Knights Fans Asking "Now What?"

 Orlando, FL -- Jan 20th, 2011

No one expected UCF to finish the season unbeaten.  Heck, no one expected them to enter 2011 unbeaten for that matter.

But they did.  The magnetic smile (and name) of Marcus Jordan attracted the major media outlets to write glowing articles of the blossoming program in Orlando.  ESPN ran highlights of UCF games routinely; just like they would for Duke, Syracuse, Kansas; college basketball's elite programs.

Things were looking brighter than ever for UCF basketball and head coach Donnie Jones.

You know what Knight fans?  They still are.

Ironically, the most telling sign that UCF basketball is begining to gain some relevance is evident not in the early season wins, but in the reaction to the past two weeks dramatic plummet back to earth.  The panicked hand-wringing of frustrated fans signifies the new era in the growth of UCF basketball.

It's no longer a nothing-wagered endeavor to root for the Knights.  In one tantalizing six week stretch fans got their first taste of the instantly-addictive sweetness of following a nationally-relevant program; their beloved Knights were no longer just aiming slingshots at giants - they were having those same slingshots aimed at them.

Last night's loss to East Carolina was certainly not pretty.  It is the kind of game an NCAA Tournament team doesn't lose; a game they can't lose.  Add in the fact it was UCF's third consecutive conference loss dropping them to 1-3, and aside from the trip to Hattiesburg, the schedule hasn't really gotten tough yet, and the concern is certainly merited.

Are the Knights going to the tournament this year?  Most likely not.  Has this season been a seismic step forward, an important first step on the not-so-instant journey to building a respectable program?  Absolutely.

The future is bright for Donnie Jones and the Knights.  Several weeks ago they lured a recruit from under Rick Pitino's powerful grasp when the #4 ranked prep center in the country decommitted from Louisville, spurned Xavier, and instead chose to come to Orlando next season.  It's easily the highest profile true freshman the program has ever signed.  Marcus Jordan and Keith Clanton are only sophmores, and three of the seven best players on their team are in street clothes this season, sitting out the required year after transferring.

UCF is building something special, something consistent and something relevant.  They are close to breaking through that once seemingly distant barrier between "plucky mid-major" and "at-large tournament team."  That kind of evolution doesn't happen over night - even if we might want it to.  A program doesn't go from "never been invited to the NIT" to "earning an at-large NCAA berth" in one season often; and the programs that do are generally buoyed only by one fleeting supernova, a la Davidson and Steph Curry in 2007 and 2008.

For Knight fans throwing their hands up in dispair, welcome to college basketball.  Welcome to the incredible highs that fans in Lexington, Lawrence, Durham and Chapel Hill have known for years.  Welcome also to those same lows.  Gone are the days of Knight fans celebrating only the occasional monumental upset win and sweeping middlingly losses blithely under the rug.  Sorry UCF fans, there is a lot more heartbreak in your future.

And for a fledling program hoping to become a giant, that's the best news possible.



-- Chris Scheeren is the author and publisher of MarchManiacs.com and writes freelance columns for several other publications.  For comments, inquiries, etc, email chrisscheeren@yahoo.com