March 12, 2008
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (www.ucfathletics.com) - For members of the UCF basketball team, Wednesday started early. In preparation for their quarterfinal contest at the Conference USA Championship tomorrow, the Knights practiced for 55 minutes at the FedEx Forum, starting at 8 a.m.
UCF is seeded fourth at the event and will face either No. 5 Southern Miss or No. 12 Rice on Thursday evening at 9:30 p.m. EST.
The Knights' practice on Wednesday was open to the media. At the end of the session, UCF head coach Kirk Speraw spent time speaking with Matt Stewart, who will be handling the play-by-play duties for the quarterfinal game on CSS.
Senior guard Mike Battle (Waldorf, Md./Southern Maryland Christian) and junior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla./Tavares) spoke to reporters after practice. On Monday, Taylor earned a spot on the All-C-USA Second Team.
At the conclusion of the session, senior guard Mike O'Donnell (Largo, Fla./Largo) chatted with Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel. O'Donnell, the team's captain, will not play at the C-USA Championship due to an injury.
Following practice, Taylor and sophomore forward Andre Thornton (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) traveled to nearby Georgia Avenue Elementary School to speak to a group of children about the importance of staying in school. Thornton also participated in a community-service event at last year's championship.
All of UCF's contests at the championship will be aired live on the UCF ISP Sports Network and 740 AM in Orlando with Marc Daniels on the call. The broadcasts will also be available on www.ucfathletics.com.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel, log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out www.ucfphotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Notes: On Wednesday evening, members of the team are scheduled to attend the Rice-Southern Miss game... Earlier in the day, Speraw and assistant coach Dwight Evans watched the No. 6 UTEP record a 71-49 victory over No. 11 SMU.