Someday, Matt McCall hopes to have all of his key players for a full season.
It won't be this season for the second-year University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball coach.
McCall announced Wednesday that senior forward Chuck Ester is out "indefinitely" after suffering a knee injury on the first play of Saturday's closed scrimmage against Auburn. While not ruling Ester out for the season, McCall did state that there was a "possibility he was done for the year."
The 6-foot-7 Ester started 28 of 35 games in 2015-16, taking over as the full-time starting power forward after Casey Jones was lost for the season with a dislocated ankle. Ester averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds while handing out 57 assists.
He sports a unique skill set by being able to handle the ball and make plays on offense while also being able to guard multiple positions on defense.
"We've had to get over the initial sting, and that's feeling for Chuck and his family," McCall said. "It's his senior year of college, and to go through something like that before we've stepped on the floor and played a game, it's hard for him and we feel for him.
"For our team moving forward, it's an unbelievable opportunity for other guys and it's going to take some adjustment. He's so good at his job and doing the things he can do - we can play him all over the floor and a lot of things offensively ran through him and defensively ran through him, so there's definitely an adjustment period for us moving forward, but I think from a team standpoint we've got to be connected and focused on playing harder than other teams. If we do that, we'll have a legit chance against anybody."
Jones was the team's primary power forward last season before his injury, averaging 25 of his 29 minutes per game at that position, and he will easily slide back there. That will open up a position on the wing, with senior Johnathan Burroughs-Cook and sophomore Peyton Woods the likely replacements.
Sophomore Nat Dixon, who played last season at East Mississippi Junior College after a season of playing football at Boston College, is another option. Junior forward Trayvond Massenburg's role could be increased as well.
The Mocs host an exhibition game Friday against Covenant College before opening the season Nov. 11 at Tennessee.
"The shuffling of the lineup is going to take some time," McCall said, "but luckily we have a game on Friday where we can mess with some of that stuff and some practices before we suit up for real."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.