Coach Dawkins discusses the unique journeys of six Knights, their impactful bonds, and creating a memorable final home game send-off.
Six UCF players will take their final steps and dribble in the Addition Financial Arena on Tuesday against the Oklahoma State Cowboys (17-12, 5-11 Big 12) for Senior Knight.
Guards Themus Fulks, Riley Kugel, George Beale Jr., and Poohpha Warakulnukroh; and forwards Jamichael Stillwell and Devan Cambridge are six Knights the program will honor before tip off.
Besides Warakulnukroh, who's spent all five years with UCF, the other seniors have played for other schools before their final stop. Their journeys have made it difficult to form relationships with staff and fans, but coach Johnny Dawkins emphasized they'll always be Knights for life.
"We've had to kind of fast-track those relationships as best we could with team building and spending time with our guys," Dawkins said." "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 to a lot of different places, but hopefully their stay here has been different."
Dawkins and his staff have spent seven months with these seniors, creating long-lasting relationships while delivering game plans across the 30-game regular season.
UCF's three-game winning streak was snapped last Saturday when Baylor guard Obi Agbim converted the game-winning free throw. Dawkins said the loss frustrated him because he hates to lose, but he has to manage his team's emotions for Tuesday's matchup.
"We have to be careful with guys," Dawkins added. "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."
Tip off for Tuesday's game is at 7 p.m. Dawkins said he believes the UCF fans will show unwavering support and wants his players to play their hearts out one last time in the Addition Financial Arena.
"I think our community will come out and rally around them as well and try to give our players a great send-off," Dawkins said. "And I need our players to come out and just play their hearts out like they've done most of this year."
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