UCF's basketball future continues to take shape.
Dayon Griffin, who played the past two seasons at Louisiana Tech, announced on Tuesday that he will be transferring into the program. The 6-foot-5 guard and St. Petersburg native will have two remaining years of eligibility after sitting out the 2016-17 season.
"I feel like Coach (Johnny) Dawkins and the staff he hired will be a great fit for me," Griffin told UCFSports.com. "Coach Dawkins has been to places where I want to go in my career. He's a great coach. He did a great job at Stanford and coached a lot of good guys. He's a winner. He's been to the tournament. He knows what it takes to win. UCF is on the rise. Plus, it's great to be close to home and near my family."
Griffin's family had only been able to attend two to three games each season at Louisiana Tech. Now the home games are only a couple hours away.
"They're very excited about that," Griffin said. "My grandma is real excited. She's been one of my biggest supporters. It feels good just being close to her. It was very tough for them to make games at Louisiana Tech. Now they can drive over and back in the same day."
Griffin was recruited to Louisiana Tech by former coach Michael White who is now the head coach at Florida. White of course is the brother of UCF athletic director Danny White.
"Louisiana Tech was a great fit for me, but after the coaching switch a lot of things changed," Griffin said.
After he announced his intent to transfer, Griffin reconnected with UCF assistant coach Kevin Norris who had recruited him a few years ago while an assistant at Florida Gulf Coast.
"I was already familiar with him," Griffin said. "He came to see me play in high school and in AAU with the Showtime Ballers. I played with Dwayne Bacon and Corey Sanders."
As for the current team, Griffin already knew Chance McSpadden, Chad Brown and Tacko Fall, playing against all three in AAU.
A visit happened weekend before last.
"I really like the campus," Griffin said. "They have great academic support. They really care for the student-athletes and try to put them in the best situation on the path to graduate. They have a great APR and academic program for athletes. At the end of the day, basketball is not everything. You've got to get a good education. I really wanted to be a part of that.
"Of course on the basketball side of it, I really like the fact UCF is in a bigger conference, the American. They play against tough competition like UConn, Temple, Houston, Cincinnati, Memphis. It's a big-time conference. I want to be a part of it."
Dawkins told Griffin he believes he can evolve into more of a combo guard able to handle the point as well.
"(Dawkins) wants the ball in my hands," Griffin said. "He wants me to come in and score. He watched a lot of my film from high school and college. He says I can really play and I bring a lot to the table. He said my best strength is clearly my shooting. He feels like my shot is great, my mechanics are good. I led the team in three-point shooting. (Dawkins) thinks I'm pretty good ball handling wise, dribbling, making plays. I never got a chance at Louisiana Tech to really showcase that. He wants to bring all that out."
Griffin averaged 11.3 points in 29 starts last season with a team-leading 56 three-pointers. One of his season highlights came in an overtime win against Charlotte in which he scored 28 points and made 7-of-8 three-point attempts. The 87.5 three-point percentage tied a Conference USA single-game record.
"I think this year off is going to be good for me so I can get stronger and get better, work on the things I need to work on," Griffin said. "It's going to be a plus. Also I get to learn Coach Dawkins' system so I'll be ready to go for the next year."
Griffin won't be alone. He will be joined by at least two other transfers who also have to sit out: Point guard Terrell Allen (Drexel) and wing Aubrey Dawkins (Michigan).
"My goal is for UCF to win the conference," Griffin said. "Of course long term I'd like to play professional basketball. I feel like Coach Dawkins is the perfect coach for me. He's been there and I can really relate to him. I know the program is going to be on the rise. He wants UCF competing in the NCAA Tournament. That's his main goal. I feel like it's doable. We're getting the right pieces on this team. It just takes the right coach and Coach Dawkins is the right guy for the job."
