UTC men add late basketball transfer

The collection of basketball talent continued this past weekend for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s coach Lamont Paris.

Cleveland State University (Ohio) forward Stefan Kenic became the fourth transfer to join the Mocs following the completion of the 2018-19 season. Kenic, who entered the NCAA’s transfer portal after CSU coach Dennis Felton was relieved of duties, will have two years of eligibility remaining, though he will, as of now, have to sit out the upcoming campaign.

UTC, which was hit hard by transfer losses, had a scholarship to give and quickly pounced.

“He’s a really high-character guy who just wants to compete and be good at basketball while enjoying the college experience,” Paris said in a UTC release. “He’s an accomplished player. Everything lined up perfectly with what we’d potentially be looking for.

“It was very late in the process, but we always had in mind that if we found the right guy, we’d use that scholarship. It was a surprise that a guy of his caliber person and player was available that late.”

The 6-foot-9, 230pound Kenic started 59 games and played in seven others the past two seasons with the Vikings. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game in 2018-19.

“When I came here on the visit, I saw Coach Lamont and his staff and all the players were really good people,” Kenic said. “In talking with Coach Lamont, I figured out he loves skilled players, bigs with skills who can shoot and dribble. That’s my kind of game; that’s why I felt I fit with this program.”

Kenic joins previously signed transfers Matt Ryan, Malachi Smith and Trey Doomes.

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress. com or at 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @ youngsports22.