Efianayi on UCF: Were gonna be tough to beat

Donnie Jones and staff scored a big pickup on Sunday from Daytona State's Tanksley Efianayi, a 6-foot-5 small forward who is one of the nation's top junior college players. The Orlando native committed to UCF at the conclusion of his weekend visit and becomes the third pledge in the 2015 class.

"UCF started recruiting me in the spring of my freshman year at Daytona State," Efianayi said. "I actually went up there on an unofficial visit (earlier this year) so they've been showing interest for a while now. I always knew that could be something. I've never been away from home, and I'm here at Daytona only about an hour away. I checked out St. John's and Arizona State (on official visits). Really nice places, I liked them a lot, but I thought this is just a little too far from home. UCF had everything I was looking for, plus it was at home. They're in a great new conference. They're trying to keep Orlando kids in Orlando. They're building a great program. I was all aboard."

Just as excited was his family, who live only 20 minutes from campus.

"Oh yeah, my family is really happy," Efianayi said. "They'll get to watch me play."

Efianayi arrived Friday for the beginning of the visit and was immediately greeted by familiar faces.

"I got along great with the players," Efianayi said. "I already knew Adonys Henriquez, B.J. Taylor and Matt Williams, so I was already cool with them. I got cool with other guys on the visit too. It was fun. That's what made it for me."

Efianayi, who attended nearby University, played with Henriquez on the same AAU team several years ago.

"That was a while ago, but we did play together at one point," Efianayi said. "We hadn't talked in a while, but would see each other off and on."

Coach Jones told Efianayi he would be a key piece in building a team that could contend in the American Athletic Conference as well as nationally.

"He told me there's nothing like playing at home," Efianayi said. "They're in the new conference, so why would I want to go anywhere else? They haven't won anything yet, trying to get to the tournament and win the American, and I can be a big part of that. I took that into consideration, and just watching them practice I know I can be an impact on the team and help them win games. Everything was just clicking."

On Saturday, Efianayi confided in Henriquez, Taylor and Williams that his mind was made up. He waited until Sunday at breakfast to tell Jones and the coaching staff.

"He was pretty happy," Efianayi said. "I told him I was going to announce it and make it official tonight. I kept on telling the guys all weekend, 'This could be the spot.' They were all on board and pretty happy."

One thing that really appealed to him was the fact UCF players have 24/7 access to their practice court.

"I'm a gym rat," Efianayi said. "I like to be in the gym. I want to get better and I know the guys on the team do too. They're in there before practice, after practice and on the weekend working on ball handling, jumpshots with the managers, with the gun. Talking with Matt, Adonys and B.J., they're in the gym consistently. I figured those are the guys I'll be hanging with the most. They have the same focus as me. That sold me too."

As a freshman at Daytona State last season, Efianayi averaged 15.7 points and 6.4 rebounds. He's a deep threat too, shooting 31.2 percent from three-point range. Jones compared him to Isaiah Sykes, who recently graduated following a standout four-year career.

"90 percent of their offense is pick and roll," Efianayi said. "I'll be running the wing and be involved in the pick and roll as a ball handler. He compared me to Isaiah Sykes and how they used him. He said I can shoot better than Sykes could. I have the same attributes as Sykes as far as what I can bring to the table, athleticism and what he did on the court. If Isaiah could have shot it better from the free throw line and perimeter he would've been a draft pick, but I know he did make it overseas. That's the comparison he made."

Daytona State finished 24-6 last season and he hopes to leave with a national championship before enrolling at UCF next summer.

"My goal here at Daytona State is to get a ring," Efianayi said. "Win state, go to nationals. At UCF, we're going to be a young team my junior year. But we're going to be contending and we'll be really good. My senior year we'll have an older group so at that point I feel like we're going to be tough to beat."

Efianayi joins power forward Chad Brown and point guard Chance McSpadden in UCF's 2015 class. The Knights have one spot left they hope will be claimed by 7-foot-4 center Tacko Fall, who also visited this weekend.

"I was pretty much sold halfway through the weekend that I wanted to go to UCF," Efianayi said. "I think (Fall) enjoyed himself too. I was talking with him, trying to get him to commit. I know he really liked it, from what he was telling me. I think he's thinking about visiting one more place, but I hope he comes too."

Efianayi's other offers included Arizona State, St. John's, Alabama, Cincinnati, DePaul, East Carolina, Florida State, Kansas State and USC.

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