Scorers extend past Jordan, Clanton

Last season there seemed to be a theme to the UCF men's basketball team's point distribution and its correlation to winning: Jordan, Clanton or bust.

While other players did other things quite well, the scoring burden consistently fell on either guard Marcus Jordan or forward Keith Clanton.

Jordan averaged 15.2 points per game last season while Clanton averaged 14.2.

When neither player played particularly well, or perhaps only one did, the team generally lost, with a few exceptions.

However, some of the problems the Knights ran into as they went from winning 14-straight to a losing streak was that opposing teams had discovered ways to key on Jordan and Clanton, forcing someone else to score, and they often didn't.

The hope for the 2011-2012 campaign is that with the additions of talented transfers, a trio of freshmen and returning players who have greatly improved during the offseason, the burden of scoring enough points to win games will be further distributed.

"I think now we have some other guys that can do more than last year; that can give us different offense," head coach Donnie Jones said.

Jones said he wants to see Jordan grow as a passer, something the junior guard demonstrated a knack for last season when he led the team with 3.3 assists per game.

"I'm looking forward to it [creating more shots for teammates] a lot," Jordan said. "I've never been a selfish player trying to go out and scored 30 points in a night; I'm just trying to go out and get W's."

During one of the team's exhibition games in Canada over the summer, the opposing team used a defense involving a zone, but having one player constantly shadowing Jordan. Jordan used the opportunity to rack up some assists instead of forcing up bad shots.

"They chased him around and he had six or seven assists," Jones said. "He did what he did to help our team beat a very good team."

One of the players expected to greatly help with the scoring load is forward Tristan Spurlock. Spurlock, an athletic 6 feet 8 inches tall, is a natural matchup problem for opposing defenders. He has the ability to play shooting guard, small forward and power forward. Following the offseason departure of the team's talented perimeter shooter, Isaac Sosa (transfer to Canisius), Spurlock has emerged as one of the team's best outside shooters.

"He's got a lot of talent; he can shoot the ball from deep," Jones said. "He has the ability offensively to be very good."

One returning player who is making progress is senior P.J. Gaynor. Gaynor saw an increased role as the season progressed last year, and during the team's exhibition trip to Canada the versatile forward averaged 14.3 points per game.

"P.J., I think he's been playing the best we've ever seen him play," Clanton said.

The Knights' first opportunity to demonstrate a more balanced offensive attack will come in the team's sole preseason game on Saturday. UCF will host West Virginia Tech at the UCF Arena at 5 p.m. Contest admission is free.