UCF was a pesky team to play against in 2023-24 but not a good enough team to get to the NCAA Tournament. They'll have to make more strides this season if head coach Johnny Dawkins is going to keep his job.
Leading scorer Jaylin Sellers will return after scoring almost 16 points per game this season. What's more, 15-point-per-game scorer Darius Johnson is also set to be back for Dawkins. That's a stout backcourt duo to build around.
The addition of JJ Taylor from Memphis could be a useful building block as could be the addition of Benny Williams of Syracuse. Still, the Knights have the feel of a team that will fight uphill in the Big 12 this coming season.