One of Matt McCall's biggest accomplishments in his first season as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball coach has been to create a family atmosphere, from the team managers to the players to the coaching staff that meets for family dinners.
On the court, no Moc has been named Southern Conference player of the week. The fact that the team has so many interchangeable parts and pieces it's rare one player stands out above the others could be a factor in that lack of individual recognition. Nine UTC players average more than 5.7 points per game, though, showing McCall's philosophies of "playing for each other" and "playing for the team."
But after an 84-78 win at The Citadel on Jan. 2, a member of the family was singled out, and while the Mocs aren't worried about it, they do remember.
Tre' McLean, who led the Mocs in scoring, rebounding and steals in a triumphant return to his hometown of Charleston, S.C., was called "classless" by The Citadel head coach Duggar Baucom after a postgame exchange between McLean and a Bulldogs assistant coach that led to the two being restrained. Words had been exchanged numerous times throughout the game, with the assistant telling the 6-foot-5 guard/forward that he wasn't "tough enough" to play at The Citadel.
After the game, Baucom agreed with that assessment. When asked to comment on McLean's return to his hometown, Baucom provided this: "You don't want me to say anything about him. The way he acted after the game, he's classless. All I know is that he's not tough enough to go to Citadel."
The Citadel (10-12, 3-6 SoCon) completes the season series with a visit to McKenzie Arena tonight. The Mocs (18-3, 7-1) admitted after Saturday's SoCon win at Samford that they'd heard the comments, but they also said the team's focus is on the game and nothing else.
"We're just focused on The Citadel," said McCall, who has his team atop the SoCon standings. "The biggest thing is that I wouldn't trade Tre' for the world. He's one of our toughest guys, the heart and soul of this team, and I'm really glad I get to coach him every single day."
Losing record aside, the Bulldogs are dangerous. They lead the nation in scoring and rank in the top five in 3-pointers attempted and made, steals and turnovers forced. Baucom created a unique run-and-gun style of play in 2006 while coaching at Virginia Military Institute, and his Keydets led the nation in scoring six times.
So while the coach's comments may have created a stir, the Mocs know it's their opponent that is worthy of their attention.
"We usually don't pay attention to things that are said, but I'm not going to lie and say we didn't this time, because that's one of our brothers there," UTC center Justin Tuoyo said. "We know what went down, but we know it's going to be a physical game on Monday and we're looking forward to it."
McLean wasn't the only person talked to by the assistant coach in Charleston. Another UTC player said he was approached but didn't take the bait. Point guard Greg Pryor said the key is to leave the talk to "the media" and just focus on what the Mocs can control - their play on the court.
"We can't play with negative energy," he said. "We just have to come out and play our game. All that negative stuff going on - and that's with anything, not just the situation that happened with The Citadel - we have to block everything out that's negative and not going to help us win."
McLean didn't comment much about it, simply saying that tonight's game "shouldn't be about one person."
"It should be about the team. About Chattanooga basketball," he said. "We're a family."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.