Since the triumphant press conference announcing Johnny Dawkins as the new head coach of UCF basketball, it feels like there has been nothing but bad news.
Players — key players at that — were transferring out of the program and leaving the 2017 team in a lurch. The program was truly getting built from the ground up with sophomores Tacko Fall and B.J. Taylor having to lead the charge with A.J. Davis in support and still a lot more to go from there.
The Knights were set to lose their top two 3-point shooters in Henriquez and junior Matt Williams. Williams had even committed to Danny Manning and Wake Forest.
A sudden change of heart though has Williams back and committed to UCF.
Brandon Helwig of UCFSports.com and Juan Toribio of Knights247 report Williams has decided to remain at UCF rather than transfer.
“I just feel like UCF was the place for me,” Williams told UCFSports.com in a text message. “It’s the place where I started and where I should finish. Coach (Johnny) Dawkins and staff have an amazing plan for the entire program that I want to be a part of.”
Williams averaged 8.1 points per game and shot 32.9 percent from beyond the arc. He and Henriquez were the top two returning 3-point shooters from last year’s team. He started 18 of 30 games for the Knights and had some games where he really showed confidence as a 3-point shooter.
It is an important get for the Knights. Or an important decision for them in 2017.
Likely Taylor, Chance McSpadden and Williams will battle it out for most of the guard minutes. Or all three could start with A.J. Davis playing the power forward next to Tacko Fall. That creates options the Knights needed to have rather than relying on the young Tanksley Efianayi or an incoming freshman.
UCF could still be in the market for transfers as the team still has a few open roster spots and scholarships to offer.
Dawkins is still forming his foundation and his program. This decision and announcement is a big one for the program moving forward.
[…] appeared to be gone. Williams though, after committing to Wake Forest, had a change of heart and decided to stay in Orlando at […]