If you've been paying any sort of attention, you know the UCF men's basketball roster is in a major state of flux. In his first month on the job, Johnny Dawkins had two departures to transfer while the previously-signed recruiting class whittled from three to just one.
Suffice it to say UCF has several openings on the 2016-17 roster. The current group on campus includes eight players: Seven on scholarship and one walk-on (Djordjije Mumin).
Schools can give out a maximum of 13 scholarships, though you probably have to go back five or more years since UCF hit that number thanks to the sanction-related scholarship reductions. UCF had a full 13 available this past year, but only played with 12 after Brandon Goodwin transferred out during the summer.
Before we look at who's still in Orlando, here's who is not:
-UCF graduated three seniors from the 2015-16 team: Guard Daiquan Walker, forward Shaheed Davis and forward Staphon Blair.
-Two scholarship players recently announced they were transferring out of the program. Guard Matt Williams has committed to Wake Forest where he will be a fifth-year graduate transfer next season, immediately eligible to play. And last week guard Adonys Henriquez announced his intentions to seek another school, though it's unclear what his options may be. Assuming he goes Division I, Henriquez would have to sit out this upcoming season and would then have two years of eligibility remaining. Walk-on Brendan Boyle has also left the program.
Here's the current UCF roster of returning players (scholarship players only, and numbered only for counting purposes).
1. B.J. Taylor - Guard, RS Sophomore
2. A.J. Davis - Guard/Forward, RS Junior
3. Tanksley Efianayi - Guard/Forward, Senior
4. Chad Brown - Forward, Sophomore
5. Chance McSpadden - Guard, Sophomore
6. Tacko Fall - Center, Sophomore
7. Justin McBride - Center, Senior
UCF has two players committed to join the program later this summer. Jeremy Sheppard, a high school signee from Virginia, and Dawkins' son, Aubrey Dawkins, transferring from Michigan. Dawkins must sit out this season, however.
8. Jeremy Sheppard - Guard, Freshman
9. Aubrey Dawkins - Guard/Forward, Junior (will redshirt)
That leaves four open scholarships. Dawkins has said they'd be on the lookout for another potential high school signee, but so far we've only picked up on reports of potential transfers. Here's a look at those players:
Fifth-year graduate transfers who would be immediately eligible:
Darion Clark - 6-7 Forward, USC
Clark visited UCF a couple weeks ago. According to Jon Rothstein, he'll soon decide between the Knights, Mississippi State and Grand Canyon. It's worth nothing that Dawkins' first staff hire - Kevin Norris - was Clark's assistant coach at USC. Originally from the Atlanta area, Clark played at Charlotte as a freshman before transferring to USC. This past season Clark was slowed by a shoulder that dislocated twice which limited him in both games played and minutes. Averaging 11.1 minutes in 26 games (no starts), Clark scored 2.6 points and a healthy 4.6 rebounds given the limited action. He started 16 of 32 games during his redshirt sophomore year of 2014-15, averaging 5.7 points and rebounds (same number).
Corban Collins - 6-3 Guard, Morehead State
Collins is visiting UCF, Alabama and Mississippi State this week. The High Point, N.C., native was recruited by UCF and Donnie Jones coming out of high school, but opted to sign with LSU where he played for one season before transferring to Morehead State. He's coming off a solid season having earned second team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors, ranking secong in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.425) and second in assist to turnover ratio (2.5). He was the leading scorer (11.0) on a team that finished 23-14 overall and advanced to the championship round of the CBI.
Merrill Holden - 6-8 Forward, Louisiana Tech
The Chicago native played one year of junior college before moving on to Louisiana Tech. He was mostly a reserve player in his sophomore season of 2014-15, but saw his role elevated this past season with 16 starts in 23 games. He likely would have made a bigger impact had he not fractured his thumb during the preseason which led to missing the first 10 games. Holden finished with 8.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and a team-best 1.1 blocks. According to Jon Rothstein, Holden's list includes UCF, Iowa State, Illinois, Cincinnati, Jacksonville State and West Virginia.
Transfers not immediately eligible:
Dayon Griffin, 6-5 Guard, Louisiana Tech
A teammate of Holden, Griffin was recruited to the Ruston, La., school by former coach Michael White who is now the head coach at University of Florida. White is the brother of UCF athletic director Danny White. Starting 29 games for the Bulldogs in 2015-16, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard averaged 11.3 points, led the team with 56 three-pointers and averaged 1.36 steals per game, which ranked eighth overall in Conference USA. The St. Petersburg native is scheduled to visit UCF this upcoming weekend and is also considering Alabama, Virginia Tech, Colorado, Iona and James Madison. He would have two years of eligibility after sitting out.
Ricky Doyle - 6-9 Forward, Michigan
According to MLive.com, Doyle is visiting USC early this week and also is "strongly considering" Creighton, UCF, Florida and Florida Gulf Coast. He is a Cape Coral, Fla., native who played at Bishop Verot High School. Doyle saw his playing time decrease somewhat from his freshman to sophomore season - 19 starts to 11 and 18.2 minutes to 12.2. That's reflected in his scoring and rebounding output with 6.1 points averaged as a freshman to 3.8 points as a sophomore and 3.16 rebounds to 1.97 as a sophomore. There's obviously the existing tie with teammate Aubrey Dawkins. He would have two years of eligibility after sitting out.
Terrell Allen - 6-2 Point Guard, Drexel
Allen was a major contributor as a freshman this past season at Drexel, averaging 9.8 points and leading the team with 3.5 assists in 32.9 minutes played. The Washington D.C.-area product was said to be close with head coach Bruiser Flint, who was fired following the season. According to Jeff Goodman, Allen will visit UCF this weekend and Virginia Tech the next. Arkansas, UNLV, SMU, Dayton and St. Peter's have also been linked. He would have three years of eligibility after sitting out.
Matt Milon - 6-4 Guard, Boston College
There are several notable ties between Milon and UCF. He's an Oviedo native, growing up a stone's throw off the campus and was a top target of Donnie Jones coming out of high school. Both of his parents work at UCF. He also strongly considered Stanford when Johnny Dawkins was coach. Milon played in 30 of BC's 31 games, making three starts while averaging 5.4 points. He posted double-digit scoring totals four times, including a 25-point performance against Syracuse in which he made five of seven three-point attempts. There's hasn't been much circulating about Milon's transfer options. He would have three years of eligibility after sitting out.
Suffice it to say UCF has several openings on the 2016-17 roster. The current group on campus includes eight players: Seven on scholarship and one walk-on (Djordjije Mumin).
Schools can give out a maximum of 13 scholarships, though you probably have to go back five or more years since UCF hit that number thanks to the sanction-related scholarship reductions. UCF had a full 13 available this past year, but only played with 12 after Brandon Goodwin transferred out during the summer.
Before we look at who's still in Orlando, here's who is not:
-UCF graduated three seniors from the 2015-16 team: Guard Daiquan Walker, forward Shaheed Davis and forward Staphon Blair.
-Two scholarship players recently announced they were transferring out of the program. Guard Matt Williams has committed to Wake Forest where he will be a fifth-year graduate transfer next season, immediately eligible to play. And last week guard Adonys Henriquez announced his intentions to seek another school, though it's unclear what his options may be. Assuming he goes Division I, Henriquez would have to sit out this upcoming season and would then have two years of eligibility remaining. Walk-on Brendan Boyle has also left the program.
Here's the current UCF roster of returning players (scholarship players only, and numbered only for counting purposes).
1. B.J. Taylor - Guard, RS Sophomore
2. A.J. Davis - Guard/Forward, RS Junior
3. Tanksley Efianayi - Guard/Forward, Senior
4. Chad Brown - Forward, Sophomore
5. Chance McSpadden - Guard, Sophomore
6. Tacko Fall - Center, Sophomore
7. Justin McBride - Center, Senior
UCF has two players committed to join the program later this summer. Jeremy Sheppard, a high school signee from Virginia, and Dawkins' son, Aubrey Dawkins, transferring from Michigan. Dawkins must sit out this season, however.
8. Jeremy Sheppard - Guard, Freshman
9. Aubrey Dawkins - Guard/Forward, Junior (will redshirt)
That leaves four open scholarships. Dawkins has said they'd be on the lookout for another potential high school signee, but so far we've only picked up on reports of potential transfers. Here's a look at those players:
Fifth-year graduate transfers who would be immediately eligible:
Darion Clark - 6-7 Forward, USC
Clark visited UCF a couple weeks ago. According to Jon Rothstein, he'll soon decide between the Knights, Mississippi State and Grand Canyon. It's worth nothing that Dawkins' first staff hire - Kevin Norris - was Clark's assistant coach at USC. Originally from the Atlanta area, Clark played at Charlotte as a freshman before transferring to USC. This past season Clark was slowed by a shoulder that dislocated twice which limited him in both games played and minutes. Averaging 11.1 minutes in 26 games (no starts), Clark scored 2.6 points and a healthy 4.6 rebounds given the limited action. He started 16 of 32 games during his redshirt sophomore year of 2014-15, averaging 5.7 points and rebounds (same number).
Corban Collins - 6-3 Guard, Morehead State
Collins is visiting UCF, Alabama and Mississippi State this week. The High Point, N.C., native was recruited by UCF and Donnie Jones coming out of high school, but opted to sign with LSU where he played for one season before transferring to Morehead State. He's coming off a solid season having earned second team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors, ranking secong in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.425) and second in assist to turnover ratio (2.5). He was the leading scorer (11.0) on a team that finished 23-14 overall and advanced to the championship round of the CBI.
Merrill Holden - 6-8 Forward, Louisiana Tech
The Chicago native played one year of junior college before moving on to Louisiana Tech. He was mostly a reserve player in his sophomore season of 2014-15, but saw his role elevated this past season with 16 starts in 23 games. He likely would have made a bigger impact had he not fractured his thumb during the preseason which led to missing the first 10 games. Holden finished with 8.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and a team-best 1.1 blocks. According to Jon Rothstein, Holden's list includes UCF, Iowa State, Illinois, Cincinnati, Jacksonville State and West Virginia.
Transfers not immediately eligible:
Dayon Griffin, 6-5 Guard, Louisiana Tech
A teammate of Holden, Griffin was recruited to the Ruston, La., school by former coach Michael White who is now the head coach at University of Florida. White is the brother of UCF athletic director Danny White. Starting 29 games for the Bulldogs in 2015-16, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard averaged 11.3 points, led the team with 56 three-pointers and averaged 1.36 steals per game, which ranked eighth overall in Conference USA. The St. Petersburg native is scheduled to visit UCF this upcoming weekend and is also considering Alabama, Virginia Tech, Colorado, Iona and James Madison. He would have two years of eligibility after sitting out.
Ricky Doyle - 6-9 Forward, Michigan
According to MLive.com, Doyle is visiting USC early this week and also is "strongly considering" Creighton, UCF, Florida and Florida Gulf Coast. He is a Cape Coral, Fla., native who played at Bishop Verot High School. Doyle saw his playing time decrease somewhat from his freshman to sophomore season - 19 starts to 11 and 18.2 minutes to 12.2. That's reflected in his scoring and rebounding output with 6.1 points averaged as a freshman to 3.8 points as a sophomore and 3.16 rebounds to 1.97 as a sophomore. There's obviously the existing tie with teammate Aubrey Dawkins. He would have two years of eligibility after sitting out.
Terrell Allen - 6-2 Point Guard, Drexel
Allen was a major contributor as a freshman this past season at Drexel, averaging 9.8 points and leading the team with 3.5 assists in 32.9 minutes played. The Washington D.C.-area product was said to be close with head coach Bruiser Flint, who was fired following the season. According to Jeff Goodman, Allen will visit UCF this weekend and Virginia Tech the next. Arkansas, UNLV, SMU, Dayton and St. Peter's have also been linked. He would have three years of eligibility after sitting out.
Matt Milon - 6-4 Guard, Boston College
There are several notable ties between Milon and UCF. He's an Oviedo native, growing up a stone's throw off the campus and was a top target of Donnie Jones coming out of high school. Both of his parents work at UCF. He also strongly considered Stanford when Johnny Dawkins was coach. Milon played in 30 of BC's 31 games, making three starts while averaging 5.4 points. He posted double-digit scoring totals four times, including a 25-point performance against Syracuse in which he made five of seven three-point attempts. There's hasn't been much circulating about Milon's transfer options. He would have three years of eligibility after sitting out.
