UCF Knights Men’s Basketball 2023-24 Roster Preview
The UCF Knights are preparing for the 2023-24 men’s basketball roster and below is a preview of every player on the roster entering November’s opening game.
Below are the returning players, the transfers and the freshmen that will play a role in UCF’s upcoming season.
Expected to Return
Tyler Hendricks
The 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman guard is the younger brother of Taylor Hendricks, who played for UCF last season and was drafted in the NBA after one season with the Knights. The younger Hendricks was a three-star recruit out of high school.
Darius Johnson
The 6-foot-1 junior guard is coming off a sophomore season in which he started 22 of his 25 games and averaged 10 points, 4.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. He was the Knights’ fourth-leading scorer and shot nearly 40 percent from the field. He is not the player you want to put at the free-throw line as he shot 86 percent there last season.
Michael Kalina
The 6-foot-1 redshirt freshman guard did not play last season. As a high school senior he averaged 10.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.9 steals in 2021-22.
Charlie May
The 6-foot-5 guard redshirted last season as a freshman. He’ll get a chance to prove he can be a rotational option this season.
Poohpha Warakulnukroh
The 5-foot-11 redshirt sophomore played in seven games and logged 14 minutes last season. He was once a student manager for the Knights.
Thierno Sylla
The 6-foot-11 sophomore forward played in 27 games off the bench as a freshman last year and averaged 2.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. The opening is there for him to make a bigger impact this season.
C.J. Walker
The 6-foot-8 forward missed most of last season with an injury. In fact, he only played in four games and logged 78 total minutes. But, in those four games he averaged five points and 3.5 rebounds. The former five-star recruit, who started his career with Oregon, has shown in spots that he can be productive, such as a three-game stretch of his junior year in which he averaged 15 points per game. He also averaged 5.7 rebounds per game that season. There is potential for him be productive this season.
Arrivals Via Transfer
Shermarri Allen
The 6-foot-5 guard transferred in from Kansas City and he should be instant offense for the Knights, as he averaged 17.0 points per game and scored 20 or more points 10 times last season with UMKC. He was named Second Team All-Summit League and Summit League All-Defensive Team a season ago. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
DeMarr Langford
The 6-foot-5 senior guard transfers in from Boston College, where he averaged 7.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He shot 44.2 percent from the field a season ago. His sophomore year is the one to look at, in terms of what the Knights hope they’re getting. In 2021-22 he averaged 11.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. If the Knights get that out of him, they’ll be happy.
Antwann Jones
The 6-foot-6 guard came to the Knights from Louisiana, but he has also played at Creighton and Memphis since he started college in 2018-19. He has been used primarily as a rotation player. His most productive season was with Creighton in 2020-21, when he averaged 3.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest in 10.9 minutes per game. He did not play last season.
Omar Payne
The 6-foot-10 forward has bounced around quite a bit. He was last with Jacksonville, where he played 25 games and led the Dolphins in field goal percentage and blocked shots. He also played at Illinois and Florida, where he didn’t produce at a high level. He projects as a rotational forward with a chance to start.
Jaylin Sellers
The 6-foot-4 junior played at Ball State last season where he averaged 13.5 points. The season before, his true freshman season, he was an All-MAC Freshman selection. The Knights are counting on him to make an immediate impact.
Ibrahaim Diallo
The 7-foot transfer center from San Jose State averaged 6.0 points and 6.0 rebounds last season for the Spartans. He also averaged 1.66 blocked shots per game. He had eight blocked shots in a game against Alabama State last season. He can be an immediate presence at the rim in what should be his final collegiate season.
Marchelus Avery
The 6-foot-7 senior forward transferred in from New Mexico State after a tumultuous season off the court for the Aggies. Avery was one of three Aggies suspended as part of an on-campus shooting last year, but no charges were filed against him. He averaged 8.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in the games he played for the Aggies last season before he decided to transfer.
Class of 2023 Signees
Comeh Emuobor
Emuobor is a 6-foot-5 guard from Brewster Academy in Raleigh, N.C. He was rated a three-star guard and was considered a Top 200 player by 247Sports in its final national rankings. He was a two-time All-State selection in his native North Carolina.
Mintautas Mockus
The 6-foot-7 swingman from Lithuania led all scorers in the NBA Academy Games earlier this year. He has experience in leagues in Lithuania and Spain, plus he represented U18 Lithuania national team for the 2021 FIBA U18 European Challengers tournament.
Nils Machowski
The 6-foot-2 freshman guard comes to UCF from Germany, where he played for Alba Berlin and in Germany’s third division, where he was a 38.5 percent shooter.
Projected Starting Five: Sellers, Johnson, Diallo, Avery, Hendricks
First Four off Bench: Walker, Langford, Payne, Jones
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
