May 29, 2008

By Glenn Dickey, San Francisco Examiner

San Francisco - Rex Walters faces a Herculean task in restoring USF men's basketball to its one-time glory, but the Dons' new coach seems to have the energy and vision to carry it out.

As we talked in his office this week, the 38-year-old often cited the Dons' tradition, including back-to-back NCAA titles with the Bill Russell-led teams in the mid-1950s. But the shutdown of the program in the '80s because of recruiting violations and the messy situation around the firing of Jessie Evans, which is now in the courts, are more relevant now.

Walters has been working on damage control, holding "Meet and Greet" sessions with alumni and even having lunch with the most vocal critic of the USF program, Art Zief, a retired attorney who said he has contributed $14 million to the university.

A San Jose native, Walters hit the ground running with his recruiting, signing five players in the month following his April 14 hiring: 6-foot-7 forward Angelo Caloiaro (Mitty High School of San Jose), 6-2 guard Dontae Bryant (Eastern Arizona College), 6-3 guard Kwame Vaughn (Skyline High of Oakland), 6-4 guard Chris O'Brien (Northwood High of Irvine) and 6-6 forward Blake Wallace (Irvine Valley College).

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