Ty Patterson has one Southern Conference tournament championship ring.
He can thank a group of five departed University of Tennessee at Chattanooga seniors for that gift. They left a legacy of success — championship success.
As the lone senior on this year’s Mocs, Patterson has up to four more days before he writes the final lines of his legacy, which includes a big contribution to last season’s championship.
“Hopefully, we’ll be winning another tournament,” the UTC forward said. “I can’t live off what last year’s seniors did. I helped, but I want my own.”
The Mocs will begin their title defense Friday about 9:30 p.m. against Georgia Southern (9-22, 6-12), which lost 81-79 Monday night at UNC Greensboro. UTC (14-17, 6-12 SoCon) is the No. 3 seed from the North Division, which is one spot higher than coaches predicted before the season began.
To continue exceeding predictions — and making a run in the tournament — Patterson will need to play like a senior for as long as he’s on the floor. That means giving full effort, keeping his chin up after mistakes and rebounding like the ball belongs to him.
“There’s a lot of pressure because I’m the only senior,” Patterson said. “There’s a lot of pressure on me because I know what it takes and I have to relay that message.”
Patterson has yet to begin thinking about the pregame speech he’ll deliver to teammates with a combined 68 minutes of SoCon tournament experience.
“Since Ty is a starter, he needs to come out and lead by example,” said sophomore Dante Harvey, who had six points in seven championship-game minutes last March. “None of those old guys are here. We are still the defending champions without them. Now it’s can we win it without them.”
Patterson will have to lead the way and approach each possession as if it’s the last of his college career. He averaged 14.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game after sitting out the first eight games of the season due to suspension. Those games seem like forever ago as the postseason begins.
“These guys don’t know what the tournament is all about, so it’s up to Ty to get us ready,” coach John Shulman said. “We have more than enough talent to do it, but we still don’t get that one box-out, it can make you pack up your uniform. It’s down to that time.
“That’s where experienced guys make a difference. Ty has a big chore ahead of him.”