ORLANDO – For fans excited to see the UCF men's basketball team back in action after an exciting run to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19, the first chance to watch the Knights will be Nov. 2 at Addition Financial Arena for the Black and Gold Scrimmage.
The intra-squad scrimmage will begin a 9 a.m. with free admission. It will be open to the public as head coach Johnny Dawkins gets the Knights set for the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
Dawkins led UCF back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade last year, earning the program's first NCAA Tournament win and nearly knocking off top-seeded Duke before falling in the final moments on a missed tip-in.
With the departure of familiar faces Tacko Fall, BJ Taylor, Chad Brown and Aubrey Dawkins – all beginning their professional careers – and 10 new players to team, this is the best chance for fans to get a first look at what the 2019-20 squad will bring to Addition Financial Arena.
Redshirt junior Collin Smith returns to lead the team after starting 32 games as a sophomore last season. Fans will remember a number of games last season that Smith played a key role in leading the Knights to victory, most notably his 21-point, 7-rebound outing in a road win at no. 6 Houston.
Upperclassman guards Ceasar DeJesus and Frank Bertz also return to the rotation to help bring excitement to the backcourt once again this season. DeJesus started every game as a freshman in 2017-18, while Bertz had nine games with multiple 3-pointers in 2018-19.
Two other names that might quickly become Knight Nation favorites are graduate transfers Matt Milon and Dazon Ingram. Milon, an Oviedo native, has shot over 40 percent from 3-point range in each of his first three seasons, the last two at William & Mary. Ingram, meanwhile, comes to UCF from Alabama, where he scored nearly 1,000 point, had over 500 rebounds and dished out over 300 assists.
The 2019-20 regular season officially gets under way on Nov. 9 when UCF hosts Prairie View A&M. The Knights and the Panthers are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. with coverage on ESPN3 and FM 96.9 The Game.
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