UCF’s five-point loss to Memphis within the AAC match quarterfinals match the general theme of the season.
The Knights, who misplaced 14 video games, fell for the twelfth time by single digits on Friday night time at Dickies Enviornment.
Coach Johnny Dawkins described the shut losses as a tribute to his crew’s character and management.
“I’ve been concerned with a variety of basketball all [of] my life and there usually are not too many seasons I’ve had — even with actually good [teams] which have gone deep within the postseason — that they didn’t have a sport or two the place they didn’t have it,” he mentioned after the sport in Fort Price, Texas.
“This crew, each single night time, has given us an opportunity to win and achieve success in video games.”
He credited CJ Kelly and Michael Durr, who accomplished their faculty careers with UCF’s season seemingly completed, together with different upperclassmen for his or her poise.
“These guys set the tone for a way we’re going to be they usually did an awesome job of building that with this crew,” Dawkins mentioned.
Whereas UCF discovered itself persistently in aggressive matchups, it struggled to search out methods to win. Had the crew received simply half of their single-digit losses, the Knights can be 24-8 general, presumably heading to the NCAA match as an at-large bid.
As a substitute, the offseason begins for a UCF program that’s shifting to one of many prime basketball conferences within the nation — the Massive 12 — and sure doing so with out their prime participant, Taylor Hendricks.
The 6-foot-9 freshman ahead is effectively on his option to turning into UCF’s first “one-and-done” NBA draft prospect.
ESPN draft insider Jonathan Givony projected Hendricks to go No. 14 general to the Atlanta Hawks in his newest mock draft posted Thursday whereas itemizing him as one among 12 prospects “seemingly enjoying their final faculty video games.”
Whereas a choice to declare for the June 22 draft nonetheless awaits Hendricks, Dawkins mentioned what it was like teaching him.
The deadline for early entries to declare is April 23. The NBA Mix is scheduled for the subsequent month in Chicago along side the Might 16 draft lottery to find out the order of the highest 14 picks. Early entries have till June 12 to withdraw.
“He was a pleasure to educate,” Dawkins mentioned of Hendricks. “It’s not been one unhealthy day teaching Taylor and that’s onerous once we’re intense in practices and video games. It’s not one time the place he dropped his shoulders if you needed to sort of criticize one thing that he was doing.
“He’s all the time first to say, ‘What can I do to assist my teammates?’ and that’s uncommon for a freshman who’s having the kind of 12 months he’s had,” he added. “You'll suppose he’d be interested by extra of himself however he’s all the time interested by his teammates and that’s why he’s going to be an awesome participant and win a variety of video games as a result of these forms of youngsters often do.”
E-mail Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or observe him on Twitter at @therealBeede.
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