Welcome to my team preview series for 2024-25. Each day between now and the start of the college basketball season, I will preview one team or conference, both on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and through an article here. The preview will go in-depth on the roster build of the team, my expectations for their upcoming season, and the state of the program under their current head coach.
UCF (Projected: 12th in Big 12)
UCF fought better than a lot of people expected last year in its first season in the Big 12. The Knights finished 7-11 in conference and even took down Kansas at home. 2024-25 will be year nine for Johnny Dawkins at the helm. With just one NCAA Tournament appearance thus far, this season could be Dawkins’ best chance at another for awhile.
The Knights return four players, but both members from last year’s dynamic backcourt return. Senior guard Jaylin Sellers (16 ppg, 4 rpg) led the team in scoring last season and is one half of the duo. Sellers can score at all three levels, proving this in a 34-point outing last season vs Stetson. If Sellers can improve his percentage from three-point range (29.7%), it will give the Knights’ backcourt even more versatility.
Darius Johnson (15 ppg, 4 apg) is the other half of the backcourt, the point guard and the leader of the Knights’ offense. Johnson is another three level scorer, but also has a great ability to create and find his teammates. Johnson also brings a much better three-point shot (39.4%) to the table than Sellers, keeping defenders honest. The other two returners for the Knights are sophomore guards Tyler Hendricks (3 ppg) and Nils Machowski (2 ppg) who saw limited playing time in their freshman seasons.
The Knights’ backcourt stars returned, but a majority of the lineup left the program via graduation or the transfer portal. The losses in the frontcourt consist of CJ Walker (8 ppg, 5 rpg), Marchelus Avery (8 ppg, 4 rpg), Ibrahima Diallo (6 ppg, 6 rpg), and Omar Payne (4 ppg, 4 rpg). The backcourt lost Shemarri Allen (7 ppg, 4 rpg), Antwann Jones (4 ppg), Comeh Emuobor (2 ppg), and DeMarr Langford Jr. (2 ppg).
Johnny Dawkins handled the departures well, hitting the transfer portal hard and landing nine transfers. Jordan Ivy-Curry (17 ppg, 5 rpg at UTSA) will be an instant contributor in the Knights’ backcourt, likely slotting in beside Sellers and Johnson. Like Sellers and Johnson, Ivy-Curry can score consistently at all three levels. Ivy-Curry also showed a great ability to find open teammates, even at a struggling UTSA team, which is something I think has lead to him becoming one of the more underrated transfers to hit the portal this past spring.
Keyshawn Hall (17 ppg, 8 rpg at George Mason) was the other big fish for UCF in the transfer portal, a 6-7 forward with guard skills from George Mason. Hall is an aggressive driver that can get downhill with ease. He’s especially dangerous in transition, where at 6-7 he can see the whole floor and he can handle the ball extremely well for his height to create opportunities for his team running the floor. More of the offseason additions for UCF include freshman forward Moustapha Thiam (4*, NAT 39), senior guard Dallan ‘Deebo’ Coleman (6 ppg at Georgia Tech), junior forward Rokas Jocius (9 ppg, 5 rpg at La Salle), and junior center Elijah Hulsewe (4 ppg, 4 rpg at Bethune-Cookman).
The rest of the offseason additions are where I think things can get messy for the Knights. The team brings in four players, all of which have stirred up some kind of trouble within in the past few years. Syracuse forward Benny Williams (5 ppg, 4 rpg at Syracuse) was kicked out of the Syracuse program and Memphis forward JJ Taylor had been suspended by Memphis coach Penny Hardaway before leaving the program in early January. Mikey Williams also transfers in having not officially played for Memphis, obvious having dealt with gun charges and other legal issues in the past few years. Dior Johnson transfers in, having been enrolled at Pitt two years ago before being pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges and playing JUCO this past season. With four head cases on the roster in 2024-25, it will be important for Johnny Dawkins to keep all these kids moving in the right direction.
Johnny Dawkins has done a solid job at UCF, showing the basketball program some life and competing well in his first season in the Big 12. He has his most talented team since the 2019 NCAA Tournament squad, but will have to keep emotions in check all season long. Luckily, he has experienced guards Jaylin Sellers and Darius Johnson there to restore some order.
Jaylin Sellers and Darius Johnson have now been through the Big 12 gauntlet once and will be a year better this time around. Jordan Ivy-Curry and Keyshawn Hall are two of the best mid-major transfers coming to the power conference level. We know what these four should provide. The biggest X-factor for this UCF team to be competitive is every other player on the roster. We know the roster is talented, but we really don’t know who will get a bulk of the chances throughout the season, and who will even still be on the team by the end of the season.
It’s a very talented UCF team this year, but one that could cause Johnny Dawkins some awful headaches. The bottom of the Big 12 isn’t going to be particularly good this year, and I think if disaster doesn’t strike, the Knights can get above that line. My projected finish for the Knights as it stands right now is 12th place in the 16-team Big 12.