March 18, 2012
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Donnie Jones did not sleep after UCF fell to Drexel last Wednesday in the opening round of the NIT. Jones chose to not dwell on what happened in the game but focus on the next season. The 2012-13 season started that night for Jones who stayed up all night writing notes, 10 pages of them. It was a game plan that sends UCF into its final season of Conference USA and yet at the same time it is also a blueprint to prepare for the move to the BIG EAST.
"We've got a great group of players coming back and a recruiting class to be excited about," said Jones. "Now we need to get bigger, stronger, faster and tougher."
Coming off the loss to Drexel, Jones saw a glimpse of typical northeast schools like many UCF will face when they move to the BIG EAST. Drexel guards stood 6-5 and 6-6 and their post players might not have been 7-0 or even 6-10, but at 6-7 or 6-8 they were built like trucks and able to play a physical style UCF must now develop.
While Jones is losing two four-year players in A.J. Rompza and P.J. Gaynor, there's a load of talent on the way. Help in the backcourt includes the addition of fifth-year senior C.J. Reed who comes in from Bethune-Cookman. Reed was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2010-11 and averaged almost 19 points a game. At 6-3, Reed gives UCF a point guard with size and strength who can defend bigger point guards.
Calvin Newell might be UCF's biggest addition in the program's history. The highly recruited guard from Philadelphia comes to the Knights after transferring from Oklahoma where he started for the Sooners. Newell averaged 29.4 points per game in high school and is a special talent with the ability of scoring many ways and he brings toughness UCF welcomes.
The crop of incoming freshmen includes frontline help in Staphon Blair and Dylan Karell from south Florida and the Knights add two guards in sharp shooting Taylor Barnette from Lexington, Ky., and Orlando's Matt Williams from Jones High School.
At the fault of no one, Jones has yet to fully implement the system he ideally wants to play. Because of a limited rotation, UCF did not press anywhere near the amount it wanted to and therefore didn't get the pace Jones is seeking. Fans might get to see a little more of what Jones envisions with the backcourt additions of Reed and Newell.
UCF already returns four starters in Marcus Jordan, Keith Clanton, Isaiah Sykes and Josh Crittle and key reserves in Tristan Spurlock and Kasey Wilson. With the new additions, Jones will have his deepest team which means many options.
Based on who is returning and who is coming, UCF is expected to be a preseason top four pick in Conference USA. But next season is not just about competing for a league title, it's also about preparing for the future, where UCF expects to be bigger, stronger, faster and tougher.
Knights notes and more: Despite the loss, it was great to see about 50 UCF fans at the Drexel game. Thanks to trainer Andy Reber's family who came strong with about 10 members...I love talking with fans of opposing teams on the road before games to just learn about their team, school and town and often they ask the same about UCF. So, I was not surprised when several Drexel fans asked me what league UCF plays in and had little knowledge of our football success in recent years. They did ask if I go to Disney World every weekend...Spring football practice is underway and I had a chance to watch Saturday's first workout in pads. Early observations are Blake Bortles looks very comfortable as UCF's number one quarterback. He threw the ball well and receivers Josh Reese and Quincy McDuffie looked in mid-season form working with Bortles...Good to see A.J. Bouye back in the secondary as he returns from last season's knee injury...George O'Leary likes how his new coaches have come in and gotten to work...Jamie Boyle's 47-yard field goal ended practice Saturday. With the pressure of running sprints for the team if he missed, Boyle drilled the kick and was lifted by his teammates to celebrate...Final thought: I was at one of those places where you play arcade games and win tickets to exchange for prizes. It is that moment where we lose all sense of reality and justify how that rubber snake or jumbo word puzzle is worth 800 tickets only to realize you spent $75 to play the games and went home with $1.84 worth of prizes.
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 on ESPN Radio 1080 in Orlando.