Collins, Clayton to transfer

Anthony Collins is the sole remaining player of the Bulls team that made an NCAA Tournament run in 2012 before the reported decision to transfer Monday. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

At a practice last season with speculation of a transfer surrounding him, USF guard Anthony Collins sought the media to clear the air.

“I still want to be here and play for coach Heath,” Collins said at the time. “He’s the one who recruited me. I support him 100 percent.”

With Heath now gone, along with most of the players Collins came in with, reports are surfacing once again that the redshirt junior and freshman Dre Clayton are bolting from the program.

First reported by ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, Collins and Clayton’s departure follows a rough year as the Bulls sunk to the bottom of the AAC for the second consecutive season with a 9-23 record. Tampa Bay Times reporter Joey Knight followed up on Twitter later, tweeting the report is true. 

USF Athletics could not confirm the transfers for The Oracle by time of print.

Collins averaged 7.1 points per game and a team-leading 5.2 assists in the 2014-15 season. He passed former Bull Chucky Atkins for third place on the USF all-time assists list and finished with a career-high 569.

Clayton played a much lesser role than his teammate and averaged just less than one point per game, but his departure adds to the lack of depth coach Orlando Antigua must compensate for in the coming season.

Collins will earn his degree from USF prior to transferring, which will make him eligible to play next season.

Clayton will most likely have to sit out a year.

As for USF’s future, Collins will be replaced next season by Maryland transfer Roddy Peters who joined the team this season.

 

Fernandez set for bonus

 

Coach Jose Fernandez, who is earning a base salary of $175,000 for the 2014-15 season, is in line to contractually qualify for some performance-based incentives. 

The USF women’s basketball team has already received an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, which nets Fernandez an extra $15,000. 

For winning Saturday’s game against No. 11 LSU 73-64, Fernandez will earn an additional $10,000. 

After the Bulls’ 60-52 loss to Louisville on Monday night, Fernandez won’t be able to earn any more money for tournament wins, but he could have made more than double his base salary if the run continued.

A run deep into the tournament would have not only garnered Fernandez $10,000 for each win, but an appearance in the Final Four would have been worth an extra $75,000, or nearly half of Fernandez’s base salary. Finishing the season as the NCAA Champion is worth $150,000.

Post-season recognition as the AAC Coach of the Year would earn Fernandez another $10,000, while being named the national coach of the year would be worth $15,000.

 

Moreno fired for violation of NCAA rules

 

Former USF women’s tennis coach Agustin Moreno was fired Feb. 16 for breaking NCAA rules.

The former coach had led the women’s tennis program since 2005 and won conference championships in 2007 and 2014. He was also named the Big East Coach of the Year in 2007 and has made six NCAA Tournament appearances. 

On Jan. 26, Moreno was watching a recruit play tennis with a current member of the team, which violated NCAA rules. Moreno then proceeded to lie about the illegal scouting to the Athletic Compliance Office. 

This violation wasn’t Moreno’s first time running into trouble with NCAA rules. He and his staff held an impermissible camp in the 2014 fall semester and lost the right to participate in any camps or clinics until the 2015 summer semester.

Because Moreno was fired without cause, he is receiving the remainder of his salary until his original contract with the school ends June 30.