In advance of Sunday's home finale against No. 15 Cincinnati, UCF held interviews on Friday with head coach Johnny Dawkins and seniors Nick Banyard and Matt Williams.
During the 15-minute clip, Dawkins spoke about the contributions of the three seniors, Williams, Banyard and Tanksley Efianayi.
As for Sunday's game, the Bearcats got the first one up in Cincinnati, winning 60-50. Dawkins spoke of the need to "do a better job defensively in transition" and a "better job of keeping them off the boards."
UCF edged Cincinnati that game in rebounding 36-34, but the Bearcats did gain their share of offensive boards, grabbing 13 to go along with 21 defensive boards.
Asked about Nick Banyard's contributions as a graduate transfer, Dawkins said he "brought maturity" to the team on top of his recent court contributions.
As for Tank, in addition to speaking about how he's been a joy to coach, Dawkins said this about his status for Sunday: "With the way he's moving around today, I'm encouraged that he can come out and contribute."
Tank has been bothered by tendinitis issues in both his knees, which has forced him to completely miss two of the last four games. The most recent game he played, at East Carolina on Feb. 18, he only played a total of four minutes.
Dawkins is hoping to see a "great crowd" on Sunday.
"Hopefully we've saved our best crowd for last," Dawkins said. "This is our last home game. We're honoring our seniors. These guys have given us everything they have and given us some good memories along the way this year, so hopefully everyone comes out and pays their respects to these young people for hte work they've put in and what they've done for our program."
This is something Dawkins touched on a little bit during the Thursday radio show, just talking about instilling confidence in Matt Williams.
"Four words, coming from a coach or mentor, are very important for young people to hear," Dawkins said. "I believe in you. It can't be phony. It has to be real. As we've developed our relationship, he sees that I really believe in what he's doing and who he is as a player."
Dawkins added that Coach K did the same during his time at Duke as a player, which helped to open his game even further.
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Nick Banyard spoke about his success and the team's success as of late, saying they're doing a better job of "playing together" and then added that the team was "less sensitive too."
Asked what that means, Banyard said, "We can get on each other about anything and don't take it personally."
This is Banyard's third college team having previously played at New Mexico and Illinois State. How does he view Dawkins?
"He's definitely a players' coach," Banyard said. "He listens to recommendations we have. He's a no-excuse type of guy too. We watch a lot of film. He shows us the mistakes on film. He's experienced. He's been there and done that. Been in every position, every role. We've got to trust what he's saying."
One thing that stuck out to me about the first Cincinnati game is how poorly UCF shot from three-point range, just 3-15. A few more go down and it could have been a much different game. Players though, including Banyard, always harp on what they need to do defensively because I suppose at the end of the day that's easier to control.
"We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds and transition points (in the first game against Cincinnati)," Banyard said. "We didn't have the best games against ECU or Temple, but got it done on the defensive end. That's the biggest deal. Rebounding, defending and the rest will take care of itself."
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Matt Williams has started to think a little about Sunday, being that it's his final home game as a UCF Knight. He's obviously happy with how his senior season has unfolded, especially knowing how close he was to transferring out.
"It makes me feel proud," Williams said. "I made a great decision by staying. My teammates embraced me. The best decision was staying here and not leaving."
The goal remains to get to the NCAA Tournament and postseason play.
Matt was asked about Banyard's comment about the team being "less sensitive" now.
"At the beginning of the year, everybody was trying to get used to everyone," Williams said. "At first it was rough. Guys didn't adjust well to being talked to in a certain way. Nick is an outspoken dude. He speaks his mind freely. He's probably the one that stirred it up. Because of Nick we're better."
Matt added that he tries to speak up when necessary, but he's more of a lead-by-example player.
His favorite memory of playing at home? Easy. The USF game earlier this season when he broke the UCF record for three-pointers in a game with 11.
