After a tough slump, point guard Themus Fulks aims to rebound against West Virginia, showcasing his offensive firepower and playmaking.
This February, UCF suffered back-to-back losses for just the second time this year, falling by double-digits to Cincinnati and Houston, who at the time was ranked No. 8 in the country.
Fifth-year point guard Themus Fulks has been terrific for the Knights in conference play, but struggled as of late.
Against the Cougars, Fulks shot just 3-of-10 from the field, while tallying just three assists. He again struggled against the Bearcats, being held scoreless and playing limited time in the second half. One again, Fulks had a much lower assist output than normal, securing only two.
These low numbers were very surprising for Fulks, who is currently No. 12 in the nation in assists per game, averaging just under seven per contest.
Head coach Johnny Dawkins addressed the media earlier this week for the first time since the tough two-game road trip. He assured fans that the team and Fulks would have a strong response.
"Well, Themus has been terrific. I mean, of course, he's disappointed like everyone else on our team. And for him, this week is about just continuing to heal up and get better and move forward. I mean, it's one of those things, like I said, I mean, it's everyone going through this for the first time a lot on this team. I think probably the only people that have been part of this team has probably been the coaches in the Big 12," Dawkins said.
"So, all the players are going through it for the first time. And that's something that there's some adjustments that need to be made, and there's some things you have to go through in order to become the team we want to become. And we're going through it now. You're going to face some adversity. I mean, I don't know what team ever goes through a season without it. And what do you do with that? How do you handle that adversity is what we have to look at doing, and that kind of determines who are we? You know, we go through this to kind of find out who we are."
Fulks is primed for a tough matchup against West Virginia, checking the Mountaineers' leading scorer, Honor Huff. However, he will also be going up against a West Virginia defense that is susceptible to the 3-pointer, giving up a bottom-three 3-point percentage in the Big 12.
Look for Fulks to attack the paint and kick out to shooters for open shots, while also knocking down good looks from deep for himself. Fulks leads UCF with a 44.1% clip from 3-point range.
UCF takes on West Virginia Saturday at 6:00 p.m.