UTC’s Eric Robertson brings the ball down the court as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga hosts Mercer in a men’s basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Not since his days at Lee High School in Huntsville, Ala., had Eric Robertson seen a defense so attentive to stopping him.
In fact, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior guard was a little surprised to see Mercer running a box-and-one – with four Bears utilizing zone defense while one defender stayed with Robertson – in a Southern Conference game Jan. 5 at McKenzie Arena.
Defenses have been showing a lot more attention to the 6-foot-4 Robertson due to his 3-point shooting prowess. He led the Southern Conference in 3-point percentage in 2014-15, and he has made 43.5 percent of his attempts from behind the arc this season.
“That’s a tribute to him,” UTC coach Matt McCall said. “He works harder on his craft than most guys – he’s the first one in here and one of the last to leave – and we’ve got to continue to find him in transition. That’s the easiest way to get him some looks, and we’ll try to sneak in an action here and there for him to squeeze one off.”
In the two games since UTC’s win over Mercer, with both Furman and Wofford paying more attention to Robertson, he missed seven of his past eight attempts from deep. The Mocs (14-3, 3-1 SoCon) split those conference road games, with Saturday’s loss at Furman ending their winning streak at eight games, and they will look to start a new streak when they host Western Carolina (7-9, 2-1) tonight at 7.
“I haven’t been pressing, but it did feel a little different not being as open as I usually am, because I usually get wide-open looks,” Robertson said. “Sometimes it’s crazy to me, because I wonder why I’m so open, but it feels different that I haven’t been getting as many looks as usual.”
Some of those looks come from UTC’s ability to make defensive stops and quickly move the ball down the court, which gives Robertson an opportunity to sprint to the corner without a defender on him. McCall said he believes the Mocs “missed” Robertson a couple of times in such situations in recent games.
“We’ve got to be more mindful of trying to find him there,” McCall said. “It’s harder to set your defense (in transition), so we need to continue to find him there.”
The Mocs ran at least a couple of plays for Robertson during Monday’s win against Wofford, which yielded some clean looks – and shots that just didn’t go in. McCall said that while Robertson has been quieter on offense lately, his defensive effort (aided by his length) means he is still contributing even as he tries to regain his shooting touch.
Tonight’s game could be a good time for that. He has made 51 percent of his attempts at McKenzie Arena this season, compared to 42 percent away.
“We’ll see whatever adjustments coach makes to try to get me open shots, but as far as me, I just play the game how I always approach it,” Robertson said. “I just focus on defense, and offensively if the shot is open, I’ll take it, and if it’s not, I’ll run the offense.
“I’ll just leave it up to coach, though. Whatever his offensive scheme is, hopefully that’ll get us what we want offensively as a team.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.