June 22, 2010
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Last week it became official. UCF and Florida will play the first college basketball game at the new Amway Center on Dec. 1. Florida Citrus Sports, the group that hosts both the Capital One and Champs Sports Bowl, has gotten back into the business of putting on college basketball games. Kudos to chairman Steve Hogan, a UCF alum, for believing in his alma mater.
"It's exciting to be able to bring a national basketball power in Florida, but we are also very excited about matching them with Orlando's hometown team, the Knights," said Hogan.
The game pits teacher verses pupil as Billy Donovan faces his former assistant in Donnie Jones. Each had nothing but praise for the other at the news conference and the respect is genuine. Jones has never been shy to talk about the impact Donovan has had on his career.
All that is good, but there are two key items worth watching when game night arrives.
For starters, Jones is not bringing a team to be a sacrificial lamb for what will likely be a preseason top-20 team in the Gators. While he is rebuilding a roster and introducing a style of play, UCF's first year coach expects the Knights to compete every game they play, regardless of the opponent.
"It will be exciting to face a great team like Florida, but our guys will be ready to play. It's a great opportunity to face a talented team but that's why you play at this level, to play against the best," said Jones.
In his brief time at UCF, Jones has quietly made it clear his team will play with confidence and respect its opponent, but they also have the same goal every game...to win. It was a trait that was very obvious with Jones' team at Marshall last season. They played with a swagger and walked with a beat of confidence.
The second item of interest for the Dec. 1 game is the makeup of the crowd. Yes UCF fans, it's a challenge to you. There is no excuse if UCF fans do not outnumber Florida fans. Orange and blue easily outnumbered black and gold when the two schools last played in Jacksonville back in 2008. But Jacksonville has always been a second home for Florida. Orlando is UCF's home. It's UCF's first, second, third and fourth home.
When the Knights take the court on Dec. 1, they need to have an obvious advantage in the stands. No excuses.
Knights notes and more: The UCF-Florida basketball game is important for reasons stated above, but don't underestimate the game in its value for the school and Florida Citrus Sports. Florida Citrus Sports is likely to bid on the SEC Tournament to be played at the new Amway Center in the next few years. They would also be interested in partnering with UCF on a bid for the Conference USA Tournament as well. (Oh, by the way, the BIG EAST Tournament is not moving from Madison Square Garden any time soon)...The College World Series is being played for the final time this week at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha. I had the great fortune to be there back in 1988 as a student broadcaster at Florida. It truly was a "Field of Dreams" moment when I first arrived at the stadium. It is a baseball cathedral that will be missed...Final thought: It's either a 100 percent chance of rain or a zero percent chance of rain. It either rains or doesn't. And I'd like to see television stations start to post the record of their meteorologist. I want to know that Jim is 65-35 over his last 100 forecasts of rain or that he is riding a 12-day winning streak.
Marc Daniels' From the Press Box runs several times per month on UCFAthletics.com. Listen to Marc during UCF football, men's basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the UCF-ISP Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts "The Beat of Sports" on ESPN 1080 in Orlando from 9-11 a.m.