Jean-Baptiste earns preseason All-Conference recognition for Mocs
The 2020-2021 season for the Chattanooga Mocs basketball team is nearly here and it will be the fifth season-opener for David Jean-Baptiste, who redshirted in 2016-2017 before taking the court for Coach Lamont Paris over the last three seasons. In that time, he’s grown from a young guard to a solid rotational piece to a prime performer.
That ascension has not been lost on the coaches around the Southern Conference. That crew recently voted Jean-Baptiste to the preseason all-conference squad. Its significance is not lost on the affable Miami native, but he also keeps it in clear perspective.
“It’s an honor…all glory to God,” the soft-spoken Jean-Baptiste began. “It is rewarding to be noticed, but we are all focused on this season and bringing another championship home to Chattanooga.”
Jean-Baptiste is joined on the preseason honors list by returning Player of the Year Isaiah Miller (UNCG), a trio from Furman in Mike Bothwell, Noah Gurley and Clay Mounce, the Mercer duo of Ross Cummings and Jeff Gary, Western Carolina’s Mason Faulkner, Wofford’s Storm Murphy and ETSU newcomers Ledarrius Brewer and Ty Brewer. The group includes six seniors and five juniors.
The coaches picked UNC-Greensboro to win the regular season followed by Furman, ETSU, Mercer, Wofford, Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Samford, VMI and The Citadel. The media leaned toward Furman at the top ahead of UNCG, ETSU, Mercer, Wofford, Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Samford, VMI and The Citadel.
The season opens at home for the Mocs next Wednesday, Nov. 25. It’ll be the first time opening at home in Jean-Baptiste’s career, something he looks forward to in these topsy-turvy times.
“Oh man,” he smiled. “The first one was the win at Tennessee. That was special, but I imagine it will be much sweeter starting out in the Roundhouse. Being able to have our fans there too means everything to us.
“They’ll be wearing masks, but there’s no masking how loud it gets in the arena.”
Jean-Baptiste referenced the recently released ticketing and gameday guidelines. Capacity is limited to 1,000 with a complete list of arena precautions available at GoMocs.com.
Because of the capacity limitation in the arena, the ticket office ended season ticket sales for 2020-2021, selling on a single-game basis instead. All 1,000 seats are general admission and are clearly marked for social distancing purposes. Those tickets are $10 each and are on sale to the general public starting this Friday, Nov. 20.
Fans are encouraged to make purchases in advance, at GoMocs. com, by phone at (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or at the Gate 1 ticket office during normal business hours (10 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.).