UCF Guards Key Roseby and Mikayla Johnson Discuss Knights' Fast Start To 2026-27

So, Kei, I want to ask you personally, you transferred from the Southland Conference to one of the best basketball conferences in the nation in the Big 12. You just sank 22 points. What's going through your mind right now? Man, I'm just so grateful. I'm just happy to be here, happy to be on my team next year. What does it mean to see the emotions of your head coach, Coach Alonzo? Thank you very much. Pretty emotional hearing this press conference, but going to get that first win being the head coach. I mean, we know Coach Gabe is a pretty emotional guy, so I mean, we just, we let that emotion feed into us on the court and use that. How do you guys kind of maybe translate that into the season? How is that kind of question to you, whether it's being emotional or him getting on you guys? It's really just taking what he says and not taking it too personal, really just using it like that, because he always gives us like the three E's, like energy, enthusiasm, and effort, so just using that to push through every day. Key, after six points in the first half, you came out shooting in the second with four threes, get 16 points there. Just what was really clicking for you in that second half? I would say my teammates were just finding me. Like, I love my teammates. They always find the shooters. If we have a hot hand on the team, we find them. So, definitely my teammates. Well, three straight possessions, eight points with the back-to-back threes. In that particular exchange there, what was happening there with the movement? Is it just a matter of finding the right ones? Was there an opportunity you saw on the floor? What was it that kind of set that series up? I would just say our transition is really good. For us to be a brand new team, I feel like our transition was top notch. And like I said, my teammates, my PG, Caitlin, Caitlin was finding me, man, like every single time. All right. And Mikaela, I want to go to you for the frontcourt. To you, Mahogany, Candice, all seemed like the tip of the spear in the first half. That opened up the perimeter where we started to see a lot going through three. What do you think? Is this something you were building from the exhibition games to now? Was being aggressive always part of the plan? I mean, there's some element in basketball to be aggressive, but what is it that kind of built to that frontcourt taking over early? I mean, we just listen to what Coach Dave tells us, like always attack, draw in the defenders, and look for our shooters. So just working on that every day at practice, and, I mean, it leads to success. And I think that's what you guys saw today, too. What did tonight's performance show you about the potential of this game? Honestly, it's a process. That's what Coach K tells us every day, it's a process. So just taking it day by day. I'm excited each day coming into practice, cuz I feel like we just get better each time we step on the court, we're always locked in. So just, I'm excited to see where we can go, staying locked in is the process. What were you ladies seeing in the fast break there today? Because 40 out of 85 points is quite a lot to be done in the fast break. I mean, like I said, I think everybody was just finding the opening. We had so many open shots and we were able to hit. So going on the road, you know, you've had some power teams in exhibition, but going on the road next to a game that'll take on the first power opponent of the year, What's different about that challenge? How can that game help you guys grow? What are you looking forward to in that game at all? Oh Nothing's really different. We're just still taking it day by day. Like I said, it's a process. We're going to attack each thing the same way, same aggression. So I'm sticking to the process, really. Coach Javid expressed his excitement having a big lead winning the game. He talked about the turnovers as well. Where do you guys see improvement? Definitely want to see improvement there. I mean I feel like there's a lot of small things we can fix especially going into the next game. We definitely need to tie that up but I mean, don't blame it on Coach with all the energy. I was going to ask about the fouls and that being part of that first game energy. How is it you kind of find that balance of, you know, the right amount of energy to attack, but then also having that poise that you're talking about as well? I think we're an aggressive team. So, I mean... Like I said, we're aggressive. Fouls are going to come. So, you know, I think next game we can learn from that. I appreciate it. Let me just follow up on the first question I asked about Coach Gavala and his emotion. Do you all enjoy having a coach that's not afraid to express his emotion? Oh, yeah, I enjoy that. I love, like, playing under somebody who's passionate because I'm just as passionate about the game. So, I mean, who wants a coach that they don't care? Their energy is contagious. Exactly. For sure. A lot of new faces on the team. How has building chemistry helped translate to that win that we saw out on the court? I would say building chemistry is important on any team. So that's something that we're still working on every day through the process, working on talking, working on our communication, our energy towards each other. So I feel like that's something that will help later down the road, especially in bigger games, especially this one coming up Thursday. After shooting 35.7% there in the second quarter, you guys came back out to get 24 points and shoot for 45% in the third. What were you guys thinking about coming out of that locker room as far as reflecting on that first? I think we talked about taking care of the ball. So we took care of the ball in the second half. We found the open people. I think we just were more relaxed. For the second half, we were more into the game. Coach, talk about this being a young team where you find the leadership and veteran leadership from yourselves. Coach Gabe tells us all the time he wants a team full of leaders. It's never just we're looking at one person for that leadership. So a little bit of leadership from everybody is something that you're going to see from us. What do you want to see from yourselves in-game goals of early season passing? Are you talking about individually or as a team? As a team, both. I want to see us sticking together, sticking to the process, not getting in our heads too much. Thank you very much. One thing Coach Gabe always says is next play mentality, so not letting anything affect us really. Just keeping up with the game. Because obviously they're a good team, but we just got to go out there and be a better team. I'm gonna take back what I've heard, I mean I feel like taking care of the ball. We need to take care of the ball for sure. Thank Stay out of foul trouble. Learn from this game and play together. Thanks. Thank you, sir. First game, got that, the weight off your shoulders, got that first win, how was that for you? Amazing. I'm on top of the world right now. Feels good. Thanks, you guys. Thank you. Thank you. you. Thank you.