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A bowl victory is nice, but basketball’s future is brighter

Sports Editor

Published: Sunday, January 2, 2011

Updated: Tuesday, January 4, 2011 17:01

Central Florida Future

I know that we're all still in a BBQ coma and hungover from partying on Beale Street after the biggest win for the football program in school history, but it's time to wake up and smell the coffee.

Sure, the Liberty Bowl was a huge upset. Sure, it was the first time a Conference USA team defeated an SEC team in the bowl. Sure, it was UCF's first bowl victory ever. But don't get too excited about winning a mediocre bowl game against a sub-.500 Georgia Bulldog team.

What you should really be excited about is your basketball team.

Head coach Donnie Jones has completely transformed the basketball program from a joke within the conference to one of the best teams in the nation.

Yeah, I said it.  The Knights are one of the best teams in the nation.

I'm not trying to take anything away from what the football team has done, but the truth is that the basketball team actually has a chance to play for a national title.

The football team doesn't.

Jones truly is an elite coach who has enough talent on the court to bring the Knights into the March Madness tournament.

Jones' Knights are one of just seven undefeated teams in the nation and keep climbing in the national Top-25 polls.  Like the football team, they earned their first Top-25 ranking in school history.  

Except the basketball team, unlike the football team, kept winning after they obtained their first ranking.  Jones has done a superb job of keeping the Knights level-headed despite all of the hype surrounding the team.

We'll really see what the basketball team is made of as they enter conference play this week versus Marshall (Jones' old team). Until then, be excited about the future of this basketball program.  

It seems like the UCF administration has been searching forever for some type of athletic identity through the football program, but they have been looking in all of the wrong places.  

We're sick of ESPN still calling us the Golden Knights and Central Florida, but the only reason why ESPN does that is because UCF is still virtually unknown. The basketball program will be the program that puts the Knights in the national spotlight, not football.  Soon, the disrespect will stop.

UCF is going to be considered more of a basketball school than a football school.  

Let's just hope the Big East notices.

 

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6 comments

Anonymous
Sat Jan 8 2011 13:26
i agree with all of that except the being overshadowed by the noles and canes. gators, for sure, though. ucf is a novelty item on espn because of marcus jordan, when this streak ends or he leaves, ucf is back to obscurity. one bowl win doesn't change anything.
Anonymous
Sat Jan 8 2011 02:35
I'm sorry but I watch espn a lot & I have yet to hear anything about UCF basketball & football. Even after UCF beat Georgia, I didn't hear anything about that for more than a day after it ended. ESPN poked fun at George O'leary sayin he could now put that on his resume & not have to lie about it. I thought that was very funny cause I don't like o'leary at all. The Big East is not offering UCF a basketball spot. The Big East already has 16 or 17 teams & now with TCU joining, it doesn't appear UCF will anytime soon. UCF people need to realize their school came along 20 years too late and they have to play in a mediocre conference for a while. Even in Orlando UCF is overshadowed by how the Gators, Noles, and Hurricanes do. Thats just the way it. But hey life is not always fair.
Anonymous
Thu Jan 6 2011 12:55
Horrible writing, inane reasoning, lack of sports knowledge, demeaning attitude....... good thing she is somewhat hot.
Anonymous
Wed Jan 5 2011 01:21
At least this chick is hot and probably could handle a bat and a couple of balls, but she doesn't seem to know much about basketball and football.

I have news for you....we are the UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA. I don't really mind they call us Central Florida. We are Central Florida. It could be worse. They could not be referring to us at all. It isn't disrespectful to call us Central Florida.

Anonymous
Tue Jan 4 2011 12:21
Worse. Article. Ever. This chick is a gong show.
Anonymous
Mon Jan 3 2011 15:54
I don't know where to begin, your lack of education about college sports should disqualify your comment. You're lack of support is belittling a program that has worked double time to reach this level.

I would like for you to say these words in front of those men who played in memphis against a georgia team that was a .500 squad, yet averaged 30 pts a game coming into the liberty bowl and were held to 6.

Such a harsh critic with little facts deserves no attention, but I wanted to stick up for our boys on the field. The boys on the court are doing their thing to add to the football statement, not take away.





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