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Toni and LyRyan Russell were both powerful players for the Dons this season.
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USF Basketball a Family Affair
You can tell USF basketball players Toni and LyRyan Russell are siblings, not because they resemble each other (Toni is a petite one inch over five feet, LyRyan is six feet) but from how they play ball.
Both are excellent defensive players—swooping down on the ball and carrying it away from unsuspecting opponents is a family trait. Both are expert ball handlers and each plays point guard for their teams. And both are leaders on the court—helping to make plays happen rather than strutting their own stuff.
Dons basketball this year was a family thing—with LyRyan, 22, coordinating the men’s game (until a season-ending injury on Feb. 9 took him off the court) and Toni, 18, helping to steer the women. If it wasn’t for another injury that barred him from playing last year, fifth-year LyRyan wouldn’t have been seeing so much of his sister. The fact that her brother would be nearby was a key reason Toni decided to play for the Dons.
“I was being recruited by USF and I really liked the idea of being on campus with my brother. We haven’t been in school together since elementary,” Toni said. “Just being on campus with him is great. He’s always looking out for me.”
Ever since Toni began playing in fifth grade, she has been LyRyan’s protégé. Both are small in a tall-person’s game, so LyRyan taught Toni to use the same techniques he learned—hustle and heart.
“I told her play with passion because that’s what is going to get you past the other guys,” LyRyan said.
“I learned a lot from my brother,” Toni said. “When I play with him, he doesn’t let me have anything easy. He critiques me and I critique him.”
Although LyRyan wasn’t able to finish his season with the flourish he had hoped for, he plans to go overseas next year and try out for the European leagues. Toni, meanwhile, will be left to carry the torch. But she says she’s found stand-ins for LyRyan.
“I love my teammates. I learned a lot from them. And at home games I had family and friends in the stands rooting for me,” she said. “USF was the best fit for me.”
Men’s basketball finished third in the West Coast Conference, although they lost to USD in the first round of the WCC tournament on Mar. 2. The women fared better in the tournament, where they lost in the semi-final round to Pepperdine on Mar. 1. They finished fourth in the conference overall.
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