UCF Basketball has "new life."
After finishing the season with an 18-14 record and high NET ranking, the Knights were invited to participate in the NIT and will play Florida in Gainesville on Wednesday at 7 p.m. with coverage from ESPN2.
We caught up with head coach Johnny Dawkins and players C.J. Kelly and Taylor Hendricks following Tuesday's practice.
UCF's run in the American Athletic Conference tournament ended with a quarterfinals loss to Memphis on Friday night. At that point, the Knights' NIT likelihood wasn't clear.
"We were hopeful, but we weren't certain because you never know what the field is going to look like," Dawkins said. "We didn't find out until late Sunday night that we were in. It's exciting. Our guys are excited. They're looking forward to competing and playing together as a team."
This week is spring break, so some players began their journeys back home.
"It wasn't too hard of a process," Dawkins said. "Nobody was too far away. We got most everyone back by that Monday morning when we practiced. Maybe we were missing one player and then everybody got back later that day. We met yesterday evening too. It went well. Everybody practiced with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. We have a chance to compete for a championship again. We just left one tournament and we're headed to another."
Florida finished with a 16-16 overall record and 9-9 in SEC play. This is UF's first season under Todd Golden, who previously had a successful stint at San Francisco.
The Gators had been led by big man Colin Castleton who was averaging 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds, but his season was cut short in mid-February after suffering a broken hand.
Will Richard (10.6 ppg), Riley Kugel (9.8 ppg), Kyle Lofton (8.9 ppg) and Kowacie Reeves (8.7) lead the rest of the pack in scoring.
"A good basketball team," Dawkins said of UF. "Some talent. Some really good perimeter players that can score. They mix their defenses. They press some and fall back in man. They do a good job. It's going to be a big challenge and we're looking forward to it."
Kugel, a freshman from Orlando-Dr. Phillips, has shined in the latter part of the season. Since the Feb. 8 game against Alabama, Kugel is averaging 17.7 points per game. He scored a season-high 24 points on Feb. 22 in a 82-74 loss to Kentucky.
"He's playing very well and having a good freshman year," Dawkins said. "As of late he's playing really well. We have to make sure we're ready to defend."
While UCF has played regular contests against Florida State and Miami, games against UF have been less frequent. The two schools haven't met since November 2012 in Gainesville. UF has a 10-1 lead in the all-time series - UCF's lone win occurred in 2010 at the Amway Center.
"We've had discussions (about scheduling) in previous years," Dawkins said. "It just never could come about. We never could get the game. It's exciting we have an opportunity to play. It's good for our state and our community."
On Sunday, perhaps not recognizing the season would be extended, UCF backup point guard Jayhlon Young announced he would be entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. Dawkins said he remains with the team.
"He is in the portal," Dawkins said. "That's okay. It's one of those things. We're in a different age than when I played. The game has changed. It would be different if he wasn't a good teammate, a good guy. He's been a great teammate. The team all wanted him to continue to play. That was something I asked the team. They all gave their nod that they wanted him to be a part of the team and wanted him to continue to play with us. That tells you everything you need to know."
Dawkins won two NIT Championships while the head coach at Stanford and his first UCF squad in 2016-17 made it all the way to the NIT final four in Madison Square Garden.
"My team seems to be pretty amped up," Dawkins said. "They're excited to still be playing. I don't think they were ready for their season to be over. You can tell from the first time we met with them yesterday that these guys are excited. They're motivated. They want to play. They want to continue to play and be together as a team. They're a close group. I know that we're excited and we need to make the most of our opportunity."
C.J. Kelly thought he had played his last college basketball game when UCF bowed out in the AAC tournament.
"I really thought it was it," Kelly said. "I gave a nice speech to the team. They're clowning me now. They're like, 'You gave that speech for nothing. We're still playing.' Now that we're playing again, I'm thrilled. I get to keep playing with the guys and learning from Coach Dawkins."
This isn't Kelly's first time in the NIT. As a freshman at Norfolk State in 2018-19, his team defeated Alabama on the road in overtime before falling to Colorado in the second round.
"The NIT is fun," Kelly said. "I played in it my freshman year. It's a big thing. I told the guys not to take it for granted. Only 100 teams out of 300-something get to go. It's a real big deal."
Some teams view the NIT as a disappointment, but that's not the case with UCF.
"We're treating it like a big deal," Kelly said. "We don't see it as a disrespect to us. We're not going to carry it like a North Carolina. We get a chance to play basketball. We're not taking that for granted. There's no guarantees for tomorrow. We're going hard in practice. This is a family-oriented place. We're always playing for each other."
For decades, the NIT semifinals and championship were played in New York's famous Madison Square Garden. The tournament's latter rounds will now be played in Las Vegas at Orleans Arena. If UCF wins three games, they'll get there.
"We definitely want to go to Vegas," Kelly said. "We want to keep playing for each other and having fun. We feel like we didn't have a chance to show our full potential. Now that we have another chance to do that, we're all ready for it."
Freshman sensation Taylor Hendricks was disappointed following last Friday's loss to Memphis in the AAC quarterfinals, believing then they had played for the last time.
"Yeah, I thought it was the end of a season," Hendricks said. "I did think we could make the NIT, but at the time I wasn't thinking about that. We were watching the selection show (on Sunday night) and saw our name pop up with Florida. It gave us all new life.
"We're really excited. You can see it in all the coaches and the players. In practice everybody is more upbeat now."
UF has a standout freshman themselves in Orlando native Riley Kugel. Hendricks knows him.
"He's hot right now," Hendricks said. "I played him in high school a couple times. He's a really good player. I can't wait to see him... I'm looking forward to it. The first time I played him in high school I got one on him."
Hendricks said he did consider UF coming out of high school, though that was under their previous staff.
"They were one of the first schools to offer me with Coach Mike White," Hendricks said.
At one point UCF seemed on track to reach the NCAA Tournament, but a string of injuries and close losses ended those dreams. Hendricks said they're all excited for this new opportunity.
"We're definitely going to go out to try and win," Hendricks said. "It's another opportunity to win a championship. We're definitely excited about it."
After finishing the season with an 18-14 record and high NET ranking, the Knights were invited to participate in the NIT and will play Florida in Gainesville on Wednesday at 7 p.m. with coverage from ESPN2.
We caught up with head coach Johnny Dawkins and players C.J. Kelly and Taylor Hendricks following Tuesday's practice.
Johnny Dawkins
UCF's run in the American Athletic Conference tournament ended with a quarterfinals loss to Memphis on Friday night. At that point, the Knights' NIT likelihood wasn't clear.
"We were hopeful, but we weren't certain because you never know what the field is going to look like," Dawkins said. "We didn't find out until late Sunday night that we were in. It's exciting. Our guys are excited. They're looking forward to competing and playing together as a team."
This week is spring break, so some players began their journeys back home.
"It wasn't too hard of a process," Dawkins said. "Nobody was too far away. We got most everyone back by that Monday morning when we practiced. Maybe we were missing one player and then everybody got back later that day. We met yesterday evening too. It went well. Everybody practiced with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. We have a chance to compete for a championship again. We just left one tournament and we're headed to another."
Florida finished with a 16-16 overall record and 9-9 in SEC play. This is UF's first season under Todd Golden, who previously had a successful stint at San Francisco.
The Gators had been led by big man Colin Castleton who was averaging 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds, but his season was cut short in mid-February after suffering a broken hand.
Will Richard (10.6 ppg), Riley Kugel (9.8 ppg), Kyle Lofton (8.9 ppg) and Kowacie Reeves (8.7) lead the rest of the pack in scoring.
"A good basketball team," Dawkins said of UF. "Some talent. Some really good perimeter players that can score. They mix their defenses. They press some and fall back in man. They do a good job. It's going to be a big challenge and we're looking forward to it."
Kugel, a freshman from Orlando-Dr. Phillips, has shined in the latter part of the season. Since the Feb. 8 game against Alabama, Kugel is averaging 17.7 points per game. He scored a season-high 24 points on Feb. 22 in a 82-74 loss to Kentucky.
"He's playing very well and having a good freshman year," Dawkins said. "As of late he's playing really well. We have to make sure we're ready to defend."
While UCF has played regular contests against Florida State and Miami, games against UF have been less frequent. The two schools haven't met since November 2012 in Gainesville. UF has a 10-1 lead in the all-time series - UCF's lone win occurred in 2010 at the Amway Center.
"We've had discussions (about scheduling) in previous years," Dawkins said. "It just never could come about. We never could get the game. It's exciting we have an opportunity to play. It's good for our state and our community."
On Sunday, perhaps not recognizing the season would be extended, UCF backup point guard Jayhlon Young announced he would be entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. Dawkins said he remains with the team.
"He is in the portal," Dawkins said. "That's okay. It's one of those things. We're in a different age than when I played. The game has changed. It would be different if he wasn't a good teammate, a good guy. He's been a great teammate. The team all wanted him to continue to play. That was something I asked the team. They all gave their nod that they wanted him to be a part of the team and wanted him to continue to play with us. That tells you everything you need to know."
Dawkins won two NIT Championships while the head coach at Stanford and his first UCF squad in 2016-17 made it all the way to the NIT final four in Madison Square Garden.
"My team seems to be pretty amped up," Dawkins said. "They're excited to still be playing. I don't think they were ready for their season to be over. You can tell from the first time we met with them yesterday that these guys are excited. They're motivated. They want to play. They want to continue to play and be together as a team. They're a close group. I know that we're excited and we need to make the most of our opportunity."
C.J. Kelly
C.J. Kelly thought he had played his last college basketball game when UCF bowed out in the AAC tournament.
"I really thought it was it," Kelly said. "I gave a nice speech to the team. They're clowning me now. They're like, 'You gave that speech for nothing. We're still playing.' Now that we're playing again, I'm thrilled. I get to keep playing with the guys and learning from Coach Dawkins."
This isn't Kelly's first time in the NIT. As a freshman at Norfolk State in 2018-19, his team defeated Alabama on the road in overtime before falling to Colorado in the second round.
"The NIT is fun," Kelly said. "I played in it my freshman year. It's a big thing. I told the guys not to take it for granted. Only 100 teams out of 300-something get to go. It's a real big deal."
Some teams view the NIT as a disappointment, but that's not the case with UCF.
"We're treating it like a big deal," Kelly said. "We don't see it as a disrespect to us. We're not going to carry it like a North Carolina. We get a chance to play basketball. We're not taking that for granted. There's no guarantees for tomorrow. We're going hard in practice. This is a family-oriented place. We're always playing for each other."
For decades, the NIT semifinals and championship were played in New York's famous Madison Square Garden. The tournament's latter rounds will now be played in Las Vegas at Orleans Arena. If UCF wins three games, they'll get there.
"We definitely want to go to Vegas," Kelly said. "We want to keep playing for each other and having fun. We feel like we didn't have a chance to show our full potential. Now that we have another chance to do that, we're all ready for it."
Taylor Hendricks
Freshman sensation Taylor Hendricks was disappointed following last Friday's loss to Memphis in the AAC quarterfinals, believing then they had played for the last time.
"Yeah, I thought it was the end of a season," Hendricks said. "I did think we could make the NIT, but at the time I wasn't thinking about that. We were watching the selection show (on Sunday night) and saw our name pop up with Florida. It gave us all new life.
"We're really excited. You can see it in all the coaches and the players. In practice everybody is more upbeat now."
UF has a standout freshman themselves in Orlando native Riley Kugel. Hendricks knows him.
"He's hot right now," Hendricks said. "I played him in high school a couple times. He's a really good player. I can't wait to see him... I'm looking forward to it. The first time I played him in high school I got one on him."
Hendricks said he did consider UF coming out of high school, though that was under their previous staff.
"They were one of the first schools to offer me with Coach Mike White," Hendricks said.
At one point UCF seemed on track to reach the NCAA Tournament, but a string of injuries and close losses ended those dreams. Hendricks said they're all excited for this new opportunity.
"We're definitely going to go out to try and win," Hendricks said. "It's another opportunity to win a championship. We're definitely excited about it."
