The Knights are already beginning to exorcise demons they had on the basketball court last year, storming into conference play with two straight wins heading into the start of the week. Now they’re staring down the thick of C-USA play with an eye on the championships.
They headed into a showdown against Houston at press time Jan. 11 with a fresh set of conference wins under their belts. Their most recent, on Jan. 7, came on the road at East Carolina, where the Knights (12-3, 2-0) blew out the Pirates 81-63.
Much of that offensive firepower came thanks to the increasing prowess of rising star Isaiah Sykes, who hit 20 points and grabbed 10 boards to bamboozle the Pirate defense on both ends of the court.
A.J. Rompza was in top form against East Carolina, with 16 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals in an energetic performance that ran circles around the Pirates. Adding some energy of his own, Keith Clanton picked up 16 points, 6 rebounds 3 blocks and 2 steals.
If the Knights can keep up that kind of intensity for the remainder of the season, they’ll have a strong chance at making it to the final round of the championships.
That fight continues starting this weekend with a road trip to Marshall, tipping off at 7 p.m. Jan. 14. Then the Knights will swing back to the UCF Arena for an 8 p.m. Jan. 18 tip-off against Memphis.
New leader in athletics
UCF athletics has a new head after the Knights announced Jan. 10 that former Oregon State University Executive Associate Athletic Director Todd Stansbury will have an only slightly shorter title at UCF.
Stansbury was officially hired as UCF vice president and director of athletics, cementing the biggest hole in the Knights athletic program in the wake of a recruiting scandal that rapidly gutted the school’s two biggest sports programs.
Stansbury had helped run the business side of Oregon State’s athletic program since 2003. Now he’ll lead the Knights as they enter the Big East Conference in all sports, which will first occur in 2013.