Chattanooga men add big grad transfer

The Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball team was looking for a big addition to the 2021-22 roster and they certainly found in Avery Diggs. The 6-foot-11, 245-pound center is a grad transfer from UCF with one year of eligibility remaining.

Coach Lamont Paris announced the Diggs signing last Tuesday afternoon.

“We’re extremely excited to add Avery to the mix here,” Paris shared. “He’s a young man looking for more opportunity, and I think we have a great situation for him. He’s really talented and skilled with good hands and touch.

“I think we have the type of environment that with the added opportunity here, he’ll be able to blossom into the player he’s capable of being.”

Diggs saw action in 43 games over two seasons with the Knights making three starts. He shot 52.1 percent (61-117) over that time with his best run of games coming at the end of last season. He posted 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest against Tulsa, at East Carolina and in the American Athletic Conference tournament win over the Pirates making 14 of 16 shots (87.5 percent).

From his own point of view,

Diggs is excited by the opportunity in front of him in the Scenic City.

“I chose Chattanooga because I thought it was the best fit after Coach Paris called me,” Diggs explained. “He has a great resume working with guys my size and with my skill set. The style of play really got me being able to get it on the block or the top of the key or at the elbows…I was really excited when talked about that because it’s how I like to operate.

“I’m really excited to get to work with these guys. It’s a good group coming back that had a good year so hopefully we can work and get to the

NCAA Tournament. That’s the goal.”

Diggs began his career at USC Upstate after completing his high school career at Spoto in Florida. He started 12 of 31 appearances for the Spartans averaging 3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

He made the move to Southwest Mississippi Community College for the 2018-19 campaign earning a reputation as one of the top JUCO centers in the county. He averaged 10.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest shooting 58.6 percent overall including 36.0 percent from three.