Honor Huff was asked Friday night, after the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's 81-71 win at Louisville, how he and freshman point guard Myles Che complement each other on the court.
Huff started laughing before responding: "Myles is a problem, man. Myles is a problem."
For other teams. Not for the Mocs — except maybe when one of them is trying to guard him in practice.
Che's performance, which included 22 points in 26 minutes, was no surprise to Huff, a sophomore guard who also impressed with seven 3-pointers and a career-high 25 points as the Mocs improved to 2-0. Along with junior Florida transfer Trey Bonham (who as a two-time transfer likely has to sit out this season due to NCAA rules), Huff had battled against the 6-foot-3 Che during the preseason.
So he knew what his teammate was capable of on game night.
"He's doing a great job of doing all the little intangibles that we need to do," Huff said. "We play well with each other because he's looking to pass, but at the same time he wants to get his buckets, too. He does a good job of picking and choosing when he wants to score or when we need to move the ball."
UTC beating Louisville had been a trendy upset pick during the week, though not necessarily a surprising one. The Cardinals (1-1) are now 5-29 since the beginning of their 2022-23 schedule and lost an exhibition to a Division II program both last season (Lenoir-Rhyne) and this season (Kentucky Wesleyan).
But until it happens, it hasn't, and the Mocs had to go take it, which is why Huff's first-half performance was so important.
The sophomore, who spent Monday's home win over D-III opponent Covenant College knocking the rust off after having to sit out last season due to Southern Conference transfer rules, made as many shots (six) as the rest of the Mocs combined in the first half at Louisville, and he was 5-for-9 from 3-point range while scoring 17 points in the first 20 minutes, which ended with UTC leading 33-27.
"Honor is what carried us throughout the first half," Che said. "I think his performance and the way he played, it shows the heart and the ability of this team. He's one of the leaders, we look up to him, so I think his first half really propelled us in the second half."
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / UTC sophomore guard Honor Huff dribbles between teammates during an Oct. 12 practice at McKenzie Arena. Huff, finally on the court for the Mocs after sitting out last season as a transfer from fellow SoCon program VMI, made seven 3-pointers Friday night in UTC's win at Louisville.Louisville adjusted to Huff, which opened things up for Che and sophomore forward Sam Alexis as they combined for 31 points. Alexis was 6-for-7 in the second half, when he had 13 of his 16 points, seven of his 11 rebounds and three of his four blocks.
Alexis, Che, Huff and senior forwards Demetrius Davis, Tyler Millin and Jan Zidek appear to be the foundation for the program, but second-year UTC coach Dan Earl has built a team where everyone from top to bottom has a job. A role.
"We have some guys that can certainly play really well," Earl said. "When we share it and play together, I think we've got a chance to be pretty good going forward."
The Mocs' win against Louisville, an Atlantic Coast Conference program, was their first over an opponent from a power conference since beating Tennessee 82-69 in the 2016-17 season opener. But after the game, Earl said he didn't want the win to be the "highlight of our year."
"I'm super proud of our team," said Earl, whose first season with the Mocs ended with a loss in the SoCon tournament title game and an 18-17 record. "I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, but there's so many plays out there tonight that we could have just been smarter about. So to learn from a win like that, I think is a really good thing, right? We have a lot to work on, and we're still kind of figuring out how to play with different lineups and all that, but we'll take it after defeating an ACC opponent on the road."
The Mocs are back at McKenzie Arena for their next four games. They host Bellarmine at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Tennessee Tech at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 19, and then a multiteam event on Thanksgiving weekend with 2 p.m. games against Evansville on Nov. 24 and Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 26.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.