Chris Early gave a chest-bump to Omar Wattad and another to Dante Harvey as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball Mocs clapped it up before starting practice Tuesday in McKenzie Arena.
Their sense of dread and despair has disappeared.
“I like to portray a vibe of being positive even when things aren’t going right,” sophomore Ricky Taylor said. “I stay positive no matter what happens. I believe in this team.”
That team has lost eight of its last 10 games, including a 24-point Southern Conference blowout last Thursday and an 87-78 loss to Furman on Saturday.
“We’re still positive,” sophomore Harvey said. “Offensively, we’re getting what we want. But defensively we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. Furman pretty much ran a (John) Calipari offense on us — dribble-drive — and they got what they wanted. We’ll fix that.”
UTC (13-14, 5-9) began its afternoon session with a quick defensive drill before breaking into fundamental and ball-handling drills.
The Mocs switched between sessions without one player dropping his head or shrugging his shoulders. Taylor and point guard Keegan Bell, two of the captains, provided some verbal encouragement.
“I get fierce and I get into the game, but I also feel this is a game and you have to enjoy it,” Bell said. “You can’t just enjoy it when you’re winning.
“We can bring positiveness and bring the smiles even in a time like this when guys’ confidence may be down or they’re looking at things in a negative way.”
Former Moc Kevin Goffney, who’s been around this spring semester to rehabilitate his ankle and finish work on his degree, was smiling and laughing before practice. As a cheerleader he’s played a small role in the emotional state of this team.
“We went through some stretches last year, and some people think we underachieved until the (conference) tournament,” Goffney said. “I can give them some knowledge. They have to keep their head up. It will be all right.
“In the tournament, we were a totally different team.”
The Mocs play at Samford on Saturday and then return for the home finale Monday against Davidson.
“We still have oxygen,” coach John Shulman said. “We’re not dead. If I had a sense of that, then I’d be concerned. But I don’t get that feeling.”