Is #UCFast coming to UCF Basketball?
Dayon Griffin, one of several transfers who sat out last season, says fans will see a different pace this upcoming season now that the Knights have a full roster of available players.
UCFSports.com recently caught up with Griffin for a summer update.
"Now that we've got a lot of depth, we're going to play a little faster and try to get after teams," Griffin said. "I think that will good for us. It allows everybody to play hard without having to worry about pacing yourself because you only have five guys... We're going to push the ball and play more of an up-and-down game."
Griffin, a St. Petersburg native who spent his first two seasons at Louisiana Tech, figures to play a key role on a team that's expected to compete at the top of the American Athletic Conference. On the court, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard will help offset the loss of sharpshooter Matt Williams. Griffin led Louisiana Tech with 56 three-pointers in 2015-16, shooting at a .378 clip. That's not far off from Williams' .384 three-point shooting percentage this past season, but it should be noted Williams had more than double the attempts.
In his year off from competitive action, Griffin feels he's matured a lot as a player.
"I think I've improved on my decision making," Griffin said. "My ball handling a little bit, but definitely my decision making. Coach Dawkins bashes it into our heads, 'Hard work wins over talent.' I've been working hard, grinding, keeping my head in the game. This year for the fans, I know they're looking for me to shoot threes. They want me to be like Matt. It's tough to catch up to that, but I'm working hard for it... Matt was one of the hardest workers I've ever seen in my life. He's the first guy in the gym and the last one to leave. He built a foundation for us, seeing how his hard work paid off."
Can Dayon step up and drain shots from 30 feet like Matt used to do?
"I can shoot deep," Griffins said. "I've got range for my shot. Matt was consistent with his. I'm trying to get mine like that."
This summer has been critical for last year's practice team - referred to as the Gray Squad - to mesh with the returning players. Point guard B.J. Taylor often said facing the Gray Squad, which included the likes of Griffin, Aubrey Dawkins, Ceasar DeJesus and others, proved to be more difficult than many of their regular season opponents.
"We definitely kept score with that," Griffin said. "For the gray team, practices were our games. We just really tried to get those guys ready. It became one of those things where it's like a gray vs. black team, but we were still brothers. We just looked at it as, 'We're going to come in and compete and be friends off the court.' That's how we kept that.
"For us (having played together), Ceasar, Aubrey, Terrell (Allen), Rokas (Ulvydas), I think it's going to help. Right now we're playing a lot of pickup to get the chemistry right. We're all one team now... Last year the gray and black squad kind of separated us off the court a little bit because the gray squad couldn't travel. This year we're more of a brotherhood. We're doing more off-the-court stuff, like going out to eat, hanging out as a team. That's what you need to do to build chemistry."
What can fans expect from the newly-eligible Gray Squad players? Griffin broke it down.
Aubrey Dawkins: "Vince Carter. He's jumping out of the gym. He's a good player. He runs the floor and makes the right plays. He can shoot it really well. He's a pro."
Ceasar DeJesus: "I wish he could have played last year because he would have helped us out. He's going to help us a lot. Very crafty ball handler. Probably one of the tougher finishers I've ever seen around the basket. He's going to be a big part of what we do this year."
Terrell Allen: "Terrell is like a passer, a facilitator. He gets the offense going. He knows where everybody is supposed to be. He's a real point guard, keeps the team together. No matter what, he makes sure we're in the right place, doing the right things. People don't realize he can score too."
Rokas Ulvydas: "Rokas is a skilled guy. To be honest, he's one of our most skilled bigs when it comes to being around the basket, finishing and touching. He's tough. Every day he has scratches. He guards Tacko every day in practice. He's got that mentality to bring it every day."
And what does Griffin expect from himself?
"I just want to be a leader this year," he said. "I want to show my leadership skills. I really want to help carry the team to the NCAA Tournament. That's the main goal we have here. It's a major goal for me, doing whatever I can to help the team make the tournament."
On the heels of a top-four finish in the American and a run all the way to the NIT semifinals, to say this is the most anticipated season in school history isn't just hyperbole. For the first time in the modern, post-Atlantic Sun era of UCF Basketball, the Knights are being viewed as a potential NCAA Tournament team.
"We talk about it a lot," Griffin said. "At the end of practice, Coach (Dawkins) is always saying, 'To get where we want to go, these are the kind of practices we're going to have to have. These are the things that top 25 teams are doing.' I feel like right now we're going hard every day, working hard, and later this year we're going to find out good results."
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