Chattanooga: Mocs get offense from Patterson

Kevin Goffney appeared on the ESPN broadcasts of the Puerto Rico Tipoff Classic.

But he only showed up in shots of the team huddle or in the background of a pan down the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga bench. He couldn’t play because of an injured right ankle suffered less than a minute into the season.

Ty Patterson had plenty of air time because he played more than any of the Mocs in the first five games while filling in for Goffney. He has averaged 9.8 points per game despite not taking a shot in the Mocs’ 61-42 loss to Fairfield on Sunday.

“He’s got the ability to score, but right now the only thing is that since he comes from a juco, it’s not a habit for him to box out,” Goffney said. “When he gets that, he’ll be all right.”

At 6-foot-6, Patterson fits the mold of previous small forwards in coach John Shulman’s system — including Goffney, Marcus Watts and Chris Brown.

But he plays a different style. Goffney and his predecessors enjoyed playing defense and crashing the glass for rebounds. With a smooth shooting touch and quick feet, Patterson is more of an offensive threat. He may play some at shooting guard later this season.

“We like to have a big 3 man (wing forward), and Ty may be the most offensively gifted out of all of them,” Shulman said. “I’m not used to that. I’m used to having a 3 that can defend and rebound.”

Players see the obvious differences in style.

“K.G. is a physical bust-you-in-your-mouth guy, and he’ll do all the dirty work,” senior point guard Keyron Sheard said. “Ty uses his athleticism and finesse to score.”

Patterson said he knows rebounding and defending will earn him more playing time in the future.

“I have to show up every game, be consistent and be smart,” Patterson said. “I have to be more assertive.”

Brown, Watts and Goffney needed almost a full season to transition from junior college to the Southern Conference.

They were inconsistent during the nonconference portion of their junior years before grasping and executing Shulman’s offensive system. Patterson may have picked it up in the first five games — all losses.

“I think he’s already made that jump,” Shulman said. “If he hadn’t been so fatigued late in that trip, I think he would have continued putting up points. He’s already done some neat things for us and scored against some pretty good teams.

“The only team he didn’t score against was Fairfield, and that’s because I barely played him.”

Shaded box in jump (or just tag it on and delete “Coach John” .. RB)

Bell out with mono

Point guard Keegan Bell, who is redshirting this season after transferring from Vanderbilt after one season, is out for an undetermined time due to mononucleosis. Coach John Shulman allowed Bell to drive home to Hazel Green, Ala., early for Thanksgiving.