Upbeat Knights open basketball practice
UCF opened practice Monday for the 2017-18 college basketball season amid high expectations and second-year head coach Johnny Dawkins said key experience gained last season will go a long way as the Knights look to move forward.
UCF fell one victory shy of a school record last season, posting a 24-12 mark. The Knights won nine of their final 11 games, including a loss to TCU in the NIT semifinals.
Dawkins is hoping that success will carry over to this season.
“I think our guys had some really good experiences last year and I think that helps us, especially making it to postseason ... to understand how hard you have to play for that amount of time to be successful,” Dawkins said. “I think we’re coming back with a core group of guys that really understand that in B.J. [Taylor], Tacko [Fall], A.J. [Davis] and Chad [Brown].
“I think we’re going to lean on those guys ... them sharing those experiences with the rest of our team.”
Taylor will be the catalyst that makes this team go this season and Dawkins, given his background, knows all too well the benefits of having a leader at point guard who has been through the rigors.
Taylor, a product of Orlando Boone High, led the Knights in scoring at 17.4 points a game a year ago and also dished out 3.4 assists per game.
“It’s real critical for us to have a guy like B.J. The ball is in his hands and he makes us go,” Dawkins said. “With his leadership, we feel good because we know he’s going to come out and compete at a certain level every night. … He just wants to win and I think he’ll infuse our guys with that type of want-to-win attitude, as well.”
Taylor’s leadership will be especially key when it comes to helping mold this team, which has a much anticipated addition of four transfers who sat out last season joining the mix.
Dayon Griffin, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who transferred form Louisiana Tech, leads the newcomers.
He will be joined by Dawkins’ son, Aubrey Dawkins, a 6-foot-6 guard/ forward from Michigan; guard Terrell Allen, a 6-foot-3 guard from Drexel; and Rokas Ulvydas, a 6-foot-11 forward/center and Lithuanian national from Texas Tech.
“It’s exciting to have more depth. That’s what it does for us,” Dawkins said of the transfers. “We think some of these guys can contribute to what we want to do and we’re excited to see it one the floor.
“It’s always tough to be a young person who has played a sport all their life to have a season where they are not playing it competitively, so they’re excited to get out here and contribute and I think the players that were here last season are looking forward to them joining them.”
After flirting with entry into the NBA, UCF 7-foot-6 center Fall is back for his junior season. He was the Knights’ third-leading scorer last season at 10.9 points a game and he almost averaged a doubledouble with 9.5 rebounds per game.
If he’s not hauling in missed shots, Fall is usually swatting them away. Fall blocked almost three shots per game last year and his 2.6 average ranked No. 12 nationally. His defense should improve even more this season as he looks to stay out of foul trouble, which has hampered him at times.
“It says a lot that Tacko had an opportunity to put his name in the draft,” Dawkins said. “He decided to come back to college. He’s enjoying college, he’s a terrific student … He made the right decision, to be a part of this team, to be a part of sharing experience with his teammates, so I’m excited for him and excited for his future.”