Feb. 9, 2011
="" alt="Knight Head" border="0" class="imported"> Read John Denton's Knights Insider | ="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">Follow us on Twitter | ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Get social with the Knights on Facebook
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Back after missing two games while he rested a severely sore left foot, A.J. Rompza is willing to do whatever it takes now to get the Knights back on track.
Even if that means returning to the fiery, energy-filled, in-your-face point guard who simultaneously inspires his team and gets under the skin of the opposition.
``I'll put it on myself and give everything that I have to make sure that everybody else is working. Right now, we're in a fight to the end,'' Rompza said. ``We've got eight games left and we have to take it to another level and maybe do things that we're uncomfortable doing before. I just want to do whatever it takes to win."
UCF get its fiery leader back on Wednesday night against arch-rival Memphis - even if it's in a reserve role because of the limitations of the foot injury. The Knights are hoping that the return of Rompza will help shake them out of the throes of a seven-game losing streak.
Nothing would help the Knights shake out of their funk more than an upset of Memphis before an expected large crowd at UCF Arena. The Tigers are 17-6 overall after a big road win at Gonzaga, and they are just 5-3 in C-USA play.
Even in narrow defeats to UAB and East Carolina, UCF coach Donnie Jones sees progress in his basketball team. He knows that there is still plenty to play for down the stretch. He even mentioned to his team recently during a pregame pep talk about the plight of the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay struggled at times throughout the regular season, but got hot at the right time and ultimately won a Super Bowl crown. Jones is hoping that his Knights can regain the magic that they had earlier in the season.
``We're getting better these last couple of games. I know it doesn't show from a win-loss standpoint, but from a coaching staff's perspective, we're seeing strides in a lot of guys,'' Jones said. ``We just have to keep chopping wood and get better. We won games earlier this season where we didn't get better. So that's what we have to keep our focus on. The guys have had a good focus in practice to buy into improving.''
Rompza is hoping to see improvement in the feeling of his left foot after spending two weeks on the sidelines watching. The pain in the top of his foot was so intense after the Houston game - UCF's first loss - that he could hardly walk on it. Doctors deemed that Rompza had a ``stress reaction'' to the bone across the top of his foot, and if he continued to play on the joint it would result in a fracture.
He was hardly himself the last time UCF played Memphis - a turnover-filled 77-61 defeat - and he ultimately sat down for two games. Doctors advised him that he needed more time to rest the foot, but he has vowed to play Wednesday against Memphis.
``I think it was a build-up, but I really felt it the game before the Marshall game. I played through the Marshall game and the Houston game was the worst pain I've ever felt. I couldn't really even walk up and down on it,'' Rompza said. ``I tried to find a way to get through it. I base my game on speed and when you're a step slow like I have been that makes it really hard on somebody like me."
The hope is that the return of Rompza will take some of the pressure and ball-handling duties off the shoulders of standout sophomore guard Marcus Jordan. With Rompza out, Jordan has had to move from shooting guard to point guard. And while he helped to keep the Knights afloat last Saturday against East Carolina with a 24-point effort, Jordan wore down during the game. The thought is that with Rompza back running the offense, Jordan can focus more of getting shots and creating opportunities for others.
``Getting A.J. back will help us. He's still not 100 percent, but we'll at least get him back in the rotation a little bit,'' Jones said. ``We need his leadership and it's been like taking a quarterback off your team and you're changing guys to different roles. Getting A.J. back into the rhythm gives Marcus more freedom to roam and gives us another guy to take the pressure off (center) Tom (Herzog) and (power forward) Keith (Clanton) underneath and it gives us five legitimate scorers and opens things back up. It's huge getting A.J. back out there.''
Rompza did his best to be supportive from the bench while he was out, but he admitted that he didn't really felt a part of the team while he was hurt. That's why he's anxious to return - even if he's defying doctor's orders."
``I went (Monday) to get a check up and they still want me to sit out, but it's just not something that I can do,'' said Rompza, who practiced and had a rehab session in the pool on Monday for the first time in two weeks. ``I told them that I'm going to go until I can't go anymore."
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.