Jan. 4, 2010
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
There are times when UCF women's basketball coach Joi Williams will glance down at the championship ring on her finger or sneak a peek at the championship pendant around her neck and the memories from last spring will come flooding back.
Clearly, the bling is the thing. But Williams and the UCF women's basketball team now have another reminder of what they accomplished last March.
By winning four games in four days last spring, UCF became the first basketball team in school history to win a Conference USA crown. It was a stunning run for a team that started last season as the nation's fourth youngest team and the Knights had been picked to finish last in the conference. And the late-season run was even more remarkable when UCF started 2-11, but rallied to win 11 conference games - the same amount it had in the previous three seasons combined.
The Knights' stunning run last season was honored this past week when banners for the Conference USA title and the run to the NCAA tournament were unveiled at UCF Arena. Now, Williams and her team can just look overhead for motivation and memories of the past.
"It was really nice to look back at what was a great accomplishment for us. It's something that that team will be known for forever," Williams said. "That's exciting to me. We've laid that foundation by winning the first (C-USA) championship in school history and now we just have to build upon it every year."
UCF has struggled somewhat under the weight of those expectations, going 3-6 so far in nonconference games. They have been hard-luck losers against teams from power conferences, losing by two to Alabama, three to Washington and 12 to sixth-ranked Florida State.
But if UCF needs any reminder that a season can be reborn come conference play time, all it has to do is look upward at the shiny, new banners. UCF has an extremely difficult roadtrip to open conference play, playing at Marshall (8-4) on Friday and at East Carolina (11-2) on Saturday.
Williams knows the Knights won't be a surprise to anyone this season in C-USA play. UCF went 11-5 last season, winning all eight league games at home. Winning the league crown allowed UCF to reach the NCAA tournament where it lost 85-80 to power North Carolina, but still it was a season UCF won't soon forget. As for Williams, she considers it her proudest achievement in coaching.
"To be able to hang a banner now and have a ring and always be known as the first UCF basketball team to get that done in Conference USA, that's something that really excites me," she said.
The banner unveiling was something that excited UCF Athletics Director Keith Tribble as well. Tribble said that upon hiring Williams two seasons ago, the coach promised that she would someday win a conference title at UCF. Tribble never doubted Williams, but thought a long rebuilding process would be needed first. In this case, he didn't mind being wrong.
"At that time, with a mostly all freshman team that she had recruited, the prospects of (winning a conference championship) any time soon seemed far away," Tribble said. "But to do what they did in two years is unbelievable. That really sets the tone for what we want to have happen here in our men's and women's basketball programs and with volleyball in this facility."
Tribble said the women's win sends a message loud and clear that the mission is to capture championships.
"That's the way you build a very good program - by winning conference championships," he said. "Our coaches understand that they are here to win championships and to help student-athletes get their education."
Williams usually wears her championship pendant as opposed to her ring, but she usually takes both along with her on recruiting trips. Winning last year, she said, has set the bar of expectations for each season and UCF knows now more than ever that anything is possible.
"I look at (the championship ring) and remember all the good times we had," she said. "When we go and recruit, it's something tangible that the recruits can see. It's a reminder to them that they can come to UCF and know that it's a place where they can come and win championships."
Note: After the opening C-USA games this weekend, UCF returns to Orlando to begin a three-game homestand. The homestand includes the 10K Gold Rush, a nationally-televised ESPN2 game on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. against UAB. The Knights need your help to pack the UCF Arena and set a new attendance record. Tickets will be free for all fans in attendance.
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFathletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.