Feb. 18, 2010
By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - At the same time that head coach Kirk Speraw's Knights are playing some of their best basketball of the season, some former UCF standouts are excelling professionally. Jermaine Taylor, Kenrick Zondervan and Dave Noel have all played well on the next level as of late.
On Wednesday, Taylor, the 2008-09 Conference USA Player of the Year, helped the Houston to a 127-99 win at Milwaukee. In nine minutes, he scored six points and had three rebounds. Taylor went 4-of-4 at the free-throw line. The shooting guard has averaged 13.5 minutes in the Rockets' last two contests.
Zondervan is shining in his first campaign as a professional. The center, who is a native of Holland, totaled 24 points and 10 rebounds in ESTIA Egaleo's contest against Arkadikos in the Greek A2 League this past weekend. Zondervan, who concluded his collegiate career last spring, shot 10-of-12 from the field and also had a pair of steals.
On the season, Zondervan is averaging 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds. He is shooting 64.2 percent overall. The big man has scored in double-figures 10 times in 17 contests.
Another former Knight, Dave Noel, is back in the NBA D-League with Reno. The shooting guard has appeared in 23 contests this season and is averaging 5.5 points in 15.3 minutes per game. Noel, who played for the Knights from 2005-08, is in his second campaign with the Bighorns.
The Knights will return to action Saturday at Southern Miss. UCF (13-12, 5-6 C-USA) has won two-straight contests.
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: The Knights had Wednesday off, and will return to the UCF Practice Facility for an afternoon session Thursday. The squad will leave for Southern Miss Friday morning... The Knights are averaging 14.2 assists in league play, good for second in C-USA... In Tuesday's 68-65 victory over visiting Houston, sophomore guard Isaac Sosa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) hit three triples and finished with 11 points. Sosa has made at least three 3-pointers in four-straight games.