UCF's Johnny Dawkins Reflects On Heartbreaking Loss To Baylor

The UCF Knights (20-8, 9-7 Big 12) lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Baylor Bears (15-14, 5-11 Big 12) off a game-winning free throw at the Addition Financial Arena on Saturday night.

Baylor's victory snaps a three-game winning streak for the Knights, and spoiled the 50th anniversary of the 1975-76 UCF men's basketball team. Coach Johnny Dawkins reflected on his team's loss and preparation for their final home game next Tuesday.

Here's everything Dawkins said in his postgame press conference.

On what he saw on the final play of the game:

"I just saw us defending with 3.3 [seconds] on the clock. I just wanted to make sure we had basically a helmet on the helmet, which means everybody had a man, so no one was free, and we were going to just guard as hard as we could the guy that was in front of us. Unfortunately, we picked up the foul, and the young man [Obi Agbim] made a free throw, and then of course he ran the clock out by throwing it off the rim, and it was pretty straightforward. The young man made a good play at the end." 

On what he did to limit Baylor guard Cameron Carr:

"He's a great player. I mean, he's one of the best players in our league. He can really score the basketball. He's long, he's mobile, and we just wanted to try to guard him as hard as we could. You know, everybody that was guarding him, I didn't want it to be a personal challenge. Everybody that was on him at different times, I wanted them just to sit down and guard as hard as they could, make it as difficult as they possibly could for him, because we know he's good. We know he's going to score some points. He's done it all year long. I think he averages almost 20 a game and shoots over 50% from the field. So, he's really a very efficient player, and I thought our guys just played him hard in the second half and tried to be disciplined."

On his team's perimeter defense in the first and second half:

"First, I give Baylor all the credit. I mean, Baylor played terrific. I thought, especially in the first half, they set a tone offensively. They moved the basketball. I think they have what, 19 assists? They were connecting really well, and they were knocking down shots. I thought, 'We have to do a better job of giving more resistance defensively,' whether it's on the three-point line and making sure that we don't give too many second and third shot opportunities because we end up giving them 16 offensive rebounds. So, all those things add up in a game like this. That's one point."

On why he left center John Bol in the game with foul trouble:

"Yes, I did. I thought he was impacting the game. If you look at the numbers when he was in the game, it was a tied ball game. You look at the plus minus, he was plus eight for the game. So he was doing a lot of good things for us. We missed him in the first half because I thought, like I said, when he was in there — both teams were kind of in rhythm — I thought he did a good job of maybe changing some shots, getting some rebounds that maybe we wouldn't have gotten with him out of the game. And so I think we missed him down the stretch of the first half. To be quite frank, when they made their run, I thought having them out there would have been good. So, in the second half, of course, we were going to try to play him as much as we could based on the fact that he didn't log a lot of minutes in the first half anyway because of foul trouble."

On how he motivates his team and lets them know the season isn't over: 

"We have to be ready to move on to the next play. This league is very challenging from top to bottom. I've said it all season long, and ever since I've been in the Big 12, every team is very good. Every team is really talented and well-coached. And so you have to understand that. What you have to do is you have to get our guys together, start watching tape, 'What are the things we need? The lessons we need to learn? The good and bad,' and then you need to move forward understanding that the next game is the most important game that you have; the game that's behind you is gone, the next game is the most important, and understand you have to stay in the moment. You cannot go looking beyond the next game that we have, which is Oklahoma State; that's where we have to pour all our energies into as coaches and as players."

On center Jeremy Foumena's injury status:

"I'm not sure. I haven't spoken to the trainer exactly about what's going on with him, other than he took a tough fall, and we'll see. I'm sure we're going to do everything we can to treat him and to get him as healthy as fast as we can. We missed him out there tonight as well. You know, that's tough. This game, you know, you're going to take falls, and sometimes you're not going to get up like you want to. We'll see where he is, but I don't have an update as to where he is right now."

On if it's frustrating losing to Baylor while they're building an NCAA Tournament resume:

"Absolutely. To me, it's always just, you know, losing in general. I don't really think about the tournament or resumes or that kind of stuff. I look at one game in front of me and who we're playing, and we want to win. That's the only way I approach it. There's no real other incentive I have other than wanting to win the game that I'm playing against the other opponent. And so for that, definitely disappointing, but I give them [Baylor] credit my hat goes off to them I thought they played a really good game on the road I thought the players came out, they played together, they made a lot of plays, they made a lot of winning plays throughout the game and they made the last winning play."

On when guard Riley Kugel and forward Jamichael Stillwell were cleared and what their ramp up was like:

"I felt better about Riley, you know, the last day or so that he may be able to go. And with Jamichael, I didn't know until pretty much game time that he would go. I wasn't certain if he would be able to go. He warmed up right before the game in the last 20 minutes, and that's when he said he thought he could give it a go." 

On what Kugel's return did for the UCF Knights' offense:

"He's a talented young player, and of course, he's one of our best players, and so, you know, I think you're always better when your best players are able to play out there on the floor for you, and so it's good to have him back, and I thought he gave us everything that he had. I thought he gave us everything, considering he's been out for quite a while. He's missed several games and very limited practices. And so, I thought, for what he went through, it was impressive because a lot of players couldn't have done what he did tonight based on the limited reps he's taken since the injury."

On his team's resilience erasing a 15-point lead and fighting back at the end of the game:

"Like I said, all year with our guys, they're very competitive, and they're going to keep competing for 40 minutes. I think they've shown that for the most part throughout the season, they have the ability to really dig down, dig deep, and find that quality that you got to have in order to try to rally. And you hate to be in those positions, but for the most part this season, I thought our guys have done a good job of fighting for UCF and giving everything they have on the floor. And that's what you want to see from a group of guys, and they provided that."

On what he learned from the loss, as the team plays their final home game on Tuesday:

"Tuesday, we're going to end up competing against another really good team, and we know that it'll be senior night for our guys. We understand that, too. And so, we need to just prepare. I haven't seen Oklahoma State since the last time we played them, but I know they're very good. I know they have really good players, and I know they coached well, again, like I said, with all the teams in the league, and so we have to prepare accordingly for them starting tonight."

On how to keep the team on their emotional high for the final home game:

"We have to be careful with guys. It's a lot of emotions running in that last game at home, and I think it's probably a little bit different some years ago than it is now because players are moving around a lot. So, it's not like they've been here for four years or three years and they've been with us and our community's been here with that same player. I think these guys have been in a lot of different places. And so I think our student body, I think they'll be great, and appreciative of our players, what you know, what they're doing this season. I think our community will come out and rally around them as well and try to give our players a great send-off. And I need our players to come out and just play their hearts out like they've done most of this year. You know, go out there and just play your hearts out for 40 minutes, and have no regrets. Just about your effort and your energy on the court."

On if senior night is a bit different now:

"We've had to kind of fast-track those relationships as best we could with team building and spending time with our guys. But of course, the more years, the better the relationships are going to be. But we've tried our best to try to have great relationships with our guys. Not just myself, but my staff has done a great job of understanding the importance of that and making sure that we're one family. And I think our players have been very appreciative of that. They've been a lot of different places, but hopefully their stay here has been different. They'll feel they're a part of our family for life, whether it's one year or whether it's 40 years. You know, you're still part of UCF, you know, and you're always going to be a Knight. That's the way we try to treat our players, and hopefully they appreciate it."

On what's it like building a roster in the offseason and is he saw something he wants to look for next year when players graduate:

"You know, right now I'm just totally concentrating on what's happening right now in front of us. You know, we'll start to evaluate and look at those things at the end of the season and what we'll need going forward. But as of right now, you know, all I'm thinking about is our next game and how we need to prepare. Roster construction, I'm sure everyone does it differently. I think they've done a really good job with their pieces and some of the players they have as well. And just part of part of the game now, but I won't even concentrate or even think about that. You know, I want to pour everything I have into my players that I have right now today. I owe it to these guys. And uh, and I think we owe it to these guys to make sure that, you know, my staff and I that we give them everything we have. And part of that is staying focused on the main thing. And the main thing is, you know, our next game and being at our best for that one."