If you’ve seen a UCF men’s basketball game over the last four years, you’ve probably noticed the energy and heart that senior point guard A.J. Rompza brings to the team.
Rompza, a 5’9″ point guard from Chicago, has been a staple of Knights basketball over the last four years as the captain and emotional leader. He has been through many of the highs and lows that UCF Athletics has experienced through the years.
He got a first-hand account of some of UCF’s recent lows when the NCAA suspended the senior just before the start of this season for 12 games for receiving improper benefits.
While some players may have taken this as a major blow and respond negatively to the news, Rompza decided to stay positive and use the situation as a learning experience.
“I think I just worked everyday. I had the right mindset- I owe that to my mom, keeping me positive with the whole situation,” Rompza said. “A lot of times, people have the tendency to either go negative with the situation or go positive. I looked at it as a positive, getting more time to work out. I also saw what we were struggling with on the court. I knew I could bring energy.”
After missing the Knights first 12 games, Rompza made his debut against Rhode Island on Dec. 30, and notched seven points, six assists, three boards and three steals to help the Knights win the UCF Holiday Classic.
Since then, Rompza has been on an absolute tear, averaging 9.2 points, 5.6 assists, 4.2 steals and three rebounds per game in five starts. UCF is 4-1 since his return, and Rompza’s stellar play is a large part of that.
Rompza had his most complete game of the season in UCF’s dominant 81-63 victory over East Carolina, where the captain registered 16 points, nine assists, seven boards, five steals and only one turnover.
The all-around performance helped Rompza earn Conference-USA Player of the Week Honors, which is the first time of his college career that he’s received the award. While Rompza was happy with the honors, individual awards aren’t what matters to him.
“For the Conference Player of the Week, that stuff doesn’t mean anything to me– I’ve never cared about my stats or my points,” Rompza said. “I do care about my assists and my steals because I feel that’s bettering the team. Getting steals and making sure guys like Keith (Clanton) and Marcus get shots because that’s our offense. My job is to be a leader, to keep everybody together, and get those guys shots.”
“I’m happy, but at the same time, I let it go. That’s not my goal; my goal is to win and get to the NCAA Tournament. Just being that leader on the court and off the court and bringing that energy is my job.”
Rompza will have to bring all the energy he can as the Knights will be thin at the point guard position for the remainder of the year after the annoucement that point guard Jeff Jordan will no longer compete with the Knights.
UCF has dealt with adversity all season, and this is just another opportunity to stay positive in a tough situation.
“Obviously we’re gonna miss Jeff. Jeff’s been like a big brother to me. But basketball wise, we have to go with what we have. Obviously, we’ve been through a lot this year,” Rompza said. “But like I said, you can go negative or you can go positive. I think right now we need to stay positive- it gives us more motivation to do better. It’s us against the world.”
Now, Rompza’s role as a leader only gets bigger as the Knights face the home stretch of their season.
“I’ve stayed true to being a leader. I think you have to be a leader through the tough times and the good times,” Rompza said. “Obviously, this was probably one of the toughest times in my life. But, being a good leader is when you encourage others and help others.”
UCF will need his mental toughness as the Knights prepare for tough upcoming match-ups against Memphis, Marshall and Southern Miss.
Rompza is a humble guy who truly embodies a team player. As a senior, it’s his last year with the Knights, and he just wants to go all out and achieve team success. With the current roster and the Knights (13-4, 3-1 C-USA) strong start in conference play, UCF has a great chance of competing for the Conference-USA championship and making a tournament appearance.
But as of right now, Rompza is just simply happy to be back with his teammates and to help give the Knights a shot of making the Big Dance. The Knights captain was able to deal with the adversity that hit him and his team and walk away from it a better leader.
“I feel like a freshman again, just more experienced. It feels great to be back with my teammates. Just doing it for my last time- I just want to go all out. I could tell you how great it feels, but there’s no really feeling to describe it,” Rompza said. “I definitely feel like I became a better leader from all of this. I took positives from this.”
