Player profile: freshman guard Denzel Mahoney

Height: 6 feet 4 inches

Birthday: Jan. 18, 1998

Ethnicity: African-American and Jamaican

"Oh my gosh, Jamaican food is so good. It's hard to explain," Mahoney said. "Once when I was younger my family got to visit Jamaica. I remember the beach and all of my dad's side of the family."

Hometown: Oviedo, Florida

"My hometown is right outside of Orlando. Everybody knows everybody. There's not really a lot of people there," Mahoney said. "I've seen a lot of people not work hard and never make it out of that town; I didn't want that to be me."

Parents: Desmond and Hazel Mahoney

"My mom is a teacher's assistant at a charter school in Orlando. She has taught me a lot about myself my entire life," Mahoney said. The Hagerty High School alumnus said his father works for the AT&T company.

Distance from home: 905 miles

"It was never the plan to go this far away. I always thought I would go somewhere in Georgia, closer to my brother," Mahoney said. "But going this far away has made me grow up a lot. I've had to really think about my decisions and make them on my own."

Hobbies: Playing sports video games and dancing to music

"I don't know if I'm the best dancer, but I feel like I'm kind of good," Mahoney said. "My whole team likes to dance, but I think I'm better than a lot of them."

Favorite color: Blue

Descriptive words of himself: Silly, Goggles and different

"I am different because I'm one way on the court and another way off of the court," Mahoney said. "I'm more laid back off of the court and more aggressive on the court."

Teammates he looks up to: Joel Angus III and Antonius Cleveland

"These two guys are a big reason of why I'm able to play well this first year here," Mahoney said. "Both on the court and off of the court, they are always available to answer my questions."

Goals: Making it to Nashville

"We are actually showing the university that the program is turning around," Mahoney said. "We are going to make it to the tournament for the first time in a while, and see what we can do from there."