With an assist from one of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's current players, basketball coach Lamont Paris picked up a future player Tuesday evening.
Maurice Commander, a 6-foot guard in Chicago, gave a nonbinding commitment to the UTC program. Ranked as the No. 19 player in Illinois by PrepHoops.com, he chose the Mocs over UC-Davis. For UTC's 2018 signing class he joins 5-9 guard Donovann Toatley, who pledged in August.
Commander attends Curie High School but transferred there from Marist in Chicago, where he played with UTC freshman Justin Brown.
"He's a great friend of mine," Commander said by phone Tuesday evening. "He's like a brother to me and he recruited me as much as the coaches did. He wasn't the main reason I went there (UTC), but it's definitely a plus to have a friend in the program already and make it easier for me."
Commander averaged 13 points and three assists last season at Marist. He and Brown were big parts of a team that went 26-3 in 2016-17, and he said Tuesday he felt comfortable with the vision of Paris and his assistants.
"I believe in the coaching staff," he said. "I trust what they're saying. Deep down inside I feel it's the right place for me; they believe in me, see a vision for me and see where my future will take me at Chattanooga. One day Coach Paris sees me able to control the whole game, being one of the guards in the backcourt. He thinks I can control a game from beginning to end and have a great college basketball career.
"He just believes in me. Dverything he was saying was sincere, and I could feel that from the head coach to the last assistant that they all felt that way."
With no seniors on this season's roster, Commander and Toatley will be joining a team that will have a year of experience under Paris. Down the road, there could be multiple-point-guard sets, or possibly three-guard sets for the Mocs, who after what could be a rocky 2017-18 season with a difficult schedule could be primed for a big jump the following season.
"It's been a long journey and I'm happy I chose the place that believes in me," Commander said. "I believe in their program and believe in the coaches, and they believe in me. It's a great place to play, and a great place to win games and championships."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.