SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- With the introduction of the transfer portal to college athletics, many programs have revamped the process in which they have built their rosters. With more movement than ever before of athletes between schools, coaching staffs are relying on past relationships and familiarity to help find impact players.

The USF men's basketball program has been no stranger to the portal this season, as they brought in three new starters this season in Yauhen Massalski from San Diego and Gabe Stefanini and Patrick Tapé from Columbia.

While it is uncommon to see two former teammates jointly transfer to a university, the reasoning behind the combined move made sense through a connection from current USF assistant coach Jonathan Safir. 

Prior to joining the staff on the Hilltop, Safir worked as the director of basketball operations at Columbia, which is where he got to meet and coach both Stefanini and Tapé. This relationship played a huge part in both athletes choosing to finish their careers on the Hilltop.

"Saf was our director of operations at Columbia, so he handled all the everyday travel while also being involved in practice as well," Tapé explained. "He always offered to give you one-on-one workouts or was just giving tips here and there on what you could be doing better."

Safir's passion has remained clear from the start: to ensure that his players improve on the court while simultaneously having the best possible experience during their time as student-athletes. Overall, the connections that he has built with the athletes and the hard work he consistently puts in makes it easy to see his success in the business.

"We hit it off talking about different things to do in the city, ways to get better as basketball players and enjoying the Columbia experience and the student-athlete experience," Safir said. "Both Pat and Gabe developed a strong relationship really from the start."

"We just became really close and on the court, we always found each other getting along pretty easily," Stefanini explained. "We were involved in a lot of ball screens together and the chemistry kept building and getting better and better through the years." 

For Todd Golden, the third year head coach relied heavily on the relationships his assistants built to help find the right players this past offseason. Safir's past knowledge of both Stefanini and Tapé was a key advantage once both entered the portal.

"I said let's set up a Zoom with our coaching staff and Coach Golden did a great job connecting with the kids on a personal and basketball level," Safir said. "It was really a match made in heaven. Once Pat went into the portal, it became about recruiting together."

Tapé knew that he wanted to continue playing with his friend and teammate from Bologna, Italy after spending the previous two seasons at Duke. After the two discussed their futures on the basketball court, it was only a matter of deciding where their future would take them.

"Coach Saf being here gave them the confidence that we'd keep our word in what we talked about in recruiting," Golden explained. "And that we'd be able to provide a healthy environment for them to play in." 

Safir's experience working in a variety of roles on the coaching staff and in data generation has made him a key figure in both USF and Columbia's success. Those around him believe that his future is bright in the game of basketball, whether that be working on a bench or in a front office.

"I've always admired how hard he works and how much he cares," Stefanini said. "I think that's what makes him so unique and such a good person to be around."

"I believe Coach Safir has an incredibly bright future in our profession," Golden said. "He's really knowledgeable about the game and has a great understanding of X's and O's. I also think Jonathan can be an NBA GM one day if he wants to do that. He's just a sports junkie." 

The brains and talent imported from the Ivy League to the Hilltop has played a massive role in USF's success so far this season. The passion this trio brings to the court and their desire to win has made the transitions for both Tapé and Stefanini seamless.

"We were excited to have this opportunity to play together again," Tapé said. "We've never really been on winning teams that really made any noise in the tournament so we're all looking at this like our last chance to do so." 

"Seeing both of us in the green and gold and being able to play freely on the court winning with a bunch of great guys that love to play together, it's been amazing," Stefanini said. 

To view the full Behind the Mask episode on the Columbia connection, please click here.