Magical Knight for UCF

Dec 1st, 2010 -- Amway Arena, Orlando

Playing the first college game in the Orlando Magic's new Amway center, it was the UCF Knights who conjured up a little magic of their own.  What started as "can we hang with em?" turned into "do you think we'll be ranked? Can we make the Big Dance?" by the end of the evening.

Not that anything so grandiose is necessary to validate the importance of what transpired tonight.  Donnie Jones's club didn't "upset" the vaunted Gators.  Don't be fooled by the lazy reporting you'll find in many places across the sports landscape where writers toss out the word "upset" with the flippancy of a Tiger Woods "sext".  The better team won tonight's game.  It just wasn't the team most thought prior to tipoff.

Florida's preseason #8 ranking was clearly more than a little ambitious.  To be honest, the #18 they perched on this week is likely a little too high as well; but let's not get it twisted.  Florida is a NCAA Tournament-caliber team not too far removed from the shine of back-to-back national titles, playing on a neutral floor who got out-hustled, out-defended and out-poised by the little brother down the street.  While Florida tossed up errant shots and airballed free throws it was the young Knights and the oft-chided "you're not your father" Marcus Jordan who stepped up to line, stepped up to the moment; and knocked it down cold.  His Airness?  Of course not.  Royalty?  You better believe it.

Marcus Jordan will wake up tomorrow the King of the campus.  The King of a UCF Basketball Kingdom so long an afterthought that the less-than-subtle arrival tonight's game served might take a few days or weeks...perhaps even a few seasons to fully resonate.  But make no mistake about it.  Tonight, both individually and collectively, the Knights arrived.

For Marcus Jordan, he is one step closer to being seen as what he really is; a darn good basketball on a pretty good team.  For Coach Donnie Jones, a darn good coach laying the foundation to a program that scares the living daylights out of Florida's "Big 4" programs.  And for UCF fans?  I think this sums it up best.  After the game, I received several texts from Knights fans saying "watch out Memphis here we come!"

Perhaps tonight was even better.  Perhaps tonight was saying something even louder.  As 15,000 fans packed the arena (aided by Gator fans, but listen to the audio of the game - lots and lots of UCF'ers there) to watch UCF not just beat but comfortably outplay SEC-favorite Florida, I can't help but imagine some day soon Knights fans might instead be comfortable saying "watch out Pitt, watch out Georgetown, watch out Villanova, Syracuse and Louisville..."

For relevance-craving Knights fans, that would be magical indeed.