Rice @ UCF: Post-game Review (L 66-69)

Apparently we are not a mirror of Davidson University. Jermaine Taylor looked like Stephen Curry last night, just without the minimal scoring help Curry gets. I understand that most of our players are playing their first year in college (Rompza, Tyler, Sosa, Gaynor, Weathers, Baez from last night), but were they this scared to shoot the ball in high school? I can’t imagine that Kirk would tell them NOT to shoot, so I’m not sure what they’re afraid of. Not one starter other than Jermaine took more than 5 shots last night. FIVE.

AJ Rompza had a rough game last night, getting in foul trouble early. I have to say, we need AJ Rompza in the game. He seems to be the only player out there that doesn’t play like he’s terrified and overmatched. He plays with intensity and confidence, and that is exactly the thing we need this year. Our gears of our offense seem to grind to an immediate stop whenever Rompza comes out of the game. No one on our team has the speed or will to drive to the hole and either go up for the layup or kick it out for a shot.

Part of the deficit we incurred through most of the game had to do with our perimeter defense, the other part came from Rice’s incredible three point shooting. To begin the first half Rice had open shots on three pointers innumerous times, and nailed just about all of them. When we actually started to get a hand in the face of shooters, they STILL hit shots. I saw at least two incredible fadeaway shots sink from beyond the arc, and for that I will give Rice their props.

One other side-effect of having no one to drive to the hoop or play strong inside (plus a few terrible “no calls” by the officials), is a huge lack of foul shots. Jermaine shot 12 for 13 from the line, that’s awesome. No one else on our team took a foul shot last night. Not a single player. Seems like an issue to me.

Opening Day 2009

Get out your caps, sunflower seeds, and big league chew ladies and gentlemen. Baseball season begins now.

The Knights baseball team starts a new regime tomorrow with a new attitude: one team, one hope, one goal. Coach Rooney leads the way for UCF in his first season as a head coach, moving over from pitching coach of last year’s Omaha-bound LSU tigers. I’ve attended a scrimmage or two so far and from what I can tell, Rooney is an incredible motivator with a need for precision, timing, and discipline. Rooney has already convinced his group of players that they can get to Omaha, and he’s well on his way to convincing me.

I really hope I’m not the only one excited for this year’s baseball squad. We bring back a healthy Kiko Vazquez for his senior year, one of the most hyped power hitters in the nation as a junior. We also bring back Chris “Duffman” Duffy, another powerful cog in our lineup. Duffman is only a junior this year, and still has room to improve his batting average. In order to improve the defense this year, Duffy has been moved to left field where his strong arm can still be utilized, and Shane Brown has moved to third base. Shane is a smaller player, much more suited to the quickness needed to snag line drives at third.

Kyle Sweat will get the opening day start, a great honor for him as a senior. He will most likely be followed by Autstin Hudson on Saturday and freshman D.J. Hicks on Sunday. Caleb Graham will round out the series on Monday.

We lost some good talent last year to the draft and graduation, but here at UCF we don’t have a flop season when that happens, we simply reload.

Say it with me people: OMAHA!

Tony Davis, you’re outta here!

Photo Credits: Brandon Helwig, UCFSports.com

That’s right. In case you haven’t heard Mr. Tony Davis has been shut down for the remainder of the season. According to the UCFAA, Davis is ineligible to compete due to direct violations of University and Athletics policies.

It appears he violated similar policies last year when he was suspended as well. Tony has been suspended for the semester, and most likely has played his last game in a Knights uniform. I really want to be aggravated at Tony for doing this (Whatever this is) to the team, but at the same time, I hope he can work out his issues and, at the very least, finish earning his degree.

What this means for UCF:

This is a devastating loss to the program, absolutely wrecking any real chance at post season play. It does mean, however, we will see more A.J. Tyler, PJ Gaynor, Jean Michel Yotio, and even the Polish Hammer himself. It can’t be stressed enough how much this loss hurts the team, Tony Davis was having an absolutely stellar year, and now, most likely will never play basketball again for UCF. Truly unfortunate, as he was the most dominant big man on the team.

Time to step it up, Tyler.

AJ Rompza: I am Legend

First, you had Kirk Gibson's miraculous pinch-hit homerun, then there was the “Flu game,” after that was the bloody sock, well now you can add the “wounded Knight” to the list of courageous moments in sports history.

Ok. So this wasn’t for a national championship, or even a conference championship. And sure, UCF vs. Tulsa doesn’t necessarily make headlines across the nation. That’s just fine. What we witnessed on February 14^th was nothing short of audacious. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m talking about AJ Rompza coming off the bench, feeling less than 80% and playing 31 minutes of amazing, real basketball.

The Knights, coming off a 3 game losing streak, found themselves down by 17 points with just 11 minutes remaining, but after a little bit of motivating from 'Bluto' Blutarsky, UCF mustered up the strength to mount one of the greatest comebacks in school history. And while the scorecard will show Jermaine Taylor with 35 points, it can’t show you how big Rompza played this night; they just haven’t come up with a stat that measures the heart of a leader. What you can’t see is AJ’s high-octane, nonstop agility that physically wears defenses down, mentally frustrates even the best defender, and extends plays long enough to find the open shot. AJ Rompza is a senior trapped in a freshmen’s body.

Now, for the story.

For the last 10 days, AJ Rompza has been forced into a cheerleading role on the sidelines. Suffering an ankle sprain that hadn’t even allowed him to practice for the Tulsa game, sitting on the sidelines may have been the most painful part of the injury. “To not be able to play is so hard because I want to be out there encouraging everyone. It's so hard from the bench” Rompza said in an interview with Brandon Helwig, of UCFSports.com.

AJ Rompza is the Derek Jeter of UCF sports. Charismatic, confident, and certainly not afraid to jump into the stands, especially if it’s to reverse the momentum. Are you done laughing? Continue if you want, I mean, I did just compare a 5-9 160 pound college freshman to a New York Yankee legend, and earlier, to maybe the most obnoxious pitcher of this era, one of the finest hitters in baseball history, and one of the greatest NBA players in the history of the league. All legends in their time. And here we have AJ Rompza, again. Time for me to defend myself.

Come, jump into the way back machine with me for a moment.

First stop, October 19, 2004-Game 6 ALCS. Curt Schilling pitches lights out baseball in the biggest do or die game in his career, all this with a torn tendon in his ankle and medical procedure that probably belongs in the middle ages. His strength to go out and pitch with the pain he had to deal with helped motivate and rally his team to clinch the game, and eventually the series.

Next up, June 11^th, 1997–Game 5 NBA Finals. The “flu game.” Michael Jordan was noticeably ill, weak, fatigued and dehydrated. Yet, he walked out on to that court, put up 38 points and helped will the Bulls to a 90-88 victory.

One last stop, October 15^th, 1998- Game 1 World Series. Kirk Gibson could hardly walk, let alone swing a bat, Tommy Lasorda needed a big hit, and the team needed the big run. It’s rumored that Gibson was in such pain in both legs that he was grimacing and nearly collapsing after every swing. Gibson steps to the plate, hits the game winning 2 run homerun. Dodgers go on to win the World Series. Kirk Gibson’s heroic at bat is one of the greatest highlights in sports history.

Saturday night, player introductions. No Rompza. Kirk wasn’t sure he could handle the stress of a full game on his bad ankle. Hell, even AJ wasn’t sure he could handle it, but he knew he wanted it, and he knew his teammates needed him. And like every great star before him, he made sure he got into the game. And like every great star, with the clock ticking down five. Four. Three. He knew he wanted the ball in his hands. Two. He knew he wanted to take the last shot. One.

Silence.

You have just witnessed the birth of a legend.

-Vin