The improvements of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team have been evident through 10 games.
Since an 0-2 start that included a 42-point loss at Alabama-Birmingham, the Mocs have won five of eight games, with a 3-3 record against NCAA Division I competition. With only one senior and eight freshmen, UTC has battled through injuries and inexperience to post a 5-1 record at home - the only blemish a two-point overtime loss to 2017 NCAA tournament participant Jacksonville State.
"I"m happy with how we're progressing and how we're improving," coach Lamont Paris said after Sunday's win over Charlotte. "For guys to accept that and absorb that and put out their best effort requires a lot of commitment. I've been really happy with them.
"We've been getting more results, maybe not in wins and losses, but we've been right there to win some of these games. If we weren't handling these situations as well as we are, we might not have been in those positions."
Paris has been forced to use a seven-man rotation, with promising 6-foot-6 freshman Duane Moss out indefinitely with a ruptured disk in his back.
The Mocs have benefited from the addition of 6-8 senior forward Joshua Phillips, who has averaged 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds since joining the team five games ago. Phillips, who spent three seasons at Middle Tennessee State before playing football at UTC the last two falls, has given the Mocs additional interior depth, something they desperately needed.
With Moss out, Phillips, 6-11 Makinde London and 6-6 freshman James Lewis are the only available posts other than walk-on A.J. Bowers. In Sunday's win over the 49ers, those three combined for 24 points and 21 rebounds against a solid Charlotte front line.
"They battled well," sophomore point guard Rodney Chatman said. "What Coach Paris tells us to do, we do it and it works. If we stick to that and do what he says to do, we can have an advantage over anyone. We don't have a lot of physical strength over teams, but we have a mind strength over teams. If we follow that, it'll get the job done."
And they've been able to get the job done by not relying on any one player, while getting solid contributions from players not staying in slumps for too long. Chatman, the team's second-leading scorer, had a solid bounce-back game against Charlotte with 23 points and three assists. That followed a 3-for-12-shooting, six-turnover performance against Marshall. David Jean-Baptiste, who was 2-for-9 for four points in his three previous games, had a key turnaround performance Sunday with six points, including a big 3-pointer.
Paris has instilled confidence in the players. How much that means going forward is unclear, but Sunday's win over a Conference USA opponent gives the Mocs the belief that they're not far off.
"It's really big," junior Nat Dixon said of the win. "We're still young and have a lot to learn, but we (Dixon and Chatman) are the more experienced of the (group). The young guys look to us. Rodney did a great job of running the show today and did a great job of controlling the pace and playing Chattanooga basketball."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.