Feb. 28, 2011
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - As he stood atop the courtside table celebrating with the black and gold faithful, A.J. Rompza soaked up the moment and he had a right too. It has been a rough ride over the course of the last few months for UCF's junior point guard.
But despite Rompza's up and down season, the moment could not have been scripted any better. Down 64-62 with 11 seconds to go against Southern Miss, best friend Marcus Jordan grabs a rebound off a missed free throw and Rompza races down the court just ahead to Jordan's right.
As Jordan crosses half court, not one or two, but three defenders converge on him leaving Rompza open to the right. It was the same spot that at the end of the first half, Southern Miss guard R.L. Horton drained a 3-pointer to give the visitors a 33-25 halftime lead and left Rompza angry headed to the locker room wondering if that basket would be the difference in the game. It would not.
Jordan saw the defenders coming and saw his Chicago partner to his right and sent the pass to Rompza who had one thing in mind - make the shot.
Few can understand what that shot means to UCF's spark plug and his biggest fan who was listening back in Chicago, his mother.
"She is my biggest fan and has helped me through so much and motivates me to be positive and I know she is always there for me," said Rompza during our postgame interview. "I got the pass from Marcus and it felt perfect as it left my hand." And it was. Perfect. Rompza's three hit nothing but net and sent the 7,400-plus fans into a frenzy as UCF defeated Southern Miss 65-64.
As his teammates stormed the floor following a last second shot missed by the visitors, the smallest guy on the court jumped atop the courtside table to enjoy the feeling. Rompza's season has seen its peaks and valleys. He enjoyed the 14-0 start and endured a foot injury that sidelined him and now finds himself coming off the bench, albeit playing starter minutes. But Rompza has had to dig deep down internally and adapt to the style of his new coach and battle the frustrations of finding the right role for a guy likely the most popular player on the team.
Yet as the ball left Rompza's hand so did a weight off his shoulders, for a brief moment at least. For a brief moment, the kid who needed a shot like that got to stand tall and feel like the hero he was on this night.
More basketball tidbits: Heading into Sunday's college basketball schedule, UCF's RPI sits at 59 with a strength-of-schedule of 48 and a record of 7-5 vs. top 100 RPI opponents. The team will need to win the conference tournament to get to the NCAA's but its resume has positioned UCF for a possible NIT berth. The NIT uses RPI to fill its field of 32 as well as regular season conference champions who do not win their league tournaments. With two regular season games remaining and the tournament in El Paso, a 20-win UCF team would be very appealing for a postseason berth...Conference USA is the 8th rated league in RPI and has more teams ranked in the RPI top 100 than the PAC-10 and the SEC.
Knights notes and more: Big-time congrats to the UCF women's track and field team who captured the Conference USA Indoor Championship in Houston on Saturday. UCF dominated Saturday at the event to finish 47.5 points of second-place Tulsa. Junior Jackie Coward blazed an 8.16 to win the 60-meter hurdles. UCF finished 1-2-3-4 in the event. Dominique Booker won the 200-meter and freshman Aurieyall Scott took top honors in the 60-meter dash. And UCF's 4x400 meter relay team won their event with ease. UCF entered the weekend ranked 9th in the country and that is about to change...The UCF women's basketball team will close out a very good regular season on Thursday night honoring a senior class with a game against Memphis. Joi Williams has her squad positioned for postseason play as well and UCF enters the C-USA tournament as a favorite aside from power Houston, who is the top seed...Final thought: When do two apples cost over $2,000? When they come with 4-gig memory, as my daughters taught me. Otherwise two apples cost $0.50. I like when life was simpler.
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 Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts The Beat of Sports