UTC men must add size with transfers
Selection Sunday two weeks ago marked the announcement of the brackets for college basketball’s postseason national events, most notably the NCAA tournament.
The next day was significant, too, even without any games on the schedule, because it marked the opening of a window (through May 1) for the NCAA transfer portal.
In an era when rosters changing drastically from season to season has become part of the game, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team is no different in needing to look to the portal this time of year.
The Mocs went 21-12 overall this past season, including a 12-6 record against Southern Conference opponents during the regular season to secure a No. 3 seed for the league tournament. Dan Earl’s first season as UTC’s head coach had produced records of 18-17 overall and 7-11 in SoCon play in 2022-23 but also a run to the league title game as the No. 7 seed; his second season produced significant improvement in the record and some highs and lows along the way, but it ended in unspectacular fashion with an overtime loss to rival East Tennessee State in a SoCon semifinal despite the Mocs leading by 20 points with less than 14 minutes left in regulation.
Since the season ended, three players from UTC’s 2023-24 roster have hit the transfer portal: sophomore forward Sam Alexis, who had per-game averages of 10.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks and made the league’s all-defense team; sophomore forward Randy Brady (11 starts, 3.5 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game); and freshman guard Myles Che (7.5 points per game, 54 total assists).
In addition, a trio of players from Earl’s second UTC team used their final season of college eligibility, and all three were forwards: Tyler Millin, who made 31 starts; Jan Zidek (11.9 points per game, 47 3-pointers made), who was the SoCon’s sixth man of the year; and Demetrius Davis, who averaged 16.3 points per game while appearing in all 33 and had a standout performance in the SoCon quarterfinals.
The Mocs have signed two high school players (both forwards) for next season — Latif Diouf, who’s 6-foot-9, and Isaiah Otyaluk, who’s 6-7 — but here are three things they need to find in the portal to strengthen their 2024-25 roster.
1. An older big man (or two)
This could actually be objectives one, two and three.
Going into next season, the Mocs’ most experienced tall
player is forward Sean Cusano (6-9), who battled injuries and played in just three games as a freshman. It’s more likely he becomes a replacement for the role held by Zidek, which leaves a huge void because the only true center on the roster was Alexis (6-9), the team’s best rebounder and sole defensive threat inside.
Collin Mulholland (6-10) redshirted as a freshman and Diouf has yet to play a college game, so somebody who can provide some resistance inside while the younger players develop is paramount.
2. A role-playing guard
Obviously a lot of the offense will flow through Trey Bonham (who’s entering his final college season) and Honor Huff (who will be a junior) after those two guards combined to make 154 total 3-pointers and average 33.4 points per game last season.
The Mocs will still need guard help to make up for the loss of Che, but the incoming player kind of has to understand the team needs him to be a sort of combination of Bonham (a playmaking guard who can shoot) and Huff (a scoring guard who can play some point).
It’s not surprising Earl and his staff have been looking into
the Division II and Division III ranks, as there is a plethora of overlooked talent there, guys who would love an opportunity to play at the highest level of college basketball — and can do just that in the SoCon (multiple former D-II players started games in the league this year).
3. Versatility
There never seemed to be any sort of consistency in the lineup this past season, in part because there just didn’t seem to be very many reliable pieces game in and game out.
UTC went through 10 different starting lineups, and the only constants were that if Alexis, Bonham and Huff were healthy, they would start (only five players appeared in all 33 games, and only two of those, Huff and fellow guard Noah Melson, who was a freshman this past season, are set to return). Beyond that, it was a struggle to find the most consistent five, as wing depth never seemed to develop.
The Mocs currently have five scholarships available. If one goes to address post depth and another goes to a guard, the other three should be allocated toward some versatile “3-and-D” type players who are capable of thriving off the ball in Earl’s “See, Share, Shoot” offense and can play solid defense.