The tangible items were on the bus.
Uniforms, shoes, tape, video equipment and a dry-erase board all made the trip to Charleston, S.C.
For the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs to board the bus Monday night with a Southern Conference tournament championship, they had better have packed the intangibles as well.
“Making the extra pass, taking a charge — the little things that nobody notices, like saving a ball, are going to be huge,” UTC senior point guard Kevin Bridgewaters said. “We have to play with emotion. We have to have the bench.
“It’s going to take everybody.”
UTC’s quest for its 10th SoCon tournament title begins Saturday at 7 p.m. in the North Charleston Coliseum against either Elon or Furman.
The Mocs are three wins — 120 minutes — away from earning an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Coach John Shulman said it should be simple if the Mocs execute in the two areas he’s emphasized throughout the season: defending and rebounding.
“Nobody is going to shoot lights out. Nobody is going to play free-flowing,” Shulman said. “Can you get back in transition and not allow easy baskets? Can you box out?”
Limiting turnovers, converting at the free-throw line, scoring easy baskets and hitting a few 3-pointers also go a long way in winning tournament games. A relative unknown playing beyond expectations is also a common thread among previous SoCon champs.
“We are stacked with talent,” Mocs sophomore Matt Gwynne said. “Everybody is capable of putting up big numbers, and anybody can be that guy to step up big.
“Everybody can contribute through defense, through hustle plays. There are a lot of ways.”
David Uchiyama is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who began his tenure here in May 2001. His primary beats are UTC athletics — specifically men’s basketball and athletic department administration — and golf, which includes coverage from the PGA Tour to youth events. He also covers other high school sports, outdoor adventures, and contributes to other sections of the newspaper when necessary. David grew up in Salinas, Calif., and began working ...
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