, 1990 - After beating South Alabama and Jacksonville in opening rounds, USF defeats UNC-Charlotte 81-74 to win Sun Belt tournament and earn automatic berth in NCAA Tournament, its first.

March 16, 1990 - The Bulls, the No. 15 seed in the West Region, lead No. 2 Arizona 32-27 at halftime but can't hold on as Brian Williams scores 21 of his then career-high 28 points in the second half for a 79-67 win at Long Beach, Calif.

April 4, 1991 - USF and fellow Sun Belt members UNC-Charlotte and Virginia Commonwealth join Louisville, Tulane, Southern Mississippi and Virginia Tech in a revamped Metro Conference.

Dec. 20, 1991 - Gary Alexander scores 28 points and grabs 12 rebounds as USF nips FSU 92-88 before a record crowd of 10,411 at the Sun Dome.

Feb. 24, 1992 - Bobby Russell hits three-pointer with 4 seconds left to give USF 81-76 win against No. 15 Tulane, ending Green Wave's 17-game home win streak.

March 19, 1992 - USF bids farewell to Radenko Dobras, Alexander, Lewis and Russell with a 75-60 loss to Georgetown and Alonzo Mourning in the first round of the NCAA West Region.

Nov. 30, 1993 - USF hits the 1-million attendance mark at the Sun Dome as 3,653 watch the Bulls beat Stetson 62-55 in the season opener.

- BRIAN LANDMAN

All-USF Silver Anniversary teams

FIRST TEAM

F - Gary Alexander, 1988-92

Second in rebounding (862), leader in rebounding average (9.9) and fourth in scoring (1,272). Played for Miami and Cleveland in NBA last season. Now in France.

F - Hakim Shahid, 1986-90

Leading rebounder (893) and fifth in scoring (1,252) despite playing inside at 6 feet 5.

C - Curtis Kitchen, 1982-86

Leader in blocked shots (257) and third in rebounding (816). First USF player to play in NBA. Now in CBA.

G - Radenko Dobras, 1988-92

Second in scoring (1,935) and leader in assists (534). Led team to two NCAA berths and one NIT. Playing in Israel.

G - Charlie Bradley, 1981-85

Leading scorer (2,319). Only USF player invited to U.S. Olympic trials (1984). He has the lone retired jersey. Played several years overseas.

SECOND TEAM

F - Fred Lewis, 1989-92

Seventh all-time in scoring (1,102) and rebounding (659) and three-time captain. Playing in Israel.

F - Willie Redden, 1978-82

Sixth in scoring (1,156), fourth in rebounding (720), leader in field-goal percentage (.594). First USF player drafted. Playing in France.

C - Jim Grandholm, 1981-84

Fifth in rebounding (676). Played for Dallas in NBA and eight years in Europe. An international scout and player agent.

G - Tony Grier, 1979-82

Third in scoring (1,475) and seventh in assists (263). Hero of inaugural Florida Four tournament at Sun Dome.

G - Tommy Tonelli, 1982-86

Second in assists (480) and two-time District III academic all-American. Now a USF assistant coach.

-------------------

HARD-WORKING PASCHAL NEVER HAD MUCH LUCK

Bradenton Herald, The (FL)

March 2, 1996

Author: Mike Mersch, Herald Sports Editor

Now, finally, Bobby Paschal might get out on the golf course.

Paschal, who resigned Thursday after 10 seasons as basketball coach at the University of South Florida, has had a standing golf game with his friend, Jim Harley, for years.

``We made an agreement years ago,'' said Harley, who retired Tuesday after 33 years (and 32 seasons) at the helm of the Eckerd College basketball program. ``Anytime we had a home game on the same day, we agreed we'd play a round of morning golf together.

``Well, we haven't managed to find a way to do it one single time,'' Harley, 62, said, laughing.

Paschal will leave his basketball post for unspecified duties in the school's athletic department, effective March 9.

It should not surprise that Paschal and Harley have forged a strong friendship. Beyond their common bond of college basketball, both are thoroughly decent men who have fought an uphill battle to run clean programs and move basketball to center stage in Tampa Bay.

Shortly after taking the USF job, Paschal often drove to Bradenton for breakfast meetings with members of the Herald sports department and Harry Kinnan, the Manatee Community College basketball coach who was his roommate at Stetson U.

He was candid about his major challenge then - and now - and for all future USF basketball coaches. The assignment was clearly-defined: Where to find enough talent to sustain a successful Division I program?

Easier said than done.

In 25 years of basketball, USF has never had an All-America player although Charlie Bradley, Radenko Dobras, Tony Grier and Chucky Atkins have received some national acclaim.

Bradley is the only South Florida player to have had his jersey number retired, and that says volumes about the level of player the program has attracted (or failed to attract).

Some other sad statistics:

- No player in school history has averaged 20 points per game for his career. Bradley is No. 1 with a 19.7 average.

- Only seven players in school history have ever earned first-team all-conference honors in the Sun Belt, Metro or Conference USA leagues.

- Bradley, the school's career scoring leader, is the program's only bona fide star who is a homegrown product. Bradley, who earned all-Sun Belt honors in 1983, '84 and '85, prepped at Tampa Robinson High School.

And that, the dearth of superstar-quality high school talent in Tampa Bay, is the problem that won't go away, a problem, in fact, that is discussed only behind closed doors.

Yes, there are the occasional Howard Porters and Clifford Roziers. But, name some other college All-Americans who played high school ball in Tampa Bay.

Try to name those Bay area grads currently playing at the all-conference level for, oh, say the Florida Gators. Or Florida State. Or North Carolina. Or Duke. Or any of the high-profile college programs.

Truth is, the pickings here are slim. And what few franchise players exist, USF has not been able to corral.

If USF can't attract great players close to home - between Ft. Myers and Orlando - how can it land star players from other parts of the country?

Paschal never solved the dilemma. Maybe the new coach will have better luck.

That could be key. Luck. One lucky signing could start the ball rolling. Coaches think that way.

Paschal, unfortunately, didn't have much luck.

---------------------

Hey, USF, here's my Final Four

St. Petersburg Times

March 5, 1996

Author: HUBERT MIZELL

This is USF's optimum opportunity. Bobby Paschal has resigned. Decks cleared. Needs obvious. Tampa Bay's major university has a basketball choice: bulk up or get beat up.

USF vows to do the right thing, beefing up its checkbook to go power-shopping for a coach, aiming for a rising star who appears to have the ability to become the next Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino or John Calipari.

It has been a battered first season for the Bulls in Conference USA, where lightweights are always going to get stuffed by noted hoops heavies like Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis and Marquette.

""We're now fishing in a different pond,'' USF athletic director Paul Griffin said Monday. ""Our head-coaching package will probably move up to the $250,000-a-year range.'' Bigger bait to tempt bigger fish. Paschal's deal was worth about $175,000.

""We didn't get into Conference USA just to be a member of the lodge with the big boys,'' Griffin said. ""I'm looking for a coach with identifiable integrity and an obvious ability to recruit outstanding players.''

Griffin is getting many calls. Recommendations will stack high on his USF desk. ""We'll have a good, big group from which to pick,'' he said. ""This isn't Duke, Kentucky, Michigan or North Carolina, but USF does have a load of assets, including our school, our metropolitan area, our weather, our arena and our high-profile basketball league.''

I'd like to help.

Several months ago, when USF was getting into the football business and searching for an inaugural Bulls head coach, I wrote a column saying that nobody made as much sense as Jim Leavitt, then co-coordinator of Division I's stingiest defense at Kansas State.

USF hired him.

If the Bulls don't mind further constructive meddling, I've checked with some of the most trusted minds in college basketball and would like to offer four appetizing prospects who meet USF's escalating criteria.

Mike Jarvis.

Herb Sendak.

Dan Dakich.

Phil Ford.

Jarvis may be out of reach. He has made a heavy coaching impact at George Washington, most recently in ending the unbeaten season of top-ranked Massachusetts.

It could be a tough sell, convincing Jarvis to leave the hoops-rich eastern U.S. corridor to come to a lesser-known Florida school with far more basketball possibilities than accomplishments.

But why not take a shot?

Sendak is a clone of Kentucky coach Pitino. Herb is now winning big as head coach at Miami of Ohio. He's bright, honest, personable and understands college basketball's fast lane.

Herb will be getting big-time offers, and soon. Jarvis is a long shot, so Sendak would be my realistic No. 1 choice for South Florida.

Dakich is a sharp, disciplined, efficient product of the Bob Knight coaching house at Indiana University. In his mid-30s, Dakich is a former Hoosier player who has spent several seasons as a Knight assistant.

IU views Dakich as an ace recruiter. His personality and scruples would be a good fit at USF. As a Knight player in the early 1980s, Dan was assigned to guard North Carolina's most prodigious offensive threat. Dakich did a memorable job of shutting down Michael Jordan.

Speaking of UNC, another realistic possibility for USF is a smashing former Tar Heels player, Phil Ford, an All-America point guard who of late has been a prime assistant of North Carolina head coach Dean Smith.

""South Florida can make a big jump in a hurry in basketball,'' Griffin said. ""This is different from football, where it's unlikely that a program will take either an immediate leap or a dramatic fall. In college basketball, the elevator can go quickly, in either direction.''

Going up?

[hightechbull]

Thanks for posting that as well.  Memories of the good old days with Bobby Paschal.

I love these three quotes

Membership in the Green Jacket Club is sold out at 300, with a waiting list, and season-ticket sales exceeded 2,200.

""When I came there, we were not winning the games; we were playing good and were close, but there was not much school spirit,'' Dobras said. ""When I left, it was totally opposite. The school was very, very involved.''

USF beat Florida, Florida State, No. 23-ranked Iowa, Louisville and No. 15 Tulane en route to earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.