The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

[BV28]

Re: The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

LMAO, if I were you, I wouldn't have posted the real results, just kind of embarrassing

[nolan887]

Re: The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

LMAO, if I were you, I wouldn't have posted the real results, just kind of embarrassing

lol. i dished it out so i'll take it back. it was a really good game tho, my first ot game since coming to ucf.

[nolan887]

UCF @ FSU

SHANNON'S 34 LIFT KNIGHTS OVER SEMINOLES IN COME FROM BEHIND THRILLER

UCF Knights 6-1 (0-0) at Florida State Seminoles 4-3 (0-0)

Donald L. Tucker Center

Tallahassee, FL

November 22, 2014

Tallahassee, FL - Just three days after beating the #24 ranked Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables, the UCF Knights headed down to Tallahassee to duke it out in front of 12,000 rabid Seminoles fans. While the result was the same, the play this game was much different. The Knights tried to get out on a run early in the game to put Florida State out of it, but the entire first half turned into an offensive shootout. The teams essentially went bucket for bucket and went into halftime with a score of 40-39 in the Seminole's favor. The second half was more of the same, but the Knights got into a bit of foul trouble and started missing some of their shots while letting the game seemingly slip away. With five minutes left in the game all five starters were on the bench and the Knights were down by 9 points. In the next two minutes the UCF bench players would milk the clock to try to get rest for their starters and ended up cutting the lead to just 5 points with 3 minutes left. The starters came back fired up and Pearson Shannon spurred the Knights to a win scoring 8 of the games last 10 points. Shannon was a monster on offense and scored a game high 34 points. J.J. Bone also had another great game with 16 points. Freshman Michael Boyce was in some foul trouble throughout the game, but still turned in a near double-double performance with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Senior Seminoles center Esteban Burnette leads Florida State in points per game so far this season and had a great game with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. His mere presence under the basket forced UCF to get away from their "attack the basket" mentality and the Knights settled for a lot of jumpers today.

"This game certainly wasn't what we planned on, but the result will have to do," Nolan commented after the game. "It seemed like they were way more prepared than we were and we went shot for shot the entire first half. The second half they stayed hot and we didn't. It was great to see our bench step up and do exactly what we needed them to do in the last few minutes of the game. Shannon was an absolute monster today. His play today reminded me of his 45 point game against UNH last season. When he gets hot, there is no stopping him. Boyce is still playing great as well, averaging about 10 points and 7 rebounds per game thus far. Bone and Simmons are doing a great job in the backcourt for us as well, which was a big issue we had last season. Lets hope that we can keep the momentum up in Tampa next week."

The USF Bulls sit at 2-2 on the season and are the first of two Big East match ups for the UCF Knights this season, the other being the WVU Mountaineers. The USF/UCF rivalry has been well documented and UCF managed to pull out a 15 point win in their game last season. The Bulls return Senior Rodrigo Evanstar, their sharpshooting strong forward, this season and the Knights hope to be able to contain him this time around. It is interesting to note that Evanstar was one of Coach Nolan's most heavily recruited players during his tenure at USCU.

Central Florida (6-1) at Florida State (4-3)
November 22, 2014 1 2 F Central Florida 39 41 80 Florida State 40 34 74 Top Performers Central Florida - Stats Pearson Shannon - 34 Pts, 6 Reb, 1 Blk J.J. Bone - 16 Pts (1-4 3pt), 2 Reb, 5 Ast, 4 Stl Florida State - Stats Vince Flowers - 16 Pts, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk Esteban Burnette - 13 Pts, 4 reb, 2 Blk	Team Stat Comparison UCF FSU FG Made-Attempted 27-58 29-59 3P Made-Attempted 2-5 1-12 FT Made-Attempted 24-37 15-16 Rebounds 27 32 Assists 15 15 Steals 11 5 Blocks 1 6 Turnovers 6 16

[nolan887]

UCF @ USF

NOLAN'S KNIGHTS BEAT YET ANOTHER RIVAL, BLOW OUT USF

UCF Knights 7-1 (0-0) at USF Bulls 2-3 (0-0)

USF Sun Dome

Tampa, FL

November 26, 2014

Tampa, FL - The UCF Knights have blown out their Big East rival USF Bulls for the second straight year. Since picking up Nolan as their head coach, the Knights have played out of their minds and stunned everyone from players to fans to critics of the team. For the third time this season, the UCF defense clamped down and held their opponent to under 50 points. Sharpshooter Rodrigo Evanstar, who lit up the Knights defense last year, was held to just 2 points on the day. Junior center Diego Vasquez was a monster on USF's defense, but went down halfway through the first half with a pulled hamstring and sat for the rest of the game. The game was close until Vasquez went down, but the Knights went on an 18-6 run to end the first half and went into halftime with a 7 point lead. After halftime, the Knights came out and played stellar defense while scoring on almost every possession. Pearson Shannon had a game high 17 points and J.J. Bone turned in another solid effort with 15 points. Freshman Michael Boyce struggled in this game, going 3-11 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. The Knights outscored the Bulls by 20 points in the second half and went on to win in blowout fashion by 27 points.

"Three big wins in a row against stiff competition," Nolan commented after the win. "If we keep this up, we have a big chance to win all of our conference games this season. We only lost one last year, so winning them all isn't that big of a stretch. We are capping off our run of Florida teams this Saturday with a game at home against UNF and hope to go into our week off on a win streak. We set up our schedule to have next week off so we have more time to woo the recruits and try to get them signed by the December 7 deadline."

The UNF Ospreys have three seniors in their starting lineup and the match up to watch will be their senior PF Cal Jackson against Pearson Shannon. Jackson leads the Ospreys in scoring with 24.4 a game as does Shannon with 19.4. UNF comes into Orlando sitting at 4-4 with a few embarrassing losses on their resume. Their only hope of beating the red hot Knights it to get Jackson going and keeping him out of foul trouble as they have no other real scoring threats on their roster.

Central Florida (7-1) at South Florida (2-3)
November 26, 2014 1 2 F Central Florida 35 41 76 South Florida 28 21 49 Top Performers Central Florida - Stats Pearson Shannon - 19 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 Blk J.J. Bone - 15 Pts (2-5 3pt), 7 Ast, 2 Stl South Florida - Stats Jack Burnstein - 11 Pts, 3 Reb, 4 Ast, 4 Stl Donald Stys - 7 Pts, 1 Reb, 4 Ast	Team Stat Comparison UCF USF FG Made-Attempted 27-62 18-48 3P Made-Attempted 4-10 1-10 FT Made-Attempted 18-25 12-14 Rebounds 29 30 Assists 17 14 Steals 11 4 Blocks 3 4 Turnovers 4 17

[nolan887]

UCF vs UNF

UCF MAKES IT 6 IN A ROW WITH ANNIHILATION OF UNF

UCF Knights 8-1 (0-0) vs UNF Ospreys 4-5 (0-0)

UCF Arena

Orlando, FL

November 29, 2014

Orlando, FL - The UCF Knights have been playing stellar defense all year, and this game would be no exception. The Knights held the UNF Ospreys to just 36 points, marking the fourth time this season that UCF has held an opponent under 50 points. While the Knights defense was prolific again, the were also amazing on the offensive side of the ball. Pearson Shannon turned in another great game with 25 points and Michael Boyce turned in another near double-double with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Eddie Carlson also contributed with his first big game off the bench this season with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Cal Jackson, UNF's only scoring threat who averages 22 points a game, was held to just 1-12 from the field and 3 points on the day. The Osprey stood no chance against a UCF squad clicking on all cylinders and lost to the Knights by 42 points.

"We did everything right, there is not much else to say," Nolan commented after the huge win. "Everyone played great and Boyce bounced back from his poor shooting performance last game and put up 15 points. We have next week off to focus on keeping our game at this level and trying to lock up some recruits."

The UCF Knights hope to lock up some good recruits this week and have focused their time on five prospects. Their top prospect is Fernandez Grundy, Mr. Basketball Virginia and a five star McDonald's All-American. Grundy is the sixth best player coming out of high school and the third best point guard. Second on the list is Rodrigo Udezue, Mr. Basketball Maryland, a four star recruit ranked twenty-sixth in the nation and the tenth best point guard in this year's class. In his seven seasons as a head coach at the NCAA level, Nolan has never landed a recruit higher than a three star projection.

North Florida (4-4) at Central Florida (7-1)
November 29, 2014 1 2 F North Florida 23 13 36 Central Florida 35 43 78 Top Performers North Florida - Stats Sam McElroy - 11 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast Frederick Mejia - 9 Pts, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl Central Florida - Stats Pearson Shannon - 25 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Blk, 1 Ast, 1 Stl Michael Boyce - 15 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 Blk	Team Stat Comparison UNF UCF FG Made-Attempted 14-50 31-52 3P Made-Attempted 1-8 1-3 FT Made-Attempted 7-16 15-29 Rebounds 21 37 Assists 9 24 Steals 5 9 Blocks 4 6 Turnovers 11 5

[nolan887]

2014-15 Recruiting Update

NOLAN SIGNS FIRST EVER FIVE STAR RECRUIT

Orlando, FL - For the first time in his career, Coach Nolan landed a five star recruit. Fernandez Grundy, the All-American Mr. Basketball out of Richmond, Virginia agreed to attend the University of Central Florida next season. Grundy will be battling seniors J.J. Bone and Nicholas Simmons for playing time in the 2015-16 season. With one scholarship left this season and only one graduating senior, it is up in the air whether he will try to lock up an additional recruit with a scholarship or look for players to walk on next year. With the pre-season cuts and an additional scholarship from this year, the Knights could look to make a big splash in the recruiting pool next year.

Nolan's other main recruit Rodrigo Udezue was locked up by the Duke Blue Devils. Udezue was the tenth ranked point guard, but the Knights likely don't mind as they hooked the third ranked point guard. Pearson Shannon is the only graduating senior for the Knights this year and nobody in their lineup has any pro draft buzz, so the Knights can either look for a replacement or look to their bench to fill his void.

After a successful recruiting week, UCF changes their focus to their last three pre-conference games. Up on slate are the Aggies of UC Davis and the Trojans of UALR in Orlando followed by a game against WVU in Morgantown.

[Deuce2223]

Re: 2014-15 Recruiting Update

Congrats again on signing Gundy and the quick start. Sad to see your winning streak come to an end going up against UC Davis..

[doncoryell]

Re: 2014-15 Recruiting Update

"What!!!! We get blown out by Central Florida!!!", an angry coach Bob Knight said before hurling a chair across the basketball court.


Good luck at your new home at UCF.

[nolan887]

Re: 2014-15 Recruiting Update

Congrats again on signing Gundy and the quick start. Sad to see your winning streak come to an end going up against UC Davis..

Thanks, I can't wait to play with a 5 star next year. It might be hard with Simmons and Bone playing great in the backcourt this year and they will both be seniors next year.

You are 1 for 1 on predictions in my legacy so far, we'll have to see if you can go 2-2.

"What!!!! We get blown out by Central Florida!!!", an angry coach Bob Knight said before hurling a chair across the basketball court.


Good luck at your new home at UCF.

LOL. Thanks, glad to see you have started your new season off on a good note as well.

[nolan887]

UCF vs UC Davis

KNIGHTS SEND AGGIES HOME WITH THEIR TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS

UCF Knights 9-1 (0-0) vs UC Davis Aggies 3-6 (0-0)

UCF Arena

Orlando, FL

December 10, 2014

Orlando, FL - The UC Davis Aggies had big hopes coming into Orlando to take on a Knights team who was coming off of a week off, but those hopes came quickly crashing down. The Knights came out still red hot and pushed their winning streak to seven games since losing their hope opener against UNLV. Most of the Knights starters only played the first half as they went into halftime with a thirty point 56-26 lead over the Aggies. In this first half of play J.J. Bone turned in a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists and Pearson Shannon had a game high 23 points. All of the Aggies struggled against the Knight's formidable defense and only shot only managed to have two players score more than 6 points on the game. The points leaders for UC Davis were Demarryl Chavis with 11 and Pierre Cowen with 10. The experts are now rating both the Knights offense and defense as an A+ so far this season.

"Defense and turnovers," Coach Nolan repeated after the win. "It has been our mantra going back to last year and we were able to perfect it again today. If you told me we would only turn the ball over one time today I would have told you you were crazy, but that is just what we did. Hopefully we can keep this up all season and roll into the NCAA Tournament in the same fashion we did last year, with a different outcome of course."

Next up for the Knight's last pre-conference home game are the Trojans of UALR. The Trojans come into Orlando with a record of 4-3, their losses coming against solid competition of Hawaii (5-1), #4 Vanderbilt (8-0), and Tulsa (6-4). The Knights will have to focus their stellar defense on shutting down senior cener Kasey Pleiness who is averaging 23.6 points per game shooting almost 50% from the floor so far this season. The Trojans are averaging 73 points per game, so they will look to meet their match in the Knights defense who is only giving up only 54 points per game. The Knights head into this match up with the #22 ranked offense in the nation and the #9 ranked defense. The Knights certainly aren't looking like a team who will finish 11th of 12 in C-USA this season.

UC Davis (3-6) at Central Florida (9-1)
December 10, 2014 1 2 F UC Davis 26 24 50 Central Florida 56 32 88 Top Performers UC Davis - Stats Demarryl Chavis - 11 Pts, 1 Reb Pierre Cowen - 10 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Blk Central Florida - Stats Pearson Shannon - 23 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 3 Stl J.J. Bone - 14 Pts, 3 Reb, 10 Ast, 3 Stl	Team Stat Comparison UCD UCF FG Made-Attempted 21-51 34-63 3P Made-Attempted 3-16 2-5 FT Made-Attempted 5-7 18-26 Rebounds 25 34 Assists 15 17 Steals 1 15 Blocks 4 2 Turnovers 21 1

[Deuce2223]

Re: UCF vs UC Davis

I smell something fishy with that game and the score.. The fact we shot only 7 Free throws compared to 26 is just insane. How can the ref's think that even the stupidest of fan's couldn't figure that something is up..

[nolan887]

Re: UCF vs UC Davis

I smell something fishy with that game and the score.. The fact we shot only 7 Free throws compared to 26 is just insane. How can the ref's think that even the stupidest of fan's couldn't figure that something is up..

Good old home court discount haha. 21 turnovers vs 1 was the key of the game. 15-1 in the steals column sure didn't help the aggies either.

[nolan887]

UCF vs UALR

KNIGHTS SLAY TROJANS IN YET ANOTHER BLOWOUT WIN

UCF Knights 10-1 (0-0) vs UALR Trojans 4-4 (0-0)

UCF Arena

Orlando, FL

December 12, 2014

Orlando, FL - Coming off of only one day's rest, the UCF Knights looked to extend their winning streak in a home game against the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans. This game ended up being more of the same for UCF as they held the Trojans to less than 50 points on the day and leading the entire forty minutes. Pearson Shannon put up 18 points in his limited play, as most of the Knights starters were rested during the second half. Kasey Plainess was the only threat UCF had to worry about, and they did not do a very good job shutting him down. Plainess ended with a double double, 16 points and 11 rebounds. Most of Plainess' points came in the second half when he was being defended by bench players.

"We are playing great so far this season," Coach Nolan commented. "I was worried with the loss of our two starters last season, but we really haven't missed a beat. I can't imagine what kinds of numbers J.J. and Pearson would be putting up if they actually played an entire game. We've got a tough match up against WVU coming up next week. They have 4 seniors returning this season and just beat two very good teams. If we can keep up our tenacious defense, we should be able to lock them down and head into conference play on a big streak."

Next up for the UCF Knights is a very tough WVU Mountaineer squad in Morgantown. UCF is undefeated on the road this season and has been playing very well against stiff competition. So far this season the Knights have knocked off #1 Florida and #25 Miami while also beating a very good unranked Florida State team and losing in a very close bout against the UNLV Rebels. West Virginia is sitting at 5-4 on the season and are coming off two quality wins at #16 Oregon and at home against Texas. The Mountaineers have three players averaging double figures in points per game, so the UCF defense will have their hands full trying to lock down senior big men Johnny Diogu, M.C. Koundjia, and their sixth man Dan Callahan.

UALR (4-4) at Central Florida (10-1)
December 12, 2014 1 2 F UALR 24 24 48 Central Florida 31 34 65 Top Performers UALR - Stats Kasey Plainess - 16 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Blk Gilson Patterson - 7 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl Central Florida - Stats Pearson Shannon - 18 Pts, 2 Reb, 3 Stl Nicholas Simmons - 13 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast	Team Stat Comparison UALR UCF FG Made-Attempted 19-52 23-49 3P Made-Attempted 5-15 2-7 FT Made-Attempted 5-10 17-21 Rebounds 26 31 Assists 13 13 Steals 7 10 Blocks 5 2 Turnovers 14 7

[nolan887]

UCF @ WVU

KNIGHTS HOLD ON TO PUSH WINNING STREAK TO 9 HEADED INTO CONFERENCE PLAY

UCF Knights 11-1 (0-0) at West Virginia Mountaineers 5-6 (0-0)

WVU Coliseum

Morgantown, WV

December 17, 2014

Morgantown, WV - The latest in the Knight's string of wins has proven to be much different. UCF headed into Morgantown on a hot streak recording four blow out wins in a row, but WVU would prove to be a great test for the Knights. West Virginia came out hot and took an early twelve point lead, but the Knights stepped their game up on both sides of the ball and headed into the half with a ten points lead. Coach Bob Huggins rallied the troops in the second half and the Mountaineers cut the lead to as little as four points, but the Knights would lead the entire half and go on to win by six points. Coming into the game WVU had three players averaging over ten points per game and the Knights were able to contain two of them. The only Mountaineer with a decent performance was senior center M.C. Koundjia who had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Pearson Shannon again lead all in scoring with 21 points and Junior PG J.J. Bone is turning into a solid contributor this year with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists in the winning effort.

"It was nice to be brought back down to earth," commented Coach Nolan. "We were flying high atop four blowout wins and were feeling unstoppable, but WVU exposed some of our weaknesses, and now we have some things to work on during our time off. These next two weeks will be dedicated to recruiting and practice. We have one more scholarship this year, and I would like to find another big man to add to our roster. If not, we will have seven scholarships to offer next year and we will hope to make a big splash in the recruiting pool."

Nolan will likely be looking for a replacement for senior PF Pearson Shannon this year. Armando Ross and Eddie Carlson are both viable options off of his current roster, but both will be graduating seniors next year and Nolan will likely want a long term solution to losing his top scorer this season. After their two week break the Knights open up conference play with a game in Greenville, NC against the Pirates. ECU was picked to finish second in the conference this pre-season and has a very experienced team with four starting seniors. Nolan's Knights beat the Pirates twice last season and will hope to leave ECU with a ten game winning streak.

Central Florida (11-1) at West Virginia (5-5)
December 17, 2014 1 2 F Central Florida 34 30 64 West Virginia 24 34 58 Top Performers Central Florida - Stats M.C. Koundjia - 12 Pts, 10 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl Dan Callahan - 3 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Blk West Virginia - Stats Pearson Shannon - 21 Pts, 1 Reb, 2 Stl J.J. Bone - 15 Pts, 3 Reb, 4 Ast	Team Stat Comparison UCF WVU FG Made-Attempted 21-51 20-51 3P Made-Attempted 1-6 6-16 FT Made-Attempted 21-34 12-17 Rebounds 27 34 Assists 12 15 Steals 16 5 Blocks 0 8 Turnovers 6 21

[nolan887]

Mid-Season Update

MID-SEASON UPDATE

Orlando, FL - With conference games starting all over the country, we take a step back to see how the first half of the season went. UCF has been hot thus far only dropping one very close game and knocking off both ranked opponents on their schedule. The Knights will look to stay hot and take home a second straight Conference USA championship. The next update will be half way through conference play, followed by another update before the NCAA tournament.

Conference USA:
UCF Knights: 11-1
Tulane Green Wave: 10-3
Marshall Thundering Herd: 8-3
Memphis Tigers: 8-4
Houston Cougars: 8-5
East Carolina Pirates: 8-5
Southern Miss Golden Eagles: 7-5
Southern Methodist Mustangs: 7-6
UTEP Miners: 6-6
Rice Owls: 5-3
UAB Blazers: 3-6

Media Top-25 Poll:

NCAA Basketball Rankings - AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD
1	Arizona Wildcats	14-0
2	Georgetown Hoyas	13-0
3	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	14-1
4	Vanderbitl Commodores	11-1
5	Wisconsin Badgers	11-1
6	Syracuse Orange	11-1
7	Oregon Ducks	12-2
8	Texas Tech Red Raiders	11-2
9	Indiana Hoosiers	11-2
10	Seton Hall Pirates	12-2
11	Iowa State Cyclones	12-2
12	Miami Hurricanes	12-1
13	Michigan State Spartans	12-3
14	Maryland Terrapins	10-2
15	Illinois Fighting Illini	11-2
16	Florida Gators	12-4
17	Saint Louis Billikens	11-4
18	Arizona State Sun Devils	10-3
19	Pittsburgh Panthers	9-3
20	USC Trojans	10-3
21	UNLV Runnin' Rebels	12-2
22	Oklahoma State Cowboys	12-2
23	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	12-2
24	Xavier Musketeers	9-3
25	Washington Huskies	10-2

Mid Major Top-25 Poll:

NCAA Basketball Rankings - Mid Major Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD
1	Gonzaga Bulldogs	11-4
2	Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix	12-1
3	Boise State Broncos	11-2
4	New Orleans Privateers	12-3
5	New Mexico State Aggies	10-4
6	Nevada Wolf Pack	8-3
7	Rider Broncs	11-2
8	Troy Trojans	11-5
9	Pepperdine Waves	13-3
10	Fresno State Bulldogs	9-4
11	San Diego Toreros	12-3
12	Idaho Vandals	12-4
13	Drexel Dragons	9-4
14	Illinois-Chicago Flames	9-4
15	Manhattan Jaspers	10-3
16	Hawaii Warriors	9-4
17	Bradley Braves	10-2
18	George Mason Patriots	7-6
19	Akron Zips	7-5
20	Ohio Bobcats	8-5
21	Fairfield Stags	8-5
22	Iona Gaels	10-3
23	San Francisco Dons	9-5
24	Bowling Green Falcons	7-5
25	Utah State Aggies	6-7

Other Notables:
Princeton Tigers: 3-8
Wofford Terriers: 2-9
UALR Trojans: 5-8
UNF Ospreys: 8-9
UC Davis Aggies: 5-9
Army Black Knights: 2-12
WVU Mointaineers: 8-6
SC State Bulldogs: 7-3
St. John's Red Storm: 10-3