Throughout the past week, the UCF men’s basketball team has received some positive news regarding the returning of multiple key players from its 2020-21 roster.
Four Knights — freshman forward Isaiah Adams, sophomore forward C.J. Walker, and senior guards Brandon Mahan and Darius Perry — have all announced that they will be returning to UCF for the 2021-22 season.
The return of Mahan was announced by the UCF Men’s Hoops’ Twitter page on June 11. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound guard has averaged 9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per contest throughout his two-year tenure with the Knights.
Mahan started in 19 of the Knights’ 21 games this past season, averaging 12 points per game, which ranked second on the team. Mahan was named third-team all-conference by the American Athletic Conference during his senior season.
Perry’s return was announced by the UCF Hoops’ Twitter page on Monday. The senior guard averaged a team-high 14.7 points per contest during his debut season with the Knights. Perry also recorded 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game this past season.
Like Mahan, Perry was also named third-team all-conference by the AAC.
The UCF Men’s Hoops’ Twitter announced the return of Adams on Tuesday — the Knights’ freshman standout who initially declared for the 2021 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-6, 210-pound freshman forward appeared in 22 of the Knights’ 23 games, starting 12 of them. Adams averaged 9.9 points per game, which ranked second in the AAC among all freshmen. He also averaged 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per contest in his first season with the team.
Adams earned AAC Freshman of the Week honors three times. The Knight forward was ultimately named to the AAC all-freshman team due to his impressive debut season.
Walker’s return was announced by the UCF Men’s Hoops’ Twitter page on Wednesday.
The Sanford native averaged 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per contest for the Knights this past season. Walker’s 5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks were a team-high, with his 1.7 blocks leading the conference and ranked No. 47 in the nation.
Like Adams, Walker had also initially declared for the 2021 NBA Draft.
These four Knights will be returning to play with an incoming 2021 recruit class that includes three-star signee Darius Johnson and 6-foot-8 forward signee Ed’Xavior Rhodes.
