UCF lands top JUCO shooter
One of the nation's top junior college shooters will be suiting up for UCF next season.
Frank Bertz, a 6-foot-5 guard from East Los Angeles College, connected on 79-of-166 three-point attempts as a sophomore for an average of 48 percent. He committed to the Knights on Tuesday following a weekend official visit.
With UCF poised to make a NCAA Tournament run next season, Bertz was exactly the type of player Johnny Dawkins and his staff were searching for.
"Frank is one of the top shooters in junior college if not the top shooter," ELAC assistant coach Kenneth Hunter said. "He's definitely the top shooter in California. He shot 51 percent for most of the year and then ended up shooting 48 percent at the end. He's exceptional shooting the ball."
Hunter was already familiar with Dawkins and assistant coach Kevin Norris from their prior stints in the PAC-12. Norris recently flew out to California to meet with Bertz.
"Frank just got a great feel from Coach Norris and Coach Dawkins," Hunter said. "He took the visit and absolutely loved it. His pops loved it too. They felt it was a perfect fit. They're very excited about the opportunity and on both sides."
Bertz, who attended Sultana High School in Hesperia, Calif., averaged 13.2 points during his sophomore season and shot 88 percent from the free-throw line.
"He's one of those kids that you have to guard as soon as he crosses the half court," Hunter said. "He has a quick, long release. He's 6-5 and jumps out of the gym. He can score off the dribble drive and makes for nightmare matchups. He's an extremely high-I.Q. kid. It's like watching Kerry Kittles all over again. He has a real high I.Q. He moves without the ball with the best of them. He just needs to get a little stronger. Other than that, no flaws."
UCF was believed to be a NCAA Tournament contender this past season, but got hit with the injury bug. Aubrey Dawkins suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during the preseason, B.J. Taylor missed half the year with a fractured foot and Tacko Fall missed the latter part of conference play with a shoulder issue. The hope is a player like Bertz will be the missing piece that can help propel an already-talented roster to make a big-time run.
"With guys like Aubrey, Frank and Tacko on the floor, it's going to cause a lot of problems," Hunter said. "I look forward to following their journey. I definitely think they'll be a top 25 team next year with the addition of Frank and with Aubrey being back out there. I'm excited to see them put it all together. Frank is excited too. He feels he'll have a legit chance to do some big things, hopefully playing for a conference title and make it to the NCAA Tournament and have a good run."
Texas Tech, New Mexico State, Cal State Bakersfield and Iona were among the other schools in the mix.
"We all felt like UCF was the perfect fit," Hunter said. "There was really no need to do anything else. Everything lined up. The visit couldn't have gone any better. He was absolutely ecstatic over everything they had to offer."
Bertz is on track to graduate from ELAC the first week of June, so it's likely he moves to Orlando later in the month to be enrolled for Summer B.
"Frank comes from a big-time winning program so he knows what it takes," Hunter said. "I know he'll want to get started on the strength and conditioning stuff right away and get acclimated with his teammates and coaches. UCF is getting a good one."
