UCF Men’s Basketball Season in Review
In a season filled with plenty of ups and downs, there are still a plethora of takeaways that can be made. The case of this year’s UCF Men’s Basketball team is no exception. There were flashes of greatness, there were moments of surprise, there was heartbreak, and there was utter disappointment. And ultimately, the Knights again fell short of their goal, failing to secure the program’s 6th NCAA Tournament bid in its history, going 18-12 in the regular season, and 9-9 in the conference. They were also left out of the NIT and the CBI postseason tournaments. Let’s take a look at some things we learned about this year’s squad.
Winning at Home
UCF’s best quality this season was its play at home. The Knights compiled an impressive 13-3 record at Addition Financial Arena, feeding off the crowd time and time again. This is a trend they hope to continue in future seasons. They had multiple big wins in their building, most notably vs Memphis and Michigan, two of the three tournament teams UCF was able to knock off this year. The arena is rarely full, but in general, the student section is rowdy and loud enough to give some juice to the players. Away from home, the Knights were 6-10, including the AAC tournament, a .375 winning percentage. The team just did not look the same when they were not on their home floor, at times looking disconnected and uninspired.
Impressive Young Newcomers
We did not see much from freshman guard Darius Johnson and sophomore transfer Tyem Freeman early on in the season, but as their minutes started to ramp up, so did their production, and quickly. Their overall season numbers aren’t anything extraordinary, but the improvement was clear throughout the season. Johnson ended the year with 6.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 3.0 APG, and earned himself 13 starts on the year. He struggled with efficiency, as his shooting percentages didn’t look great (32.8% on field goals, 29.9% on three point attempts). However, his playmaking ability and high IQ allowed him to garner more and more minutes, and his future at UCF looks very bright. Tyem Freeman’s season was also impressive. While he only started in one game, he played 28 games total and was able to show off one of the better shooting percentages on the team at 57% total on 3.3 field goal attempts per game.
Darin Green Jr.
Darin Green Jr. has essentially solidified himself as the best and most consistent player on the team. The most notable part of his game since his freshman year has been his three point shooting. This season he ranked 22nd in the country with 3.0 three-point field goals made per game this season, and 52nd in the country in three-point field goal percentage, shooting it at a 38.5% clip on the year. He also led the team in scoring, at 13.3 points per game. Green had multiple dominant performances, including putting up a season-high 27 points in a win vs Michigan, connecting on 7 of 9 threes in that one. The highlight of his season has to be his game-winning buzzer beater vs East Carolina in front of the home crowd. If he returns next year for his senior season, he will be a huge factor in any success the Knights are able to have.
Darin Green, Jr
UCF Team
Darin Green, Jr.
Inconsistency With Shooting the Ball
In short, UCF struggled to find consistency all year. It ended up being their death knell. There were numerous occasions where they would come off of a big win, only to lose in disappointing fashion to a bad team. A lot of the time, their successes and failures were based solely on whether or not they were shooting the ball well that day. Some days they looked like the Golden State Warriors, shooting 60% from three vs Michigan, 40% on 28 attempts at home vs Memphis, and 40% on 27 attempts at Miami. Other times, they looked like the Washington Generals, like in their 2 for 20 three point shooting effort in Tampa vs South Florida, or at home vs Houston where they shot just 21% from range. It seemed like after a very good shooting performance, UCF came into the next game with a bit of overconfidence, taking shots that they should not have been taking.
Lack of True Playmaking
There is a difference between players who have the talent to make plays, and those who have the talent and are able to do so consistently. UCF had the talent. The execution was not nearly consistent enough to push the team over the top. Sometimes the offense would be firing on all cylinders, and looked as well-polished as ever, but then with the flip of a switch the playmaking just stopped. The offense became stagnant, off-ball movement was nowhere to be found, guys stopped making the extra pass, selfish shots turned into bricks, and, naturally, negative results came, allowing the opposition to go on a run. Watching from afar, at times it was painstaking to see.
Conclusion
UCF has a lot of good things to build off of going into the offseason, as well as a lot to learn from. With some up and coming young players slowly developing into key contributors, and guys (hopefully) returning like CJ Walker and Darin Green Jr, the Knights should at the very least play at the same level as they did this year. They will also welcome in the highest rated recruit in the program’s history next season, 4-star center Taylor Hendricks, as well as his brother Tyler.
You will find me on Twitter: JackEdwards126
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