During a short recruiting cycle in his first season, following three as the lead man at Marshall, six signees were added to an already youthful roster which finished 15-17 overall and 6-10 in Conference USA this past year.

Knowing that the essential pieces from that squad were returning for the 2010-11 season, the plan going in for Jones and his assistants was quite simple.

Donnie Jones

“Not many times do you walk into a program where everybody’s back,” said Jones. “That’s an unusual situation. Being able to add some depth is really what our focus was.”

And that’s what they did by signing a young point guard for the future, some true size in the middle, and shooters to help shore up the wing.

Joining a core made up of senior forward A.J. Tyler, guards A.J. Rompza (junior) and Marcus Jordan (sophomore), and forward Keith Clanton (sophomore) are three Division I transfers, a junior college transfer and two prep players.

Just two of those transfers must sit out this season as per NCAA rules.

“Sometimes when you need instant help and you have a short period of time, it’s better to get veterans,” said Jones. “It gives you a little time to focus on the underclassmen, and we bring in instant help that can come in and compete (right) now.”

Winning and competing is precisely what fans will expect later this year as they tip-toe into a season for the first time in 17 years without beloved coach Kirk Speraw, who was not retained after one of several subpar campaigns.

How long it takes for fans to warm up to the new regime is anybody’s guess.

Jones doesn’t know if there’s any certain remedy for winning fans over, other than to “come in and try to build on the great things that Kirk’s done here.”

“I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what he’s done for this program, it’s been incredible,” he said. “We’ll just try to build on what he’s done and earn our respect with how we play and what we do on a day-to-day basis.

“Hopefully people will come out and support this program based on UCF and not necessarily who the coach is.”

More wins than losses are likely to help heal old wounds. And if that’s the case, based on the track record of this guy it shouldn’t take long to turn the Knights into conference contenders.

Jones led the Thundering Herd to an 11-5 C-USA mark and 24-10 overall record last season with one of the top offenses in the country, leading the conference in scoring at 79.9 points per game. Before arriving in West Virginia, Jones spent 11 years as an assistant at Florida under head coach Billy Donovan, helping the program win back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007.

Joining Jones at UCF are assistant coaches Shawn Finney, Brett Nelson, Darren Tillis, and director of basketball operations Tim Thomas. All four worked with Jones at Marshall, where Hassan Whiteside led the nation in blocks with 182, good for the fourth-most in NCAA single-season history.

––– DONNIE JONES ON HIS NEW RECRUITS AT UCF –––

– Jarvis Davis (FR; 6-1, 175) – out of Hargrove Military Academy in Virginia; River View High School in Columbia, S.C.

Jones calls Davis a tough, competitive kid and “a pass-first point guard who makes others better around him.”

“He’ a good defender and I think his ability to score will get better with time,” said Jones.

Davis, who was the first signing at UCF for Jones, spent last year at Hargrove Military and has been on campus since May.

– Isaiah Sykes (FR; 6-5, 200) – out of Denby High School in Detroit, Mich.

Sykes is a tough and athletic left-handed shooter who Jones says is versatile enough to play at a number of different positions, “which I like in our system,” Jones said.

The coach says Sykes is skilled enough to contribute immediately for the Knights. He scored 17 points in the Michigan High School All-Star Game and was rated No. 39 at small forward by Scout.

– Dwight McCombs (JR; 6-8, 240) – out of Moraine Valley Community College; Miami (Ohio); Whitney Young High School in Chicago Ill.

Jones said McCombs, the second of his recruits, has been dropping weight and getting into better shape ever since arriving on campus in May. Coaches are impressed with the transfer’s rebounding, scoring, and the way he runs the floor.

“He fits with what we want to do,” said Jones.

McCombs averaged 22.5 points (No. 12 in nation), 13.3 rebounds (No. 3) and led the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II in blocks at five per game last season. He was also a high school teammate of A.J. Rompza.

– Tom Herzog (SR; 7-0, 250) – out of Michigan State; Powers High School in Flint, Mich.

A bit player at Michigan State, Herzog has been given one last chance to live up to the billing. After being hailed as a top prep-player out of high school (rated the No. 7 center in the nation by Rivals) he contributed lightly for two NCAA Final Four teams under Tom Izzo.

With his arrival to Orlando this past weekend, the Knights have a true center entering the year. Herzog is not required to sit out this season after transferring since he has already earned his bachelor’s degree at MSU and redshirted during the 2006-07 season.

“I think the timing is right (and) we needed a center,” said Jones. “He has the ability to come in and help us and impact us immediately. He’s got an edge about himself to get out and play and I liked that when I was recruiting him.”

As a freshman in 2003-04, he blocked a Michigan high school single-season state record 182 shots and later finished second in the Michigan Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award voting as a senior.

– Josh Crittle (JR; 6-8, 250) – out of Oregon; Hales Franciscan High School in Bellwood, Ill.

Jones says the addition of Crittle gives the Knights some size that’s hard to come by.

Crittle will have a chance to get acclimated to a new system as a redshirt over the next year after coming in as a reserve out of Oregon.

“He’s a guy who can come in and physically compete each and every day,” said Jones. “He’s got a whole year to get himself ready and get better.”

As a senior in high school he was rated the No. 29 center in the nation by ESPN and The No. 30 post player in the country by Scout.

– Jeff Jordan (SR; 6-1, 185) – out of Illinois; Loyola Academy in Chicago, Ill.

The eldest son of NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan joins brother Marcus at UCF after transferring in from Illinois, where he spent the past three seasons as a reserve. He becomes the second player from the 2010-11 recruiting class to sit out following a transfer.

“Anytime you’ve got family members or guys who played at the same high school together, which we have on this team, that brings back a little pride,” said Jones.

“He understands the mentality of work and team and he played for a great coach and played at a great program at Illinois. To bring that kind of leadership and experience to the program right now gives us three really good points guards here from a depth standpoint.”

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –

Despite the ups and downs for the two programs over the course of 2009-10, there seems to be enough in place for a strong turnaround next season.

– Men’s Hoops –

On Thursday, the men’s team fell 76-54 to No. 21 UTEP as the Knights played most of the way without Marcus Jordan and P.J. Gaynor as Jordan rolled an ankle and Gaynor took a knee to the ribs.

Marcus Jordan (left) and Keith Clanton (Photo by Chris Schubert)

But by the time those injuries took place, though, the Miners already had complete control of the game as they eventually took a 28-point lead into the halftime break.

The Knights finished the season with a 15-17 overall mark and showed signs of good days to come with one of the youngest squads in the nation.

Jordan and Keith Clanton ended the year having been named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team. Clanton blocked 45 shots and averaged 9.7 points on 48-percent shooting from the field along with 6.8 rebounds per game. Jordan averaged eight points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and tallied 37 steals on the year.

Sophomore A.J. Rompza, who was named to the C-USA Freshman Team a year ago, finished the season with the fourth most steals in a single season at UCF with 81, and now ranks 10th all-time in that category with 127 swipes. Rompza’s 144 assists are the sixth most in a season for the program. He also averaged 8.6 points per game.

Sophomore Isaac Sosa now ranks No. 10 in school history with 130 career 3-pointers made. Sosa and A.J. Tyler led the knights in scoring this season with 10.3 points per game. Tyler also grabbed five rebounds per game.

UCF opened the C-USA tourney at Tulsa as the No. 9 seed and outshot No. 8 SMU, 69-53, in the opening round.

– Women’s Hoops –

On Tuesday, the eighth-seeded Lady Knights rallied from an 11-point deficit but couldn’t hold on to a three-point lead with a minute to go as they were turned away by top-seeded Tulane, 63-62.

Emma Cannon (left) and Chelsie Wiley (Photo by J.C. Carnahan)

The loss ended UCF’s season with an 11-16 overall record, just one year removed from winning the conference title and playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Juniors Chelsie Wiley and Emma Cannon surpassed career milestones this season as they both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark. Cannon surpassed the mark in a loss against Notre Dame and has now compiled 1,154 points (5th all-time) and 903 rebounds (2nd all-time) in her career. Wiley became the program’s 13th 1,000-point scorer in February and now ranks No. 8 all-time on that list with 1,069 points.

Wiley (11.5 points per game), Marshay White (11.3) and Cannon (11) led the team in scoring this season. Cannon, a C-USA All-Conference Third Team selection, also averaged 10 rebounds per game and finished with 18 blocked shots.

Aisha Patrick grabbed 63 steals and averaged 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists on the year. D’Nay Daniels averaged 9.8 points and 6.1 rebounds, while Angelica Mealing averaged 3.7 assists per game.

The Knights opened tournament play by defeating ninth-seeded Marshall in overtime, 59-57.

Kirk Speraw (Photo by Scott McCall)

Against East Carolina (7-15 overall, 1-7 Conference USA), junior Taylor Young led the way with a 16-point effort and six assists. Sophomore Isaac Sosa had his best outing in a while by draining four three-pointers – including the 100th of his career – as he finished with 14 points.

A.J. Tyler scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had four steals while Marcus Jordan scored nine points and also finished with four steals.

The win over the Pirates was just the fifth in the past 15 games for UCF, who improved at the free throw line (15-of-18) and made 8-of-18 shots from long-range.

“We gave a good effort. We finally started to make a few shots,” said Speraw. “Hopefully that will get some confidence to our guys.

“It has been a tough stretch of games. Now we can give them a couple of days [off]. We can work on some things and work on our timing and execution during the course of these next few practices.”

In his 17th season, Speraw moved past Torchy Clark (1969-83) last week as the program’s all-time winningest coach.

Kirk Speraw with Isaac Sosa (Photo by Scott McCall)

“Kirk really does a great job with this program,” UCF Hall of Famer Bo Clark, son of Torchy, said earlier this season after banners where hung at UCF Arena in honor of the Clarks.

On Wednesday, UCF (11-11, 3-5 C-USA) is on the road at Memphis (16-7, 6-2) before hosting Tulane (7-15, 2-7) on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Houston (12-11, 4-5) on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

The Knights are currently sitting at No. 9 in the 12-team C-USA standings.

With a month left in the regular season, look for A.J. Rompza to break into UCF’s top-10 in single-season steals and steals in a career. He is currently averaging 2.8 steals per game, good for seventh-best in the nation.

Freshman Keith Clanton is just three blocked shots from entering the Knights’ single-season list.

Clanton has already climbed to No. 3 on the UCF freshman single-season Division I rebounds list with 141 boards, behind the 268 from Ken Leeks (1990-91) and 163 from Darryl Davis (1991-92).

– More Kirk Speraw at UCF –

Behind the numbers at StatSheet

Kevin Stanley at Bleacher Report

Carl Kotala at Florida Today

David Hall at Sun Journal

Karen V. Contino at Central Florida Lifestyle

The Knights put up a valiant effort against Tulsa (17-4, 6-1 C-USA) but trailed throughout the second half before falling 55-50 to the Golden Hurricane.

By coming up on the wrong end of such a tightly contested matchup, focusing on the positives seems the most therapeutic of ways to cope.

Kirk Speraw (Photo by Chris Schubert)

“I’m really proud of our guys and the effort they gave against the preseason No. 1 team in the league,” said Speraw.

He praised the team’s defensive effort afterward but was noticeably bothered by the lack of execution down the stretch.

Still just one win shy of becoming the winningest coach in program history, the milestone for Speraw, in his 17th season, may lack the kind of celebration it otherwise rightfully deserves as UCF has hobbled along over the past month.

The Knights (10-11, 2-5 C-USA) have won just twice in their past nine games, dating back to a 10-point loss to Jacksonville in the UCF Holiday Classic on Dec. 30, 2009, as many contributors are still feeling their way around life at the collegiate level.

“Everytime we step on the court it’s a learning experience,” said Speraw of his kids. “Whether it’s in practice, in games, the travel. Everything we’re doing is a learning experience.”

That includes adjusting to life as a student-athlete for most of them while juggling classes with a lengthy hoops schedule.

“It’s not only tough on them from a basketball standpoint, it would be tough on anybody, but it’s tough on them from an academic standpoint being the fourth-straight week on the road for a mid-week game,” he said of Tuesday’s upcoming game at East Carolina.

After suffering two-straight blowout losses to UTEP (96-59) and SMU (65-43), it seemed to be a bit of bad timing to have Tulsa come to town. But surprisingly, against a team the Knights lost to by 20 points two weeks earlier, UCF was in this one from the opening tip.

And from purely a basketball standpoint, watching the maturation of freshmen forward Keith Clanton and guard Marcus Jordan was worth the price of admission. The two have led the Knights in scoring a combined eight times this season and have made big contributions as of late.

Keith Clanton and Tulsa's Bishop Wheatley (left) and Jerome Jordan. (Photo by Chris Schubert)

Clanton was assertive on Saturday as he dropped a game-high 17 points and pulled down six rebounds. He displayed a knack for making smart decisions while passing the ball and defending a bigger opponent in Tulsa center (and NBA prospect) Jerome Jordan, who was held to 10 points and five boards.

“We wanted to be real aggressive with him,” said Clanton of Jordan. “We wanted to deny him from getting the ball.”

Two late free throws from the Tulsa senior with 19 seconds to play following a UCF turnover put the game away.

Marcus Jordan scored 10 points, dished off five assists and grabbed three rebounds with his dad, Michael Jordan, in attendance.

Unfortunately for the home team though, an ice-cold shooting touch in the second half foiled an impressive opening 20 minutes of play. After making 46-percent of attempts in the first half (and forcing seven turnovers) the Knights drained only 28-percent from the floor in the second half even as they forced Tulsa into 16 turnovers on the night.

Although UCF only turned the ball over six times, they failed to make shots from the free-throw line (12-of-19) and from long range (0-for-12).

“If we could ever get to a point where we could make a jumper or a make a free-throw…” said Speraw. “Those possessions really hurt.”

When the going was good on Saturday, Clanton and Jordan were complemented by the likes of gutsy sophomore point guard A.J. Rompza (four points, four steals, four rebounds, three assists) and veteran junior power forward A.J. Tyler (six points, six rebounds).

But in the end it marked the first win in Orlando for Tulsa in five tries.

“It was very frustrating,” said junior Taylor Young. “We had some key stops but then we didn’t make the play offensively. It was just one of those days.”

Whiteside had a triple-double, scoring 14 points with 14 rebounds and 10 blocks as Marshall outscored UCF, 46-31, in second half to improve to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in Conference USA while UCF dropped to 9-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

“I think we lost our intensity that we had in the first half. We could of started to build on that lead but it was little stuff that hurt us,” sophomore guard A.J. Rompza said. “In the second half they were getting every loose ball, they went to the glass harder then us.”

The Knights played a great first half, shooting 58-percent from the field as they led by as many as 12 at one point. But following the halftime performance by the Blue Man Group, who performed with the UCF Band, the Knights shot just 37-percent in the second half while Marshall shot 52-percent for the game. The Herd went on a 20-6 run early in the second half to come back from their deficit and eventually take a lead they would not relinquish.

Marshall dominated the free throw line going 21-for-30, including 15-for-21 in the second half, while UCF only mustered seven trips the to the line the entire night.

“When they are shooting 30 and you are shooting seven, that is tough to overcome,” said UCF Coach Kirk Speraw.

The Knights were led by freshman Marcus Jordan who scored 19 points to lead the way in just his second career start, while Rompza chipped in with 12 points, six assists and three steals in defeat.

Speraw needs just one win to tie the late Torchy Clark for the most wins in school history with 274 all-time. But Speraw and the Knights will now have to regroup and play a complete and consistent 40 minutes as they head into a tough road trip against one of the preseason conference favorites in Tulsa on Saturday, who is 11-0 at home this season. UCF then travels to Houston on Jan. 20.

“I told our guys that every conference game is going to be this way,” Speraw said. “We need to understand that and be ready for that. We’ve got to be more consistent from beginning to end with our execution and effort.”

The 9,460 fans in attendance surpassed the 8,727 that were made it out on opening night against Massachusetts in November. The all-time record stands at 9,825 fans from a season ago when the Knights hosted Memphis.

The Knights (7-4 overall) are perfect in five games at home this season and open up against Liberty (6-6) at 7 p.m., following the 4:30 p.m. matchup between Buffalo (7-3) and Jacksonville (1-7). The semifinal game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday with the championship set for 7 p.m.

Marcus Jordan

UCF is coming off of two close losses to USF, 69-65, and No. 14 Connecticut, 60-51, in which the individual efforts of freshman Marcus Jordan earned him a share of the Conference USA Rookie of the Week award along with Jeremy Williams of UTEP.

Jordan led the team in scoring against UConn with 13 points over 28 minutes and added four rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in a losing effort. He dropped 11 points against USF as he made two from long distance, dished out three assists, grabbed two rebounds and snagged two steals against the Bulls.

Through 11 games Jordan is averaging 5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 19 minutes per game off the bench.

Leading the way for the Knights so far this season have been the likes of Isaac Sosa and A.J. Tyler in scoring, A.J. Rompza in assists and steals, Dave Diakite in rebounding, and Keith Clanton in rebounding and blocked shots.

The Knights have scored wins against Massachusetts, Howard, Auburn, Drake, Albany, Newberry and Bethune-Cookman while suffering losses to Niagara and Notre Dame as well as USF and UConn.

After starting the New Year with a road game at Mississippi on Jan. 5 the C-USA schedule begins for UCF with Rice (5-6) paying a visit Jan. 9 and Marshall (10-2) coming to town Jan. 13.

Bethune-Cookman forced the Knights into 18 turnovers and looked a bit more convincing in the post until UCF tightened up and put the game away down the stretch to come out on top, 63-50.

“We were starting to feel like the game might slip and we were in danger of losing,” said junior forward A.J. Tyler. “That’s when we picked it up.”

Keith Clanton (Photo by J.C. Carnahan)

Freshman forward Keith Clanton extended the lead for UCF (7-2) to 51-47 when he received a pass down low, took a quick bounce to shake off a defender, and laid in a shot off the glass with 3:08 to play. He would then drive to the bucket for another score before blocking a shot and stealing a pass in the paint over the final two minutes for the Knights.

“He came up big for us at the end with a couple blocks there when we needed to have some critical stops,” said UCF Coach Kirk Speraw of the freshman.

It was Clanton’s first career start, and it started out as a relatively quiet one in part because the Knights as a whole appeared to be playing down to their competition. It wasn’t until late in the game that Clanton showed he was comfortable attacking both on the dribble and defense end.

In the first half Clanton made a free throw and two shots from the field for five points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two turnovers. He would finish the night 4-for-4 for nine points, five rebound and four blocked shots in all.

“He has a good sense and a good feel for the game,” Speraw said.

Getting UCF off and running in the first half was Tyler, a transfer from Clemson who Speraw says has added some stability in the post and has become much more consistent of late. He led all scorers with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting and had six rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of work.

Tyler started the game with a quick pass to Isaac Sosa that led to a score then had two quick baskets of his own, one of which while floating along the baseline off an assist from Clanton near the corner of the court.

But as a team, UCF went long stretches without scoring from the field while Bethune-Cookman seemingly did so at will. That was until the final five minutes of the game when the Knights tightened up defensively to allow just three points the rest of the way.

“We need to get to a point where as a team we do that from the very first minute – all 40 minutes,” said Tyler of the team’s defensive effort. “That’s where we need to get to.”

There’s not a whole lot of time to make that happen though, as the Knights go on the road to take on South Florida (7-1) on Wednesday and No. 14 Connecticut (6-2) on Sunday, Dec. 20. They will then host the UCF Holiday Classic with Liberty (5-6), Buffalo (5-3) and Jacksonville (0-5) coming to town Dec. 29-30.

The Knights start the New Year on the road at No. 25 Ole Miss (8-1) on Jan. 5 before the Conference USA slate gets underway against Rice at UCF Arena on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 5 p.m.

With the win over Bethune-Cookman, UCF stays unbeaten at home (5-0) and puts Speraw just four wins away from become the winningest head coach in program history.

“We stepped up and made it difficult on them to score coming down the stretch and that’s what you need,” said Speraw. “You need to dig down a little deeper no matter what had happened earlier in the game and you’ve got to fight, scratch and claw, and our guys were able to do that.”

Also making contributions for the Knights in the win were A.J. Rompza with 12 points, five steals and three assists; P.J. Gaynor with 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks; and Sosa with 13 points off three three-pointers and 4-for-9 shooting.

The Knights started the Classic with a home win against Howard on Tuesday night, 68-59, as guard Taylor Young led the Knights with 15 points and freshman forward Keith Clanton added 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in 25 minutes in front of 5,216 at the UCF Arena.

The Knights then played their next three games in Daytona, starting things off with one of the program’s biggest wins as they knocked off Auburn, 84-74, in front of a pro-UCF crowd dressed in black and gold. The win marked UCF’s first-ever victory over a team from the Southeastern Conference. Junior forward A.J. Tyler scored a career-high 19 points for the Knights.

“We had to come out and play strong, especially against an SEC Team,” said sophomore guard A.J. Rompza. “They are one of the better teams in their conference. We knew we had to come out and play strong, and we knew we had to come out and play as a team.”

The Knights jumped out on Auburn and took a 15-3 lead in route to a 41-24 advantage at halftime. The Knights eventually withstood a couple of Auburn runs in the second half as they went 8-for-8 from the free throw line late in the contest to help preserve their first triumph in 28 tries over an SEC school.

“It was a tough, hard-fought game,” said Speraw. “It’s a good win for this team. History? I don’t know. I’m just worried about this team.”

The Knights followed the Auburn win though with a loss to Niagara, 63-46, as turnovers did in UCF, who turned the ball over 23 times and shot only 31-percent from field in defeat.

UCF bounced back on Sunday with a nine-point win over Drake, 59-50, to go 3-1 in the tournament and improve to 4-1 on the season. The win to close out the tournament was also No. 350 all-time for Speraw. Sophomore guard Isaac Sosa led the Knights with 15 points as UCF shot 51-percent from the field while holding Drake to 31-percent from the floor before ending the game on a 15-4 run to pull away for good.

Up next for the Knights is a home game against Albany on Saturday at 5 p.m.

–– More UCF Knights Basketball Coverage ––

– Photos and coverage at UCF Sports

– UCF vs. Auburn and Niagra at Central Florida Future

– UCF postgame quotes at Orlando Sentinel

– UCF vs. Auburn at UCF Today

– UCF vs. Niagra at Orlando Sentinel

– UCF vs. Drake at Sports News

– UCF around the Web at UCF Insider

– UCF News and Notes

When the UCF Knights basketball team made their way onto the court for their season opener against UMass, they stepped right into a big-time college basketball atmosphere as 8,727 fans, including legendary Michael Jordan, were on hand to witness a rousing 84-67 win.

Isaac Sosa goes to the basket Friday night against UMass. (Photo by Scott McCall)

The energy radiated throughout the building over a two-hour stretch thanks to a raucous student section, school pep band, and a solid turnout by the community. Those in attendance helped give UCF its second-largest turnout in school history. There were 9,825 who witnessed the Knights take on Memphis on Jan. 10.

Isaac Sosa (Photo by Scott McCall)

“People don’t understand how much that affects our kids,” said head coach Kirk Speraw of those that made it out. “They’re a huge factor in our effort on the defensive end, we need them every game.”

The Knights held Massachusetts to 33-percent shooting from the field while draining 55-percent of their own shots to earn their eighth straight season-opening win.

“We heard them the whole game,” said sophomore guard Isaac Sosa of the crowd. “When we were up by double digits we felt like we could keep it like that [because of them]. It’s great motivation for us.”

The Knights opened things up close to midway through the second half after big shots were made by Sosa, Clanton, sophomore Jakub Kusmieruk and junior Taylor Young. Sosa led all scores with 26 points on 9-for-11 shooting, which included 6 of 7 shots from beyond the arc. It was just the second 20-point game of his young career.

A.J. Rompza (Photo by Scott McCall)

“I was very focused coming into this game and I always feel very confident in my shot,” said Sosa, the team’s leading returning scorer after averaging 8.2 points per game a year ago. “Once I get going I feel like I can keep going for the rest of the game.”

One person in particular who kept on going in typical fashion (if not recklessly) despite cramps and succumbing to an IV needle at one point was gritty sophomore guard and team sparkplug A.J. Rompza.

When Rampza wasn’t speeding up and down the court he was landing on it. He went on to finish out the night 6 of 8 from the field for 13 points with 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. It was the 18^th time he has dished out at least five assists in a game for UCF.

“We stayed positive out there,” said Rompza. “There were times when we went down and as a young team we could have gave in and put our heads down but we showed a lot of maturity and stayed strong.”

Keith Clanton (Photo by Scott McCall)

Speraw, who is now just 10 wins away from becoming the winningest coach in program history, can only hope that the play of Rompza continues to evolve into that of a “floor general and quarterback on the court” as the team’s season and the kid’s career takes shape. It’s rather evident that – for a roster featuring just one senior and two juniors – as Rompza goes this team will go.

Next up for the Knights is a home game on Tuesday night against Howard at 7 p.m.

–– Keeping Stats ––

Clanton finished with 9 points on 4-for-6 shooting with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a blocked shot and 3 turnovers in 27 minutes while fellow freshman Marcus Jordan went 0-for-2 from the field and 0-for-2 from the free throw line with 3 turnovers, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in 11 minutes of work.

Dave Diakite grabbed 7 rebounds, PJ. Gaynor scored 11 points and Taylor Young dished out 4 assists.

UMass was led by the 15-point effort of Ricky Harris, 14-point effort of Anthony Gurley, and 12-point effort of Freddie Riley.

–––– more UCF Basketball vs UMass coverage to come ––––

But that’s been the case with the 2009-10 season as the Knight enter the new campaign with a balanced but very young nucleus featuring a mix of returning players and perhaps their strongest recruiting class ever. Tonight the Knights host Saint Leo in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. before the action begins for real on Nov. 13 against Massachusetts.

Marcus Jordan talks with local media members last month. (Photo by J.C. Carnahan)

Among the additions that should help make an immediate impact on the court is local product Keith Clanton at forward and Chicago native Nik Garcia at guard. Off the court the UCF box office is already realizing the immediate public appeal of freshman guard Marcus Jordan.

Jordan is the son of legendary basketball player Michael Jordan as well as a former travel team teammate of Garcia and high school teammate of UCF sophomore A.J. Rompza. With those familiar faces already committed to playing college hoops in Central Florida it made things a lot easier for Jordan to make his decision when it came time to sign on with the Knights.

And with the arrival of a recruit bearing the most famous name in all of sports, UCF Head Coach Kirk Speraw is hardly surprised at the sort of attention that will be afforded his program over the next several years.

“When you get a commitment that is not only (featured) in the local media but then goes to the east coast, the west coast and to forgein countries, just on (getting) the commitment, I think that speaks for itself,” said Speraw.

Fans are now hoping that the hype doesn’t outweigh the talent and that this particular Jordan doesn’t only help the program gain media attention, but also makes big contributions on a regular basis. At least Speraw thinks he can, while assuring skeptics that his spot on the roster is no premeditated marketing ploy.

“Our decision to recruit Marcus was strictly on what Marcus would bring to our team and the skill set that he had,” said the 17-year veteran coach. “It didn’t matter whether his name was Marcus Smith, his skill set is what we needed for this basketball team.”

Entering preseason camp there were still plenty of questions about the 6-3, 200-pounder who describes his game as being “hard-nosed in the paint.” Jordan has spent much of the summer mending an injured knee. Time will tell how soon he and the other new additions can come together and realize their potential despite being one of the youngest teams in the nation.

“My impression as to what he will bring (to the team) is a very competitive individual who has very good instincts for the game of basketball,” said Speraw of Jordan. “Those are two skills that are very critical to being a successful basketball program.”

For Jordan’s part, he says he is going to try to stay under the radar for as long as he can, which may be easier said than done. Since coming to town he’s already had his dad down for a visit and been caught up in some confusion over what brand of basketball shoes he’ll be able to wear during the season. UCF is sponsored by Adidas and his father’s shoes are made by Nike.

If there is one thing that may surprise some people about a kid who grew up as the son of Michael Jordan it’s that he’s embraced who he is long ago and checked the ego at the door. Not only does he come off as being humble, but he’s also both relaxed and approachable with regards to the attention he receives. What he’s now most focused and concerned with at this point in his young life is making a name for himself while also helping UCF win, regardless of the pressure and expectations that may come tied with such an agenda.

“I’ve had those expectations since sixth grade,” said Jordan of living up to his namesake. “Just growing up you learn how to deal with them and learn that you’re not going to be Michael Jordan, Jr., you’re just going to be Marcus Jordan, and I have no problem with that.”

And chances are the Knights won’t have much problem with that either.

- More Marcus Jordan and UCF Knights coverage –

Rumor on which brand Jordan wears on Wednesday at Knight News

Classic photo with sneaker story at The Smoking Section

David Haugh on the shoe issue at Chicago Tribune

Tim Povtak on the shoe issue at Fanhouse

Eric Angevine at Storming the Floor

Marcus Jordan video footage at Dipity