CBI experience valuable for UCF

I'm going to go out on a limb and venture to say no one dreams of playing in or winning the College Basketball Invitational.

"CBI or bust" probably isn't written on any dry-erase boards during team meetings at the beginning of the season.

So it sort of begs the question; why the CBI?

Why play in a tournament casual sports fans have no idea exists?

 The tournament is only four years old, but that's not the only reason it enjoys such anonymity. The NCAA Tournament is going on, so is the NIT, the NBA regular season is heading down the stretch, and spring training's started. The CBI just doesn't quite measure up.

So why do it? Why play in a tournament that is likely only followed, at best, by fans of the teams playing in it?

Experience.

Six participants (out of 16) from last year's CBI were in this year's NCAA Tournament field. One of them, last year's CBI champion Virginia Commonwealth, is in the Sweet 16.

And while I'm personally not holding my breath to hear VCU's players or coaches directly trace their current success to last year's CBI appearance in their next round of press conferences, the lesson still seems clear.

Postseason experience is just that. And it's invaluable.

"We're trying to teach a mentality and change a culture here," said head coach Donnie Jones. "VCU sat here just like us last year. They had a chance to win out and bring their team back next year. So we want to keep this thing alive and have a chance to win this. That's why we're playing."

Regardless of what's at stake, the simplicity of the situation remains. The CBI is a postseason tournament, and when you lose, your season ends. These teams are playing to win because they don't want their season to end and it creates a sense of urgency that makes the games valuable.

"We want to win, we're all competitors. They put us in the CBI so we're just going to try and win it," said sophomore forward Keith Clanton, who scored 16 in the Knights' win over Rhode Island in the tournament's second round.

The Knights haven't played any basketball powerhouses in the CBI. But they've played teams with talented stars.

You play in the CBI because you want to see growth in your players. Freshman Isaiah Sykes is a good example. He's been using these extra games to rack up offensive rebounds, steals, assists, and a couple highlight-reel dunks. Dwight McCombs is another example of a player who has looked better during the CBI.

Donnie Jones wants his team to get better. And adding a few more wins or go home games to the schedule sure can't hurt.

Layups

— UCF guard A.J. Rompza was especially happy to pick up the win against Rhode Island, seeing as March 21 was also the junior's 21st birthday. Fans sung "Happy Birthday" multiple times throughout the night, and Rompza finished with seven points, three assists, and five rebounds.

— Both of UCF's first two opponents, St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island, had potential NBA players on their rosters (Andrew Nicholson for St. Bonaventure and Delroy James for Rhode Island).