USF's men's basketball team will play in the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico in December, giving a homecoming to rising senior guard Jesus Verdejo.

USF has signed on as one of eight teams in the Shootout, which will be held Dec. 20-22 and hosted by Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. Four other teams are confirmed: George Mason (whose coach, Jim Larranaga, goes way back with Stan Heath), Murray State, Florida Atlantic and Oral Roberts. The tournament is run by Sport Tours International, which ran the Daytona Beach tournament where USF beat Florida State this past season. USF's women's team played a tournament in Puerto Rico in 2005.

Recruiting news? An encouraging update on Juan Pattillo, the 6-foot-7 forward from College of Southern Idaho who is considering USF. His coach, Barret Peery, said he expects to sit down with Pattillo on Monday to line up official visits. "I think they'll definitely get a visit," he said of USF, listing Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as other top suitors for the Las Vegas native, along with San Diego State and Colorado State. He said West Virginia and UMass have shown a late interest as well.

USF will have coaches at both major junior college national tournaments this week, with Stan Heath at the Division II juco nationals in Danville, Ill., (where Mott guard Jeremie Simmons will play) and assistant Dan Hipsher will be in Hutchinson, Kansas, at the Division I nationals, where Chipola forward Gary Flowers is playing. Of course, there could be other recruits they're watching there as well ... More hoops recruiting to come later today.