University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball coach Wes Moore isn't going to dwell on the successes of the past. Especially not this season when his latest band of Lady Mocs has nine wins in 20 games.
"This year we're battling, scratching, clawing for every win we can get," said Moore, who will go for his 500th career win, and 300th at UTC, tonight at McKenzie Arena when the Lady Mocs host the College of Charleston.
When asked about being on the brink of a pair of milestones in his 22nd season as a head coach - he's in the midst of his 13th at UTC - Moore wasn't too interested in the topic.
The Lady Mocs are 9-11 overall and 6-5 in the Southern Conference, so this isn't the time to think about anything but beating the Cougars.
"Right now I'm more focused on what we can get done," he said.
Another reason reaching 500 wins doesn't seem like such a big deal, Moore said, is that college basketball's all-time wins leader, Pat Summitt, coaches up I-75 in Knoxville. Summitt has won 1,058 games in her 37 seasons coaching the Tennessee Lady Vols.
"Being in the same state with Pat Summitt, that kind of puts things in perspective, too, so I don't know that I'm too caught up in it," he said.
Under Moore, the Lady Mocs have won 11 straight SoCon regular-season titles, won eight SoCon tournaments and posted 11 consecutive 20-win seasons.
Moore said a coach's win total can speak to longevity more than success, which is why he said the winning percentage is a more defining statistic.
"I guess winning percentage is to me a little bit more of a legitimate figure to be thinking about," he said.
In Moore's case, his overall percentage is 76.7 (499-152) and he has won 75.7 percent of his games at UTC (299-96). With a win tonight, Moore will reach 500 wins in 651 games -- ninth-fastest in women's basketball history.
"He's definitely a great coach," said Lady Mocs forward Whitney Hood, the SoCon's leading scorer. "We need this win for us, but we also want to get this for him."
College of Charleston coach Nancy Wilson already has more than 500 career wins and she earned her 300th win with the Cougars (6-15, 3-9) last week. In 28 seasons as a head coach, Wilson is 531-337 overall and 300-189 at Charleston.
Moore is 23-5 all-time against the College of Charleston, but the Cougars have won three of the last four meetings, including a 56-50 win earlier this season.
499 AND COUNTING
Wes Moore has won 499 games in his 22 seasons on the sidelines and 299 in his 13 seasons at UTC. Here are some notable wins along the way:
No. 1 -- Maryville 57, Emory 51 (11/21/87)
No. 200 - Francis Marion 69, Arkansas Tech 61 (3/18/98)
No. 201 - UTC 72, Samford 65 (11/21/98)
No. 300 - UTC 85, College of Charleston 75 (2/3/03)
No. 400 - UTC 84, Appalachian State 74 (1/6/07)