# 2022–23 UCF Knights men's basketball team

The 2022–23 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights compete as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights, in the program's 54th season of basketball, were led by seventh-year head coach Johnny Dawkins and played their home games at the Addition Financial Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida. They finished the season 18–14, 8–10 in AAC Play to finish in 7th place. They defeated SMU in the First Round of the AAC Tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Memphis. The Knights received an at-large bid to the NIT, where they defeated Florida in the first round before losing in the second round to Oregon.
This was also the last season UCF played in the American Athletic Conference before moving to the Big 12 Conference.

## Previous season

The Knights finished the 2021–22 season 18–12 overall and 9–9 in AAC play to finish in sixth place. They defeated South Florida in the first round of the AAC tournament before losing to Memphis in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Tony Johnson Jr. | 1 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Junior | Eufaula, AL | Transferred |
| Darius Perry | 2 | G | 6'2" | 185 | GS Senior | Marietta, GA | Graduated |
| Isaiah Adams | 3 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Freshman | Jacksonville, FL | Transferred to Buffalo |
| Jamille Reynolds | 4 | F | 6'10" | 285 | Sophomore | St. Petersburg, FL | Transferred to Temple |
| Levy Renaud | 10 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Ed'Xavior Rhodes | 12 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Freshman | Dallas, TX | Transferred |
| Brandon Mahan | 13 | G | 6'5" | 205 | GS Senior | Birmingham, AL | Graduated |
| Sean Mobley | 20 | F | 6'8" | 235 | RS Senior | Orlando, FL | Walk-on; left team for personal reasons |
| Darin Green Jr. | 22 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Junior | Charlotte, NC | Transferred to Florida State |
| Dre Fuller Jr. | 24 | G | 6'5" | 215 | RS Junior | Fayetteville, NC | Transferred to Florida Atlantic |
| Ryan Anders | 25 | F | 6'6" | 235 | Senior | Tampa, FL | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Cheika Mbacke Diong | 34 | F | 6'11" | 235 | RS Senior | Dakar, Senegal | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous college |
| Lahat Thioune | 0 | C | 6'10" | 228 | RS Senior | Dakar, Senegal | Utah |
| Jayhlon Young | 1 | G | 6'2" | 168 | RS Sophomore | Dallas, TX | Baton Rouge CC |
| Michael Durr | 2 | C | 7'0" | 250 | RS Senior | Atlanta, GA | Indiana |
| Brandon Suggs | 4 | G/F | 6'6" | 185 | Senior | Powder Springs, GA | East Carolina |
| Ithiel Horton | 12 | G | 6'3" | 200 | RS Senior | Vauxhall, NJ | Pittsburgh |

### 2022 Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Taylor Hendricks #17 C | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Calvary Christian Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Mar 21, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Tyler Hendricks #59 SG | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Calvary Christian Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Mar 21, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 6, 2022. ||||||

### 2023 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2023) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Comeh Emuobor #80 SF | Raleigh, NC | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 29, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Joey Hart SG | Linton, IN | Linton Stockton High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 11, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 6, 2022. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Asheville | L 95–98 $^{2OT}$ | 0–1 | 23 – Hendricks | 9 – Horton | 3 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (4,603) Orlando, FL |
| November 11, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Florida State | W 68–54 | 1–1 | 17 – Young | 12 – Hendricks | 4 – Young | Addition Financial Arena (6,485) Orlando, FL |
| November 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Illinois | W 70–37 | 2–1 | 17 – Kelly | 7 – Durr | 2 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (3,940) Orlando, FL |
| November 18, 2022* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Oklahoma State Bahamas Championship semifinals | W 60–56 $^{OT}$ | 3–1 | 18 – Kelly | 12 – Hendricks | 5 – Young | Baha Mar Convention Center Nassau, BAH |
| November 20, 2022* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Santa Clara Bahamas Championship Finals | W 57–50 | 4–1 | 19 – Hendricks | 7 – Freeman | 6 – Young | Baha Mar Convention Center (714) Nassau, BAH |
| November 23, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 76–56 | 5–1 | 18 – Horton | 8 – Hendricks | 6 – Young | Addition Financial Arena (3,751) Orlando, FL |
| November 27, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Miami (FL) | L 64–66 | 5–2 | 24 – Johnson | 7 – Hendricks | 2 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (5,354) Orlando, FL |
| December 4, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Samford | W 80–77 $^{OT}$ | 6–2 | 21 – Hendricks | 7 – Durr | 5 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (4,052) Orlando, FL |
| December 11, 2022* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tarleton State | W 75–49 | 7–2 | 16 – Hendricks | 9 – Hendricks | 5 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (3,880) Orlando, FL |
| December 14, 2022* 7:30 p.m., SECN+ | | at Ole Miss | W 72–61 | 8–2 | 20 – Kelly | 9 – Kelly | 4 – Johnson | SJB Pavilion (5,215) Oxford, MS |
| December 17, 2022* 12:00 p.m., BSFL | | vs. Missouri Orange Bowl Classic | L 66–68 | 8–3 | 19 – Horton | 4 – Tied | 6 – Johnson | FLA Live Arena Sunrise, FL |
| December 21, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Stetson | W 73–58 | 9–3 | 16 – Tied | 10 – Hendricks | 10 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (4,124) Orlando, FL |
| AAC regular season |||||||||
| December 28, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wichita State | W 52–45 | 10–3 (1–0) | 15 – Johnson | 7 – Kelly | 4 – Durr | Addition Financial Arena (4,225) Orlando, FL |
| December 31, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 3 Houston | L 65–71 | 10–4 (1–1) | 17 – Johnson | 8 – Tied | 4 – Johnson | Fertitta Center (7,457) Houston, TX |
| January 4, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | W 64–61 | 11–4 (2–1) | 30 – Kelly | 8 – Horton | 3 – Tied | Williams Arena (3,675) Greenville, NC |
| January 8, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | SMU | W 85–53 | 12–4 (3–1) | 21 – Horton | 10 – Young | 6 – Young | Addition Financial Arena (4,576) Orlando, FL |
| January 11, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Memphis | W 107–104 $^{2OT}$ | 13–4 (4–1) | 30 – Horton | 6 – Tied | 7 – Kelly | Addition Financial Arena (6,812) Orlando, FL |
| January 14, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tulane | L 69–77 | 13–5 (4–2) | 22 – Freeman | 11 – Hendricks | 4 – Tied | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,634) New Orleans, LA |
| January 21, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at South Florida War on I-4 | L 72–85 | 13–6 (4–3) | 18 – Kelly | 9 – Hendricks | 4 – Kelly | Yuengling Center (5,715) Tampa, FL |
| January 25, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 3 Houston | L 71–82 | 13–7 (4–4) | 18 – Horton | 7 – Hendricks | 5 – Kelly | Addition Financial Arena (9,383) Orlando, FL |
| January 28, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Temple | L 70–77 $^{OT}$ | 13–8 (4–5) | 13 – Tied | 11 – Hendricks | 4 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (4,594) Orlando, FL |
| February 4, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Cincinnati | L 64–73 | 13–9 (4–6) | 21 – Hendricks | 8 – Hendricks | 3 – Tied | Fifth Third Arena (10,351) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 8, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State | W 72–67 | 14–9 (5–6) | 23 – Hendricks | 7 – Tied | 5 – Horton | Charles Koch Arena (6,929) Wichita, KS |
| February 11, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tulsa | W 96–52 | 15–9 (6–6) | 20 – Horton | 7 – Thione | 10 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (6,731) Orlando, FL |
| February 16, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Memphis | L 63–64 | 15–10 (6–7) | 17 – Hendricks | 6 – Tied | 8 – Johnson | FedExForum (10,150) Memphis, TN |
| February 19, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Cincinnati | L 71–73 | 15–11 (6–8) | 15 – Durr | 5 – Durr | 3 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (5,213) Orlando, FL |
| February 22, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | South Florida War on I-4 | L 75–82 | 15–12 (6–9) | 28 – Horton | 5 – Johnson | 4 – Young | Addition Financial Arena (6,736) Orlando, FL |
| February 26, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Tulsa | W 68–49 | 16–12 (7–9) | 25 – Hendricks | 8 – Tied | 5 – Johnson | Reynolds Center (4,059) Tulsa, OK |
| March 2, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Temple | L 55–57 | 16–13 (7–10) | 19 – Kelly | 7 – Hendricks | 3 – Tied | Liacouras Center (4,664) Philadelphia, PA |
| March 5, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Carolina | W 84–58 | 17–13 (8–10) | 25 – Hendricks | 10 – Hendricks | 4 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (5,204) Orlando, FL |
| AAC tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2023 2:30 p.m., ESPNU | (7) | vs. (10) SMU First Round | W 76–70 | 18–13 | 21 – Kelly | 8 – Hendricks | 5 – Johnson | Dickies Arena (5,986) Fort Worth, TX |
| March 10, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | (7) | vs. (2) Memphis Quarterfinals | L 76–81 | 18–14 | 28 – Kelly | 9 – Hendricks | 4 – Johnson | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 15, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at (4) Florida First Round – Oregon Bracket | W 67–49 | 19–14 | 21 – Kelly | 10 – Thioune | 3 – Johnson | O'Connell Center (3,023) Gainesville, FL |
| March 19, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPNU | | at (1) Oregon Second Round – Oregon Bracket | L 54–68 | 19–15 | 13 – Kelly | 9 – Hendricks | 2 – Tied | Matthew Knight Arena (3,019) Eugene, OR |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source