Ithiel Horton feels UCF is the perfect place for his fresh start.

The former Pittsburgh guard averaged 11.2 points with 49 starts over the past two seasons. Horton figures to be a key component for Johnny Dawkins' team as they embark on their final year in the American.

UCFSports.com caught up with him at the recent media day.

Horton was quite candid right off the bat, acknowledging his suspension at Pitt last season that forced him to miss 19 games (he was embroiled in legal proceedings stemming from an altercation with a tow truck driver and law enforcement). After entering the NCAA Transfer Portal in March, he believes many schools were hesitant to recruit him.

His initial contact with UCF was via assistant coach Mamadou N'Diaye.

"Coach Mamadou said Coach (Johnny) Dawkins is very meticulous and very careful with who he recruits," Horton said. "Given my past history, that meant a lot to me. He was able to overlook a mistake that happened and believed in me... When I got down here, I hopped off the train at the airport and saw the palm trees. I thought then (my recruitment) might be over, but let's see the school. When I got there it felt like family. The atmosphere was very warm and loving."

Horton said he tweaked his knee shortly after his arrival which required arthroscopic surgery. That set him back about eight weeks, so he wasn't full go until the first week of September.

Asked about his basketball abilities, Horton said his jump shot is his specialty.

"I pride myself on my aggression. I pride myself on doing what's best for the team. I pride myself just overall lifting the team. When I'm on the court, I'm doing everything to help the team. I'm not a detriment to the team. I'm out there doing everything to make the team better. That's what I take tremendous pride in."

Horton thinks this is a resilient team. It's also a team that's not afraid to challenge opponents.

"I can't curse on camera, but we really like to get into your stuff and make you overthink. We're tough and scrappy."

Asked about freshman Taylor Hendricks, Horton said he's very active around the basket with a smooth jumper, good I.Q. and "off the charts" athleticism.

Horton began his career Delaware where he was named to the CAA All-Freshman team after averaging 13.2 points. His coach there compared him to Eric Gordon. His previous coach, John Capel at Pitt, likened him to Bryn Forbes.

Knowing he's hitting the tail end of his college career, Horton is thinking about only one thing.

"I want to win. I want to win games. Obviously I have individual accomplishments I want to achieve, but I've never had a winning season in college. I think that would be my biggest goal, to have a winning season with 20-plus wins and some postseason. Go far in the conference tournament. It's our last year in the American. Hopefully win the championship and go to the NCAA Tournament."

He rooms with Michael Durr, Brandon Suggs and Lahat Thioune. I asked who was the best cook. Nobody, really. He says they're spoiled by the offerings at the Garvy Nutrition Center so they usually eat all their meals there. If they eat out, he's a big fan of the local Waffle House.