Central Florida

Conference USA Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:59:49 -0500

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Conference Rank: 11th

10 year average: 8th

All-CUSA Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Stefon Jackson	UTEP	Sr
G	Robert Vaden	UAB	Sr
G	Tyreke Evans	Memphis	Fr
G	Jermaine Taylor	Central Florida	Sr
F	Jerome Jordan	Tulsa	Jr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
CHN All-Americans Robert Vaden High-Major All-Americans Stefon Jackson Jerome Jordan Jermaine Taylor Ben Uzoh Robert Vaden Jeremy Wise All-Freshman Team Tyreke Evans		Points: Stefon Jackson 23.6 Rebounds: Jerome Jordan 7.9 Assists: Jeremy Wise 4.2 Team: Memphis 79.9

Conference USA Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

?	Memphis**	CUSA	1	NCAA
47	UAB	CUSA	2	NCAA
68	Southern Miss	CUSA	3	NIT
75	UTEP	CUSA	4	NIT
106	Tulsa	CUSA	5
119	Marshall	CUSA	6
131	UCF	CUSA	7
137	Houston	CUSA	8
185	Tulane	CUSA	9
221	East Carolina	CUSA	10
260	SMU	CUSA	11
285	Rice	CUSA	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the CUSA?

Other CUSA Content

Head Coach Interviews

Larry Eustachy: Southern Miss

Mack McCarthy: East Carolina

Other

Rise & Fall: CUSA

Top Non-BCS Players: Vaden/Evans

Top Centers: Jerome Jordan

Conference USA on National TV

State of '08: Florida

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:48:10 -0400

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: Florida For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

FLORIDA

FLORIDA - Obvious choice at the top of the Sunshine state. Before last year, Billy Donovan's Gators had made 9 NCAA Tournaments in a row.. including back to back national titles. Hart to top that.

MIAMI - Since Frank Haith took over four years ago, Miami has made two NIT trips and one NCAA Tournament. But in the five years before last, Miami hadn't reached the Top 60 in RPI, and they've still never finished above .500 in the ACC. Fans are certainly expecting a big ACC finish this time around.

FLORIDA STATE - The 'Noles perpetually seem to be on the verge of something big, but they can't seem to get over the hump. This is basically the story of Leonard Hamilton's career. In the last six years, FSU has hovered between 41 and 81 in the RPI five times.. but have yet to reach the Big Dance.

CENTRAL FLORIDA - Despite lacking the profile of a Miami or FSU, UCF is a consistently solid team that deserves more attention. Long time coach Kirk Speraw has led the Knights to four NCAA Tournaments, and helped them make the transition to the more competitive Conference USA. Since joining the CUSA before 2006, the Knights have finished .500 or better in league play each season.

SOUTH FLORIDA - The Bulls haven't had much success since joining the Big East, but the program does seem to be gaining momentum. Last year, USF beat three Top 60 teams including FSU, UAB, and Syracuse.

6. FLORIDA A&M - The Rattlers are always one of the better teams in the MEAC. In fact, 2001 was the last time FAMU finished below .500 in league play. Although the MEAC is the 2nd worst league in the country, the Rattlers have taken advantage of the weak competition by making the Tournament in 2004 & 2007.

7. FLORIDA ATLANTIC - After a shocking Tourney run in 2002, the Owls haven't sniffed postseason play. In fact, FAU has only won two SB tournament games in the past six seasons, though they've been competitive in the last three seasons. It will be interesting to see if new head coach Mike Jarvis can regain some his former glory, after his tenure at St. John's came to an embarrassing end.

8. JACKSONVILLE - The Dolphins are coming off one of their best campaigns in recent memory, finishing 2nd in the A-Sun, making it to the conference title game, and finishin with an RPI of 164. That's pretty heady stuff for a program that was 1-26 in 2006 (only managing to knock of UNF). This is the 2nd season in a row that JU led its Florida rivals (Stetson, FGCU, and UNF) in the A-Sun.

9. STETSON - The Mad Hatters have hovered around 250 in the RPI for the past couple years, but are coming off a decent campaign that included an 11-5 Atlantic Sun record. This is the second time Stetson has won 11 league games in the past three seasons.

10. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL - FIU is consistently overmatched by its Sun Belt competition. The Panthers haven't finished above .500 in league play since 2000.. and really haven't come close since. At least things have improved since 03 & 04 when FIU was one of the worst teams in the country, winning just 10 D1 games those years.

11. BETHUNE-COOKMAN - The Wildcats continue to struggle, finishing 3rd to last in the lowly MEAC in back to back seasons. 2000 was probably the last time there was any legitimate hope of making a run in the conference tournament.

12. FLORIDA GULF COAST - In their first full D1 season, FGCU had decent success, winning 10 games, including 6 in the Atlantic Sun. At the very least, this already puts them ahead of North Florida.

13. NORTH FLORIDA - Despite a decent nickname (the Ospreys), UNF hasn't had even the slightest success since joining D1 in 05-06. UNF has won an amazingly small 7 D1 games in the past three seasons, and only beat winless NJIT in the RPI last year.

Last: D.C. - Next: Georgia

State of '08: The Introduction

UCF Adds Late Recruit David Diakite

Press Release — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:44:18 -0400

ORLANDO, Fla. - With classes set to start Monday, UCF men's basketball head coach Kirk Speraw recently received a late addition to his roster when David Diakite joined the Knights. The 6-foot-4 wing player is from Silver Spring, Md., and attended National Christian Academy.

As a senior in 2007-08, he averaged 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

"David is a tremendous young man who is extremely excited about becoming a UCF Knight," Speraw said. "He is a great addition to our program and we are pleased that he is now on board."

Following his senior campaign, Diakite participated in the Under Armour Capital Classic. He helped the District All-Stars record a victory, scoring 18 points and grabbing a team-high eight boards. In the all-star game, the swingman registered two steals and a pair of blocks. Diakite also claimed the slam dunk competition at the event.

At National Christian, Diakite played for coach Trevor Brown.

In the summer of 2007, Diakite earned MVP honors after leading National Christian's summer-league squad to the 17-under select title at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in North Carolina.

Diakite will be one of seven true freshmen on the Knights' roster this season.

- From www.ucfathletics.com

2008-09 Central Florida Preview: #131

Joel Welser — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:48:24 -0400

UCF Knights

Overall Rank: #131

Conference Rank: #7 C-USA

2007-08: 16-15, 9-7, 4^th

2007-08 postseason: none

There is some rebuilding to be done this year, but nothing is more important to UCF than finding a new point guard. Taylor Young only averaged six minutes per game as a freshman and he has the most experience of any ballhandlers. Young has the potential to fill the void, but that lack of experience could spell trouble for the Knights.

Who’s Out:

Dave Noel, Mike O’Donnell and Chip Cartwright all averaged three or more assists per game during their last seasons with the Knights; thus, the point guard problem. But those three did a lot more than just pass. Noel did everything and averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals on top of his 3.1 assists. O’Donnell was a prolific long range shooter and Cartwright was the team’s leader despite not scoring very much. That is a tough trio to replace; and it gets worse. Guard Mike Battle has also run out of eligibility and that leaves very few players on the perimeter with any experience whatsoever. The news is not so great in the frontcourt either with the departure of Stanley Billings, Andre Thornton and Cordell Pope. Billings, the usual starting center, averaged 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Thornton and Pope saw limited action and opted to transfer.

Who’s In:

Freshmen William Weathers and A.J. Rompza will throw their hat in the battle for a point guard. Weathers, despite injury problems, averaged 17.5 points and 7.2 assists during his senior year at Lewisville High School in Texas. Rompza is not as highly touted as Weathers, but the 5-9 speedster has the smarts to run a team as a freshman. He is a great playmaker and, once he gets stronger, should be a key player for UCF. The point guards might play the most important role this year, but it is another perimeter player that has Knight fans the most excited. And that is because Isaac Sosa is not just a shooting guard, but he can play the point as well. Sosa is not a selfish player, but he is more known for creating for himself rather than his teammates. His future at UCF will be at the two guard spot, but having another player who is used to handling the ball is never a bad thing. Chris Baez, a 6-5 wing, missed last year with an injury and will suit up as a freshman this season for the Knights and should make an impact in the scoring column. Jakub Kusmieruk, P.J. Gaynor and A.J. Tyler will look to add depth up front. Kusmieruk is an intriguing prospect. At 7-4 the Polish product will be a force around the basket. He has decent hands and a nice touch on his mid-range jumper, but it remains to be seen how well he can adapt to life in Conference USA. Tyler, a transfer from Clemson, has the most experience. He did not see much action with the Tigers averaging just 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in five minutes per contest as a freshman, but the 6-9 forward should play a much bigger role on UCF.

Who to Watch:

Jermaine Taylor averaged 20.8 points during his junior year. His senior year should be even better. Obviously, Taylor is a prolific scorer. He will get it done from behind the arc and by getting to the basket. With a lack of experienced perimeter scoring threats around him, Taylor may be asked to do even more scoring.

Final Projection:

Taylor is the star, but Tony Davis and Kenrick Zondervan hold the fate of the 2008-2009 Knights in their hands. Davis, despite only starting nine games, led the team with 5.9 rebounds per contest. Now a junior, Davis is expected to become more of a leader in the frontcourt and play a bigger role in the offense. At 6-9, Zondervan has the size to man the middle. Without Billings to help out in the paint, Zondervan needs to increase his scoring output and help out a little more on the glass. UCF could take a small step back from their fourth place finish a year ago, but this is still a program on the rise and Coach Kirk Speraw’s success on the recruiting trail can attest to that.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Taylor Young, Sophomore, Guard, 0.7 points per game

Isaac Sosa, Freshman, Guard, DNP last season

Jermaine Taylor, Senior, Guard, 20.8 points per game

Tony Davis, Junior, Forward, 6.4 points per game

Kenrick Zondervan, Senior, Forward, 4.9 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2008-09 Preview & Awards | Coach Interviews | Discuss the Preview

Cheerleader of the Day: UCF

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:51:21 -0500

Cheerleader of the Day

Thanks to our friends over at Icon Sports Media, we now have access to thousands of great college basketball photos to use on the site. Each day, along with our Picture of the Day, we'll be featuring a Cheerleader of the Day. We'll be mixing up the schools & cheerleader so check back daily!

UCF

- Check out past Cheerleaders of the Day!

- Also check out the Picture of the Day!

Seven Day Stretch: A New Weekly Column

Rob Carpentier — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:15:06 -0500

The Seven Day Stretch, a new weekly column by Rob Carpentier.

Seven Day Savior (Team): Baylor

This one is easy: the Baylor Bears. It was only two years ago that the Bears and new coach Scott Drew had to play an abbreviated schedule that consisted of only Big 12 Conference games because of the massive violations that occurred under Drew’s predecessor, Dave Bliss. This doesn’t even begin to get into the issues that arose out of the murder of forward Patrick Dennehy in the summer of 2003. If there was ever a program in need of a program-changing victory, this was it. All the Bears did on Wednesday night was go to Texas A&M and defeat the Aggies in a five-overtime game, 116-110, that has to be, until now, the game of the year in college basketball. The Bears won despite having 5 players foul out and their bench only shot 21% from the floor. This is easily the biggest and most impressive win in what has already become a most impressive season for Baylor, who is 16-2 and only have lost to Washington State and Arkansas. Not bad for a team that was imploding in on itself only 30 months ago.

Seven Day Savior (Player): Jermaine Taylor

Junior Jermaine Taylor of Central Florida. He started the week by scoring 32 points in a Conference USA road victory over East Carolina and followed that up with a 24 point performance on Wednesday in a crushing victory over UTEP. That’s the same UTEP team that was supposed to be one of the only roadblocks to Memphis having an undefeated conference season. In the two games, Taylor was a combined 20-28 from the floor, including 5-8 from behind the arc. He was also 11-12 from the charity stripe. Taylor is the clear leader of the Golden Knights, who are 4-0 in C-USA. Central Florida is 11-7 on the season, but all 6 of those losses have come against major conference teams and three have been by 3 points or fewer. Memphis, you’ve been warned about Central Florida and their best player, Jermaine Taylor.

Game of the Week (The one you’ve already heard about): WSU at ASU

While Memphis hosting Gonzaga and Connecticut playing Indiana highlight the intersectional schedule and Georgetown going to Morgantown to face West Virginia is a critical Big East clash, the most important game of the day is going to happen out in Tempe, Arizona. Washington State visits upstart Arizona State in a game between two teams tied for first in the Pac-10. Washington State was supposed to be in this position, but ASU was picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference. The Sun Devils have gotten to this point on the strength of freshman James Harden, (if Kevin Love isn’t the Pac-10 Frosh of the year, then Harden should be), junior Jeff Pendergraph and the coaching of Herb Sendek, who has brought a disciplined, defensive intensity to Tempe that Washington State coach Tony Bennett would be proud of. The game is more critical to ASU as Wazzu has already played UCLA and the Sun Devils need to make the trip to Los Angeles next week. To complicate matters for Arizona State, it seems that Harden has a bit of an injury heading into the game.

Game of the Week (The one you DON’T know about): Cleveland State at UWM

The Horizon League has proven to be one of the best mid-major conferences in the country over the past several years. The conference can boast the success of Butler and Wisconsin-Milwaukee over the past few seasons. This season, Butler was expected to be the top team in the conference and one of the top teams in the nation. However, the Bulldogs sit 2, that’s right, 2 games out of first place. That’s because the surprise of the season in the Horizon League has been undefeated Cleveland State. The Vikings are coached by former Rutgers head man Gary Waters and they are playing the kind of defense that takes teams, even mid-majors, into the second week of the Big Dance. The Vikings have a two-headed attack in the form of juniors Cedric Jackson and J’Nathan Bullock. The one criticism of the Vikings up to this point is that they haven’t faced a real conference road test yet. That changes on Saturday as they travel to Milwaukee to take on a rejuvenated Panther squad that is being driven by a freshman point guard, Deonte Roberts. UWM’s record isn’t gaudy, but with a win over the Vikings they climb within a game and a half of the Vikings and, more importantly, bring Cleveland State back to the pack. This is especially significant as the Horizon’s conference tournament games are played at the home of the higher seed.

Seven Days Under the Radar: Providence

That’s right, the Providence Friars. When talking about the Big East, everyone seems to talk about the same teams; Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Louisville, blah, blah, blah. This Friar team is one that can surprise enough to win the league. They are coming off of a very good win at Connecticut last week and the next two games set up well for them to prove my point. They get an undermanned Syracuse and then Notre Dame on the road. Win one of those two and they will be players in the Big East title race. Win both and look out. What sets Providence apart is that they are relentless on the boards.

Seven Days on the Hot Seat: Mark Gottfried

The SEC is having a down year for a conference that has produced the past two NCAA champions. Traditional power Kentucky is having, what for it, is a horrible year, and the western division of the conference may only produce one team with a winning conference record. You could look at LSU and its streak of seven straight losses as a program whose coach is on the proverbial hot seat. But Coach John Brady is less than 2 seasons removed from a Final Four berth. But this week’s occupant of the Seven Days on the Hot Seat goes to fellow SEC West member Alabama and Coach Mark Gottfried. The Tide is on a four game losing streak and they host Tennessee next week in a game the Tide has to win. Gottfried had a chance to stay away from the Hot Seat last Saturday at home against Mississippi State, but Alabama fell short in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. To add to Gottfried’s misery, his best guard, Ronald Steele, is hurt again. Alabama didn’t hire Gottfried so they could miss the NCAA Tournament two seasons in a row.

Seven Days of Head Scratching: Oregon State

Oregon State fired Coach Jay John this week after a miserable 6-12 start to the season. There was conjecture that John would be let go after last season’s 10-21 record, including only 3 Pac-10 Conference wins. Anyone who knows basketball knew that OSU was returning a young team with mediocre talent. When Oregon State’s administration allowed John to return this season, the assumption was that they knew this, too, and would give John some leeway in rebuilding the roster. Instead, OSU gave John his walking papers six games into the conference season. The question is, why? The dismissal of Kansas transfer C.J. Giles only a day after John’s firing may have something to do with it, but it still leaves you wondering…

Five Minutes With a Star: UCF's Jermaine Taylor

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:17:42 -0500

Five Minutes With Jermaine Taylor.. Star Guard on Central Florida

In his junior season, wing-man Jermaine Taylor has emerged as Central Florida's leading scorer & best player. He earned C-USA Player of the Week honors by scoring a season-high 30 points in a close loss to Connecticut, and also put up 20 against Kansas State. The Knights are 8-7 on the season, but 1-0 in C-USA play where they hope to do some serious damage.

CHN) What is the best game that the team has played so far this season?

JT) I think it was the Kansas State game (73-71 loss in overtime). We didn't quit. It was a close, close game. It was a tough loss, but I think it made us better.

CHN) Do you think the team has played as well as it is capable of?

JT) I think there is still better basketball ahead. That game (Kansas State) we did not do everything right, but we didn't give up. We played hard.

CHN) What individual opponent impressed you?

JT) (Kansas State's Michael) Beasley. I knew he was good. I just thought he was a post player. He can shoot the three and can shoot the little mid-range... he impressed me a lot.

CHN) How do you grade your play this season?

JT) I really don't know. I am just doing what I think I need to do to try to get the wins.

CHN) What are you most looking forward to in the second half of the year?

JT) We want to do better in the conference. That is what I am really looking forward to. It is a like a new life now. We are done with the first half of the season, so now it is time for conference to start. We need to lock in and play even harder.

- We'll be rolling out a series of daily Q&A's with top college basketball stars over the next few weeks. Check back tomorrow to see whose next!

2007-08 UCF Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:10:46 -0400

UCF Knights

Overall Rank: #139

Conference Rank: #6 C-USA

2006-07: 22-9, 11-5, 2^nd

2006-07 postseason: none

With a massive upgrade to their athletic facilities, UCF is the up and comer in Conference USA. The recruits are pouring into Orlando and the future is extremely bright. However, this season may be a small step back on the hardwood. The loss of Josh Peppers and Lavell Payne is a concern and the rest of the conference should be much better than last year. That will boost the conference RPI, but it will also make it much more difficult for the Knights, who are no longer Golden, to finish with another 11-5 conference mark.

Who’s Out:

It is not just about replacing swingman Josh Peppers’ 14.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest, it is about replacing the heart and soul of UCF. Peppers could hit the long ball or get to the basket, get on the glass or hit the clutch free-throw. Versatility and consistency like that of Peppers can be taken for granted, but the Knights will find out that it is difficult to live without. Payne, a 6-8 power forward, averaged 10.8 points and a team high 5.5 rebounds during his senior campaign, yet UCF has some talented youngsters who hope to replace the production. Jacob Loucks and Adam Gill are also not returning to the squad after seeing limited action in 2006-2007.

Who’s In:

The brand new, not so cleverly named, 10,000 seat Convocation Center has helped UCF make the transition from the Atlantic Sun to C-USA and the recruiting is feeling the benefits. Wing Chris Baez may be the best of the class. The Kissimmee product is a talented shooter and will be able to get to the basket once he adds a little more bulk to his 6-5 frame. Small forward Cordell Pope can do a little bit of everything, but may find himself stuck behind a deep backcourt. Jean-Michel Yotio, the last of the incoming freshman, will likely spend the season adjusting to life in C-USA. Coach’s son Drew Speraw and freshman Taylor Young will also be looking for some quality minutes in the backcourt after redshirting during the 2006-2007 campaign.

Who to Watch:

The backcourt is full of talent, led by wing Jermaine Taylor. Taylor spent all of last season coming off the bench, but still averaged 12.7 points per game. UCF will need the junior in the starting lineup this year. Point guard Mike O’Donnell will give the big shots to Taylor, but the senior will be the new heart and soul of the team. Averaging 3.7 assists and just 1.7 turnovers, O’Donnell has already proven that he can be a leader on the floor, but with Peppers gone, O’Donnell will need to make this his team. The former NC State player is a great shooter and will look to score when his team needs him to do so. Dave Noel came on strong as a junior, averaging 9.1 points per game and starting all 31 contests. Noel will not shoot from beyond the arc too often, but he can get to the basket and is one of the best free-throw shooters in the conference. There is plenty of depth in the backcourt, most notably backup point guard Chip Cartwright and senior Mike Battle. Battle has plenty of potential, but struggled to regain his form last season following an injury that sidelined him during the entire 2005-2006 campaign.

Final Projection:

It is not the backcourt that has UCF fans concerned. Tony Davis did a good job as a freshman coming off the bench, but is he ready for a starting job? The power forward is a solid rebounder, but has yet to prove he can be a scoring threat at this level. Continuing with the scoring concerns, Kenrick Zondervan lacks in that department as well. The 6-9 junior did all the dirty work in his 30 starts last year, but somebody in the frontcourt will have to develop into a consistent scoring threat. Stanley Billings is probably not the answer on the offensive end either, but the 29 year old senior is a presence under the basket on the other end of the floor. Despite battling injuries much of last year, the oldest player at the Division I level led the team in blocked shots. If the frontcourt develops quickly, UCF will be among the large group battling for Memphis’ reflective glory. Yet, in a few years, the Knights could actually put up a battle against Memphis.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

Projected Starting Five:

Mike O’Donnell, Senior, Guard, 10.3 points per game

Dave Noel, Senior, Guard, 9.1 points per game

Jermaine Taylor, Junior, Guard, 12.7 points per game

Tony Davis, Sophomore, Forward, 2.9 points per game

Kenrick Zondervan, Junior, Forward, 3.9 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2007-08 Preview | Discuss the Preview