Jan. 5, 2012
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - As the runaway winners of the 2011 Conference USA women's basketball tournament, UCF enters league play on Thursday as what some would refer to as "defending champions."
Just don't expect to hear that phrase thrown around UCF's locker room over the course of the next 16 C-USA games.
Head coach Joi Williams, a two-time winner of the C-USA title, doesn't like the mentality that the phrase "defending champions" conjures up. Sure, she loves the respect that UCF has earned throughout the league by winning two of the past three C-USA crowns, but she would prefer that her Knights play hungry while looking forward instead of backward.
"We talk about it with the team in our locker room that we don't like that term 'defending champions.' Of course, that's how everybody will describe us, but the past is the past," Williams said. "All we talk about is trying to go and win another championship. We're not defending anything because nobody can ever take the banner or those rings away from us. So we're going out now to win one and that's the mentality that we have to have."
Right away, UCF (5-7) will be challenged by a strong East Carolina team (6-7) Thursday night at 7 at UCF Arena. Three days later, UCF faces Tulane, who upset No. 20 LSU earlier this year, in a rematch of the 2011 C-USA title game. UCF and Tulane have firmly established themselves as the league's best two teams, combining to win each of the past three C-USA crowns.
UCF senior point guard Aisha Patrick, a key member of the 2009 and '11 championship teams, knows that a win on Thursday will send a strong message throughout the league that the Knights are potentially ready to repeat as champs.
"It means a lot to be able to chase this third championship and try to win it again," said Patrick, who is on track to join UCF's 1,000-point club in the coming weeks. "I have great teammates and coaches here at UCF, and we feel like we can (win again). We have three seniors and a couple of juniors who know what it takes. I just feel like as long as we do what the coaches ask us to do, we'll do fine."
UCF has followed a formula in recent years of stocking the early-season schedule with powerhouse teams to prepare for conference play. UCF did just that last year, hit its stride by midseason and finished the C-USA tournament on an 11-game winning streak.
This season, the Knights played a rugged stretch of games against Virginia Tech (ACC), No. 3 Notre Dame (BIG EAST) and Florida State (ACC) before starting C-USA play. UCF won one of those three games and feels that it is ready now for the tests that lie ahead in C-USA play.
Williams has reminded her team several times that following the 2009 championship, UCF had a disappointing drop-off in the 2010 season. UCF struggled throughout the year, and lost to Tulane in the second round of the C-USA tournament in 2010.
How the Knights respond now as the team-to-beat in the league will say a lot about the character of the group, Williams added.
"Our first two conference opponents have already made comments about playing 'the defending champions.' I know Tulane said they didn't like the way their season ended," Williams said, referring to last spring's C-USA title game. "So we have to understand now that the target is on our back. Going into conference we've earned some respect. But after we won that first (C-USA title), the next year we underachieved. You don't want that to happen again this season. These three seniors (Patrick along with Ashia Kelly and Racine Davis) are determined to go out and play with a lot of passion over these next 16 games."
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.