I knew drawing South Florida in the NIT would be dangerous. They had a really good season with a style that has given UCF fits all season. Throw in the sluggish offense to start the game, bogus late fouls on Darius Johnson and CJ Walker not available, it was not going to end well.
A lot of the basketball/Dawkins stuff has been debated ad nauseum. I won't rehash a lot of that. But here's a few other things running in my mind today:
The 2023-24 basketball season was probably the most fun I've had since I started following UCF Basketball. I know some get riled up about outcomes, but just looking back at the entirety of everything it still was a blast and shows how much promise this program has.
Obviously, this is totally the Big 12 effect but also a credit to Johnny Dawkins and the team outperforming expectations and being in virtually every one of these games.
I always felt like UCF could beat anybody on the schedule (they could also lose to anybody on the schedule).
The atmospheres at the UCF Arena were fantastic all season long. Even last night in the NIT. A Tuesday night game at 9 p.m. during spring break wasn't going to equal a Big 12 environment, but even so it was still pretty good.
A lot of that had to with usf fans - the new coach seems to have reinvigorated that fanbase. A decent amount of fans made the trip, something I'd never seen over the past 10 years. You'd might see a couple usf dozen fans at most.
Looking back at some of the better seasons in UCF basketball history, it took a lot for the fanbase to become engaged. Even in the 2019 NCAA Tournament year, most AAC home games drew crowds in the 4-5K range. Nobody was really paying attention. It took until the final home game vs. Cincinnati, which directly followed a big road win at Houston, that UCF drew a near-capacity crowd (9K range).
UCF drew more fans during the AJ Rompza/Marcus Jordan era than they did for majority of the 2018-19 season.
It was remarkable to hear Big 12 coaches compliment UCF's home crowd. Obviously the Big 12 is elevating the entire program, but MBB probably is the sport that will see the biggest benefit.
==
Was the Jaylin Sellers "I'm coming back" social media announcement related to the circulating questions about Johnny Dawkins?
Sellers has been vocal on Twitter to extend Johnny Dawkins. He was emphatic in his postgame press conference last night what Dawkins means to him - he doesn't want to play for any other coach.
Darren Stoltzfus (WESH) asked a job-related question to Dawkins whether he's "done enough" to come back next season. Dawkins was beginning to speak, then Sellers interrupted to say, "He did!"
I have figured he would received a short extension, but we really don't know what conversations are being had. The only thing we do know is that Dawkins has one more year remaining on his contract.
It's possible TMo lets Dawkins ride it out into the final year of his contract. I feel like that's relatively uncommon at major schools, but you do see it at smaller schools. Today, Florida A&M announced their coach wouldn't return (Robert McCullum) as he just finished up the final year of his contract.
For weeks, TMo has avoided press interviews where he could be asked about Dawkins' status and the prospect of an extension. So many things these days are about optics - would he really let Dawkins go into the final year without an extension? Nothing screams "hot seat" more than that.
While basketball rosters are essentially year-to-year these days (which makes longer term contracts/extensions unnecessary), that wouldn't be the greatest circulating narrative while you try to recruit this spring/summer via HS and portal.
Anyway, Dawkins' best selling points for an extension would be the return of Jaylin Sellers/Darius Johnson, the recruiting class and potential portal pickups.
It makes a lot of sense to promote the fact one of your best players is committed to coming back.
==
Lastly, how do you view UCF's inaugural Big 12 basketball season?
For a team projected to finish in last place, with some believing UCF would be lucky to win a game, they actually won 7.
UCF made the postseason. NIT was my preseason goal for the team. I don't know if that qualifies as a "success" but relative to expectations, you could argue that it is.
And if UCF had a bit more offensive firepower, you can clearly see how they may have won a few more games. If so, they would have been a legitimate NCAA Tournament contender.
Things are usually never as bad as they seem.
I know the usf loss feels terrible, but this team/program is not as bad as some posts would lead you to believe.
That being said, there are valid points whether Dawkins is the coach that can elevate UCF to the next level. But given the massive step up in competition, I can't help seeing this past season as anything but a positive step.
Assuming Dawkins returns, next season is a make or break year. I do believe it's NCAA Tournament or bust.
A lot of the basketball/Dawkins stuff has been debated ad nauseum. I won't rehash a lot of that. But here's a few other things running in my mind today:
The 2023-24 basketball season was probably the most fun I've had since I started following UCF Basketball. I know some get riled up about outcomes, but just looking back at the entirety of everything it still was a blast and shows how much promise this program has.
Obviously, this is totally the Big 12 effect but also a credit to Johnny Dawkins and the team outperforming expectations and being in virtually every one of these games.
I always felt like UCF could beat anybody on the schedule (they could also lose to anybody on the schedule).
The atmospheres at the UCF Arena were fantastic all season long. Even last night in the NIT. A Tuesday night game at 9 p.m. during spring break wasn't going to equal a Big 12 environment, but even so it was still pretty good.
A lot of that had to with usf fans - the new coach seems to have reinvigorated that fanbase. A decent amount of fans made the trip, something I'd never seen over the past 10 years. You'd might see a couple usf dozen fans at most.
Looking back at some of the better seasons in UCF basketball history, it took a lot for the fanbase to become engaged. Even in the 2019 NCAA Tournament year, most AAC home games drew crowds in the 4-5K range. Nobody was really paying attention. It took until the final home game vs. Cincinnati, which directly followed a big road win at Houston, that UCF drew a near-capacity crowd (9K range).
UCF drew more fans during the AJ Rompza/Marcus Jordan era than they did for majority of the 2018-19 season.
It was remarkable to hear Big 12 coaches compliment UCF's home crowd. Obviously the Big 12 is elevating the entire program, but MBB probably is the sport that will see the biggest benefit.
==
Was the Jaylin Sellers "I'm coming back" social media announcement related to the circulating questions about Johnny Dawkins?
Sellers has been vocal on Twitter to extend Johnny Dawkins. He was emphatic in his postgame press conference last night what Dawkins means to him - he doesn't want to play for any other coach.
Darren Stoltzfus (WESH) asked a job-related question to Dawkins whether he's "done enough" to come back next season. Dawkins was beginning to speak, then Sellers interrupted to say, "He did!"
I have figured he would received a short extension, but we really don't know what conversations are being had. The only thing we do know is that Dawkins has one more year remaining on his contract.
It's possible TMo lets Dawkins ride it out into the final year of his contract. I feel like that's relatively uncommon at major schools, but you do see it at smaller schools. Today, Florida A&M announced their coach wouldn't return (Robert McCullum) as he just finished up the final year of his contract.
For weeks, TMo has avoided press interviews where he could be asked about Dawkins' status and the prospect of an extension. So many things these days are about optics - would he really let Dawkins go into the final year without an extension? Nothing screams "hot seat" more than that.
While basketball rosters are essentially year-to-year these days (which makes longer term contracts/extensions unnecessary), that wouldn't be the greatest circulating narrative while you try to recruit this spring/summer via HS and portal.
Anyway, Dawkins' best selling points for an extension would be the return of Jaylin Sellers/Darius Johnson, the recruiting class and potential portal pickups.
It makes a lot of sense to promote the fact one of your best players is committed to coming back.
==
Lastly, how do you view UCF's inaugural Big 12 basketball season?
For a team projected to finish in last place, with some believing UCF would be lucky to win a game, they actually won 7.
UCF made the postseason. NIT was my preseason goal for the team. I don't know if that qualifies as a "success" but relative to expectations, you could argue that it is.
And if UCF had a bit more offensive firepower, you can clearly see how they may have won a few more games. If so, they would have been a legitimate NCAA Tournament contender.
Things are usually never as bad as they seem.
I know the usf loss feels terrible, but this team/program is not as bad as some posts would lead you to believe.
That being said, there are valid points whether Dawkins is the coach that can elevate UCF to the next level. But given the massive step up in competition, I can't help seeing this past season as anything but a positive step.
Assuming Dawkins returns, next season is a make or break year. I do believe it's NCAA Tournament or bust.
