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USF freshmen Corey Allen, John Egbunu cleared to play

Stan Heath

South Florida head coach Stan Heath gestures during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Oklahoma State won 61-49. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

AP

For some players the process of going through the NCAA’s Eligibility Center can be more nerve-wracking than anticipated. Three things can happen: a player can be cleared, meaning that they can proceed with preparations for the upcoming season without any concern.

But there’s also the possibility of being declared either a partial (you can receive a scholarship and practice with the team, but no games) or non-qualifier (ineligible to receive a scholarship), leading to some sleepless nights. But on Wednesday two USF newcomers received the good news, as junior guard Corey Allen and freshman center John Egbunu have been cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center.

According to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times the two newcomers, who are expected to be contributors for head coach Stan Heath as the Bulls begin play in the American Athletic Conference, will begin classes next week.

One year after nearly reaching the Sweet 16 USF struggled mightily in 2012-13, finishing the season with a 12-19 record and falling to Seton Hall in the first round of the Big East tournament by the final score of 46-42. While the Pirates weren’t stellar offensively on that night either (the game went to overtime), the tournament loss was a fitting one for USF given how much they struggled offensively.

USF finished the season at or near the bottom of the Big East of just about every major statistical category when it came to their offense, shooting 38.9% from the field (last) and scoring 58.8 points per game (also last). USF did manage to finish 11th in the conference in three-point percentage (31.3%), and in scoring more than 31% of their points from beyond the arc the Bulls ranked second in that particular category.

They needed to get junior guard Anthony Collins (8.6 ppg, 6.5 apg) and senior wing Victor Rudd (12.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg) some help, and the hope is that USF’s six newcomers (the class was ranked in the Top 25 by multiple scouting services) can add some scoring punch to a program that lacked it a season ago.

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