TAMPA, Fla. – Following a thrilling win over visiting Tulsa on Super Bowl Sunday, coach Bryan Hodgson noted the unselfish brand of basketball his Bulls have played since the season tipped off. It is a group that genuinely enjoys being around each other and pulls for each other to succeed, which they have to the point of sitting atop the American.
It is not too often a team, any team, that undergoes a major roster overhaul runs so smoothly, so effectively, so soon into its time together, and then keeps it going as the Bulls have done. Sure, there are the inevitable bumps and bruises. However, the Bulls (18-8/10-3) clearly have a knack for maintaining focus when the chips are down. Izaiyah Nelson is a major reason why.
“It was easy to get the guys on the same page,” the senior forward said Wednesday when asked if he felt additional responsibility in the preseason and early in the season given his relationship with Hodgson, who he spent two seasons with at Arkansas State before moving to Tampa. “All 15 guys wanted to work. They came here and decided to buy into what coach Hodgson was preaching to us.”
That is true. Those attending games at the Yuengling Center can see that. Still, because of the time Nelson spent with Hodgson in Jonesboro – senior guard Joseph Pinion was at Arkansas State last season — the Marietta, Ga. knew, at least early on that he would be looked upon as the guy others would get their cues from.
“Coach would tell me that guys would be coming to me and I have to be the one who has to be able to weather the storm,” he said of a time of year when the team was, well, becoming a team. “It was kind of like, if I am not in a good mood, then the team is not in a good mood. I had to make sure I always arrived (at the Muma Center) in a good mood and make such everyone was ready to work and grind.”
The 6-foot-10 menace has wrecked the mood of many opposing teams. Nelson leads the conference in rebounds (9.8) and field goal percentage (59.2) while leading USF in scoring by a sliver (16.0 to 15.9) over Wes Enis. No. 35 in green and gold heads into Thursday’s game (7 p.m./ESPN2) against visiting Memphis (12-13/7-5) tied for third nationally in double doubles with 16. Beginning at Alabama on December 17, Nelson had a stretch of six straight such performances. It was a scintillating run in which he had five games of at least 20 points and three of at least a dozen boards.
The numbers are impressive, for sure. Yet, it is not a soaring dunk or blocked shot that propels Nelson. It’s the Yuengling Center crowd that gets him pumped.
“I enjoy the fans,” said the communications major, who would like to coach hoops at some point. “Just to go out there and perform and hear them, to see the smile on their faces. That gives me a lot of adrenaline. I love Bulls Nation, man.”
Bulls Nation loves him back.
READ: USF Bulls Outlast North Dakota State Bison In Midweek Marathon
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
