On The UCF Infractions Case, And How It Affects USF

We have a standing policy around here not to discuss our neighbors to the East unless it affects USF Athletics directly. If you want to see someone TROLL SO HARD on what happened over there... well, follow me on Twitter where this rule doesn't apply and I can bask in this piece of awesome as much as I'd like. As far as the impact to UCF of what happened and the thinking behind the decision, the great John Infante of the Bylaw Blog has a wonderful breakdown here.

And as tough as it'll be for the Knights for the next few years, it really doesn't affect the Bulls too much. The only area of potential pickup might be in head-to-head recruiting battles where some potential Knights might be scared off of being a part of a class of 20 instead of 25 for the next three years, or in basketball heading to a team that will be missing two scholarships and playing for a head coach with a show-cause penalty around his neck. But there are some exceptions. One of them is all seniors in men's basketball and football at UCF now have a "free out" the same way all football players at Penn State do. They can transfer anywhere they'd like without sitting a year, and can compete right away.

I can't speak to the football players, but I can tell you Keith Clanton would look superb in green and gold. The projected Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year is a rising senior that hasn't declared publicly what he'll do post-NCAA Banhammer, but averaged 14.5 points and 8.1 boards for the Knights last year. He's 6'9, can face up or drive, has nice hands for his size, and would look amazing catching lobs from Anthony Collins next year. I'm not saying... I'm just saying. Clanton is the kind of game-changer that can compete in the Big East right away, and take a team coming off an NCAA victory and make them truly formidable. Two things to keep in mind: USF plays UCF twice next year, and Clanton's high school coach was Reggie Kohn.

The Bulls do have junior transfer Waverly Austin and Jordan Omogbehin coming in to replace Ron Anderson Jr. and Gus Gilchrist in the frontcourt, but the addition of an experienced player like Clanton might make what could be a projected good USF team a borderline great one. If he wants to stay close to home, it might be a perfect fit on both sides. And yes, the Bulls have a scholarship available for this upcoming season.