Keith Clanton to remain at Central Florida, Marcus Jordan Leaving Knights

As reported this morning, Keith Clanton will be staying with Central Florida this season despite the postseason ban on the Knights.

The leading scorer last season, Clanton averaged 14.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and added 59 blocks.

Not returning to Central Florida though is Michael Jordan's son Marcus, who was the second leading scorer at 13.7 points per game. He won't be transferring though. Instead, it looks like Jordan is leaving basketball for good.

We had previously discussed how Clanton's (and Jordan's) departure would affect Central Florida this season, a team that looked like it had enough returning talent to contend with Memphis for the Conference USA title. As we said then, it would be difficult for the Knights to mount much of an offense without the two leaders, even with Isaiah Sykes coming back.

And we addressed how Clanton would fit in at either Kentucky or Florida State, two schools that looked like they were at the top of the list for the forward. Neither looked like the best option for Clanton, who despite his skills would have been pushed down the bench in either program.

Those two discussions make it seem like Clanton made the best decision by remaining: for his team, his playing time and his potential NBA draft status. It also should bode well for the Knights, who now have their two highest HOOPWAR players back for this season (Clanton and Sykes).

The bench is light (and filled with newcomers) but the core of the team should be enough to have Central Florida at the top of the standings in C-USA. The team could win 20 games, and it would be an interesting discussion on what the Knights would have warranted in terms of postseason bids if they do achieve to that level.