Chattanooga Mocs assistant Savage rejoining Forbes at ETSU

UTC Mocs logo
UTC Mocs logo

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is losing a men's basketball coach.

No, not that one.

Assistant Brooks Savage will not return to the Mocs for the 2015-16 season, head coach Will Wade confirmed Friday. Savage is taking a similar position at East Tennessee State under new head coach Steve Forbes. The two worked together previously at Tennessee, as well as when Forbes was the head coach at Northwest Florida State Junior College.

"Brooks looks at Steve as a coaching mentor," Wade said. "That's his best friend in coaching; he would have gone with Forbes anywhere -- it just happened to be at ETSU."

Wade, who is in Indianapolis for the national coaches' convention, said that he plans to fill Savage's position "sooner rather than later," adding that he has a pretty good idea of who the replacement will be.

Savage worked a lot with the post players and was instrumental in the development of junior college transfers Chuck Ester and Duke Ethridge.

"There's a lot of interest in the job, which is good," Wade said. "I'm looking for somebody who is going to spend a lot of time with the players and wants to spend a lot of time with them, building really good relationships. You need a guy that can help in recruiting and somebody that is highly energetic, highly positive and can bring good energy to the organization and the program."

Tuoyo up for honor

Sophomore Justin Tuoyo was a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award, which is given to the national defensive player of the year.

Tuoyo, a 6-foot-10 center, just completed his first season with the Mocs after his transfer from Virginia Commonwealth following the 2012-13 season. He was named the Southern Conference defensive player of the year, averaging 10.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game. His 104 blocks set a school record and were four shy of the conference record of 106, set by UNC Greensboro's Kyle Hines in 2004-05.

His block total ranks fourth in the nation and are more than 153 Division I teams had for the year.

He was also all-conference by the coaches and second-team by the media.

"Justin had a strong first season," Wade said in a release. "He was a dominant presence in the paint all year and brought tremendous energy and enthusiasm. His future is bright if he works hard and continues to refine his game. He is certainly worthy of this honor."

Mocs add walk-on

The Mocs have added Pigeon Forge's Ryan Beal to the program as a walk-on. Beal, a 6-6 forward, averaged 17 points and eight rebounds per game during his senior season.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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