The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus seemed like a desolate place on Wednesday.
A handful of students remained on campus after final exams and sauntered about in the cold. Some staff and faculty members were on campus as well, wrapping up the fall semester as winter descended.
Yet in McKenzie Arena, it seemed to be business as usual with the lights on, employees mopping the stands, the hardwood basketball court down on top of concrete, and sounds of shoes squeaking, balls bouncing, players joking, and eventually, coaches barking.
“Once everybody leaves campus, we’re the only ones here,” coach John Shulman said. “Well, us and the women’s team, and you’ll see some wrestlers straggling around here.
“But it’s quiet on campus.”
The three weeks between the end of the fall semester and the beginning of the spring semester allows the Mocs to act as professional players do.
They just have to worry about eating, sleeping, basketball, practicing basketball and playing some basketball without attending a lab class or opening a $100 textbook.
With all finals over — and Shulman said the Mocs did well and he doesn’t expect any negative surprises — UTC can concentrate on itself and prepare to play at Elon on Friday at 6 p.m.
“We can get a lot more practice in and work on things that have hurt us in the past,” said Sam Watson, who needs to improve at the free-throw line after going 0-for-4 including an airball on Saturday. “We can correct things.”
A six-day break between games has allowed Shulman to implement a few new offensive back-door sets as well as a couple different defenses he can use to mix with the Mocs’ base defense.
“We’ve been putting in a lot of new stuff and trying to get prepared for another conference game,” junior guard Ricky Taylor said. “We can spend a lot of time in the gym. I can be an athlete instead of a student-athlete.”
The between-term break impacts the Mocs off the court perhaps more than on it. The University Center and its food-court is essentially closed during break, so the players have been given a stipend of $330 to spend on groceries or for eating out.
Taylor is a finance major and “a pretty good cook,” he said. He’s likely to spend the stipend on groceries, for simple meals such as spaghetti or Hamburger Helper. He may also try to imitate Paula Deen, Emeril Lagasse or Bobby Flay during the break with a dinner or two of pork chops, fried chicken and all the fixings.
“I can’t spend all my money on fast-food,” Taylor said. “You have to be able to manage your money properly.
“If you use it the right way, you can have a little Christmas money.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.