Honor Huff admitted he "almost cried" when the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball team opened lastseason at College of Charleston.
Huff had followed Dan Earl from Virginia Military Institute when the latter became the new UTC coach in April of 2022, continuing to put the faith in the only person to offer the 5-foot-10 Bronx, New York native a scholarship coming out of high school. Huff had taken advantage of the VMI opportunity, earning All-Southern Conference freshman honors in the pair's lone season together in Lexington, Virginia.
Transferring is no big deal anymore. The NCAA has opened the door for players to transfer once without penalty, making them immediately eligible. That allows a player to leave for whatever reason they may choose, and it also allows coaches to push players out of a program if they believe it's not a good fit.
But the SoCon remains stuck in a bygone era and has refused to adopt the new rules, meaning Huff was one of — if not the only — healthy players in the country ruled ineligible to play. To make matters worse, a national outlet picked up the story, with some quotes from former SoCon commissioner Jim Schaus suggesting there may be a vote within the league to change the rule. That vote never formally materialized, but rumors like that had given him hope.
So he sat out last year. He got better. He got quicker, he got stronger. But that didn't make sitting out easier, so he leaned on Earl and his father Carlton, who played at Long Island University.
"I almost broke down in tears that first game," Huff said recently. "It was hard because I've never really missed any game, so kind of coming here and not being able to play, it was surreal in a bad way. And it's not like I'm hurt, so I'm just sitting there, then we went through this stretch last year where we lost four straight and guys were like, 'Man, if you were playing,' and I'm wishing I could play, wishing I could help.
"That was the hardest part, but once time kind of went by, I knew I couldn't dwell on the past and needed to focus on what I could do to make sure I'm ready for next year and once I changed my mindset, everything took off."
Now, there is nothing keeping Huff off the court once this version of the Mocs begin the season on Nov. 6 against Covenant. So while that energy never really left the confident, fast-talking guard who had five 3-pointers and a career-high 22 points in the only game he's played in McKenzie Arena when the Keydets beat the Mocs 80-75 in the 2021-22 season, now it's different because he's working to be his best for this season — not the next one.
"He's just fun to coach," Earl said. "When you're around the guy for so long, almost like a Jake Stephens, you develop a relationship, so he's got a better feel when it's appropriate to make a joke because you don't want to do it at the wrong time, and he's a fun guy to be around. Most of our guys are, but he brings pop and energy and I'm just excited that he can get back on the court and on top of that, he's a good player.
"Hopefully we're going to see that ball go in and have him affecting things positively, but I'm excited for him to get back out there."
Or, in Huff's words, "Three (Huff's number) is now free." And 'three' will be looked at to be a leader for a team that lost nine players from last season's 18-16 team that fell in the SoCon tournament title game.
"The future is bright," Huff said. "We have a lot of young guys that can really make an impact, so my goal now that I'm eligible is just leading the team, leading the guys, making sure we're all on the same page. I think that's a big thing for me, learning from Jake and how he led us, how can I make not just myself better but the team better and I think that's my biggest mindset going into being free.
"It's not just about me, it's about everybody and that's the biggest excitement about being free."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ After having to sit out last season as a transfer, UTC's Honor Huff looks to make an immediate impact on this season's team.