Top-seeded USF enters the American Conference Tournament on a nine-game college basketball winning streak. Head coach Bryan Hodgson does not want his players to like him today.
He wants them to love him in the future.
Their college basketball careers will one day end. Their head coach is setting them up for the future.
USF basketball is two wins away from the best season in program history.
The Bulls currently sit at 23-8 overall. Although they lost five games during the early season against quality non-conference opponents they finished the regular season as American Conference champions with a record of 15-3. Their only losses were to UAB, Wichita State and Temple by a combined five points. Two of their losses were in overtime.
USF did not lose in the month of February and has not lost in the month of March. It is riding a nine-game winning streak into the conference tournament.
South Florida receives an automatic three-round bye to the semifinals as the No. 1 seed and must win only two games to win the conference tournament. Two wins will also punch a ticket to March Madness.
Should that happen, it would tie the best record in program history. The Bulls went 25-8 during the 2023-24 season under first-year head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. Abdur-Rahim tragically passed away at the young age of 43 before he could coach a game in 2024-25. Hodgson was hired that next offseason.
Bryan Hodgson is a leader of men.
What Hodgson has been able to do this season is nothing short of impressive. USF went 13-19 last year in wake of ‘s passing. He brought the program right back to national relevance in year one.
Bryan Hodgson is only in his third season as a head coach on any level of college basketball after just two prior years at Arkansas State. The Red Wolves went 45-28 in 2023-24 and 2024-25. That led him to be hired by the Bulls. The 38-year-old is considered a rising star within the sport.
However, he does not want his players to like him… today.
Part of what makes Hodgson so special is how he builds relationships. His job is not only about winning basketball games. Like Abdur-Rahim always said, it is just as important to be a leader of young men.
With that in mind, Bryan Hodgson understand that his players may not always like him while they are under his tutelage. He is going to push them hard and make them get uncomfortable. He expects them to perform on the highest level, both as athletes and as people.
They might not like him right now. Hodgson hopes they will look back in a few years and love him.
USF is right in the middle of a special college basketball season. Wins and losses are a direct reflection on the head coach.
Perhaps more importantly, Bryan Hodgson is teaching his players how to be the best versions of themselves. Basketball is temporary. Character is forever.