Oct. 1, 2009
By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Stanley Billings' path to Division I basketball at UCF certainly was unique. After eight years in the Marines, the Orlando native, who did not play organized basketball at Oak Ridge High School, had a two-year stint at Independence Community College before joining the Knights.
Billings, who graduated from UCF in 2008, is returning to one of his previous stops. He has accepted an assistant coaching position at Independence. At the school in Kansas, the 6-foot-11 Billings will work under head coach Patrick Nee. During Billings' time at Independence (2004-06), Nee was an assistant coach.
"I'm really excited about getting my foot in the door to coach," Billings said. "Not too many people get a chance to coach at the college level right away without any coaching experience. I guess you can say I'm one of the lucky ones."
From 2006-08, Billings appeared in 50 games for the Knights. He averaged 5.8 points and 3.9 boards as a senior, when he started 23 games. Billings totaled 51 blocks for head coach Kirk Speraw, and shot 51.0 percent from the floor during his time at UCF.
He was the oldest player in the nation during each of his two seasons with the Knights. As a result of his age, and military background, Billings garnered national media coverage, including profiles in USA Today and The Sporting News. Billings briefly played professionally in Mexico last fall.
The 2009-10 Knights are slated to open the campaign on Nov. 13, hosting Massachusetts at the UCF Arena. The squad is slated to play 15 games at home this year. Season tickets, which start at just $79, are available by calling (407) UCF-1000 or by visiting UCFAthletics.com.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Notes: Former Knights Dave Noel, Lavell Payne and Josh Peppers have all worked out at the UCF Practice Facility lately. All three played professionally a year ago.