ROCKY TOP ROLLING
By team, players with area ties who are participating in the Pilot Rocky Top League against University of Tennessee men’s basketball players (* former college player):› DeRoyal Industries: * Quincey Scates, Tennessee Wesleyan; Luke Smith, Sewanee; Levi Woods, Lee University (Meigs County); Ryan Montgomery, Lee (Central).› Garza Law Firm: * Leland Robinson, Tennessee Wesleyan; * Jorden Williams, Sewanee (McCallie) * Brody Stone, Sewanee.› News Sentinel: Emier Bowman, Maryville College (Dalton); Danny Bates, Tennessee Wesleyan.› Smithbilt: * Jonathan Adams, Old Dominion (Baylor); Jordan Hall, Tennessee Wesleyan; * Fred Sturdivant, Texas Southern (Brainerd); * Trey Suttles, Tennessee Wesleyan (Tyner).› Tillman Companies: * Brandon Cole, Bryan College.
KNOXVILLE - From Tyner Academy to stops at four colleges and a professional stint in Mexico, 23-year-old Trey Suttles' basketball career has been an adventure.
One constant among all that transition has been his participation in Knoxville's summer Rocky Top League, where Suttles, who concluded his college career at NAIA member Tennessee Wesleyan in 2016, has developed a reputation and a nickname.
The 6-foot-5 Suttles is known as "the Paint Bully" inside the Knoxville Catholic High School gym, where several players from the Chattanooga area are using the Rocky Top League to show they can hold their own against major collegiate competition.
"I think this is my fifth year in it," Suttles said after scoring 44 points in a game this past Monday. "So after you get over that 'Oh, they're Division I players' stage and you start realizing it's just basketball, it gets a lot easier. Now there's a comfort level. People know me and I've got a nickname."
The league is headlined by players from Tennessee and East Tennessee State, but Suttles' 29 points per game was second in the league in scoring through three games. His teammates on the Smithbilt roster include Notre Dame High School coach Jonathan Adams and former Brainerd High School and Texas Southern player Fred Sturdivant.
They form just one of the carpools traveling from the Chattanooga area to Knoxville to participate in the six-team league that concludes for the year on Monday.
Lee University players Ryan Montgomery, a Chattanooga Central graduate, and Levi Woods, a former Meigs County star, are on the DeRoyal Industries team along with Tennessee players Jordan Bowden and Jalen Johnson and legendary former Vol Wayne Chism.
Montgomery is averaging 19.7 points per game in the league, while Woods is averaging 13.
"You see all these UT guys playing on TV and you come out here and play against them," said Montgomery, a rising sophomore for NCAA Division II Lee. "You can come out here and be a little nervous, but they're not different than us. They're just another player out here trying to get some reps in."
As for playing with Chism, a fan favorite under former UT coach Bruce Pearl, Woods said "it's cool and all."
"But he's a real fun guy to be around and he kind of makes you feel like one of his friends," Woods said. "He's comfortable to play with."
Suttles has extra motivation this year. He, Sturdivant and other former college players from Chattanooga are gearing up for The Basketball Tournament, a summer event with a $2 million prize for the champion.
Their team name is the Chattanooga Trenches, and their opening-round game in the 64-team tournament can be seen on the WatchESPN streaming service July 8, meaning the Paint Bully is taking every opportunity he can to refine his game, Rocky Top League included.
"We're just trying to stay in shape and get some good games in against good competition," he said. "Every day and every opportunity."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.