ORLANDO, Fla. – Ahead of the UCF Knights’ season- and home-opening, 84-70 win over Rider University on Nov. 6, third-year head coach Johnny Dawkins had one message for his four seniors: “You have to take ownership.”
“This is your last year; this is your team,” Dawkins said after the Knights’ third-straight season-opening victory. “You have to take ownership of it, and you have to decide how you want, you know, the program to be run…”
The 2018-19 season, after all, is, perhaps, the last chance at a deep postseason run a Knights program with grand but unfulfilled expectations will have for years to come. Primarily, injuries have kept UCF (1-0) at bay: Redshirt senior B.J. Taylor and senior Tacko Fall each missed half of last season with foot and shoulder injuries, respectively.
Now, UCF is as healthy as it has ever been, and it seemed apparent Taylor took Dawkins’ pre-game message of ownership to heart.
With the Knights trailing Rider (0-1) 34-30 and having never led for the first 18-or-so minutes, Taylor spurred a game-changing, 13-0 run.
The Orlando native began with back-to-back layups to tie the game at 34-34. After buckets by guards Terrell Allen and Aubrey Dawkins and a free throw by forward Collin Smith, Taylor capped the run with his first 3-pointer of the game, giving the Knights a 43-34 lead entering halftime.
Taylor continued UCF’s scoring run to start the second half, draining another triple 17 seconds into the final period. UCF increased its lead to as high as 24 points, courtesy of a layup by guard Ceasar DeJesus around the 11-minute mark.
“I just try to stay in the moment and be the best I can be for these guys I’m out here with, right now,” Taylor said after the win. “It’s obviously been a long journey for me here at UCF, but, with the team we have this year, you know, we’re gonna leave [with] the best year yet.”
When Taylor says “best year yet,” he’s essentially implying an appearance in the end-of-season NCAA tournament. That has been the goal for longtime Knights like Taylor, Fall and forward Chad Brown, as the potential to make that a reality has become greater under Dawkins.
In Dawkins’ first season, the Knights advanced to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals in 2017, eventually falling to the eventual champions: Texas Christian University. Last season, UCF ended its season after being bounced two games into the American Athletic Conference tournament. Before Dawkins, UCF recorded three-consecutive losing seasons.
To make it to March Madness, however, the Knights will have to overcome several early-season difficulties, some carrying over from last season. In the 2017-18 campaign, UCF shot 64.1 percent from the free-throw line, good enough for 343rd-best in the country. In 45 attempts against Rider, UCF made 25 (55.6 percent).
Dawkins noted he wants to see better rebounding from his team, too. Both Dawkins’ squad and Rider each corralled 47 rebounds, as Rider recorded 16 offensive boards.
“Yeah, little disappointed about how we shot our free throws,” Dawkins said. “But, like I said, I attribute [difficulties]…one, to the competition we’re playing against. I mean, I think our guys really had a high level of respect for [Rider]…and, two, just the jitters of it’s their first game.
“And, like I said, not just their first game but, for some of our guys, first game in years. You know, Collin in a year and Aubrey in two years. You know, B.J. missed half of last season; Tacko missed half of last season. So, these guys are still adjusting. They haven’t played together that long, as well as just the jitters of being out there in front of the crowd…”
Despite Smith shooting just 6-for-15 at the free-throw line, the George Washington University transfer still posted a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double with three assists in his Knights debut. His versatility as a 6-foot-11 forward is somewhat reminiscent of former Knights forward A.J. Davis.
“Well, just glad to be back out there. I really missed the game,” Smith said after the win. “I thought I played okay. Could’ve hit some more free throws, of course, but I’m just glad we got the win.”
UCF’s defense also performed as well as any defense under Dawkins has played. In total, the Broncs shot 39.1 percent from the field, as the Knights held Rider to 30 points inside the paint. Fall led the Knights by recording five of their 10 blocks.
Dawkins, however, wants to see improvement in his team’s 3-point defending, as Rider shot 7-for-17 from distance, including 5-for-9 in the first half.
“I think we gave up too many 3s tonight, so I’m a little disappointed about that,” Dawkins said. “You know, they’re a really good shooting team, but we have to do a better job of guarding the 3-point line. That’s one of the things we need to clean up.”
The Knights continue their campaign on Sunday with another home bout, this one against Florida Atlantic University at 3 p.m.
For more on the Knights, as they continue their early-season, non-conference schedule, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
[…] same issues that haunted UCF in its season-opening victory over Rider University on Nov. 6 reanimated in Game 2 against […]
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