The Lady Mocs practice underneath new banners for the men’s basketball team Saturday morning inside the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga practice facility at the Lawson Center. UTC is supplying banners, photographs and other decor to highlight the Mocs throughout the department.Looking down from high up on a wall in the Chattem Basketball Practice Facility are some of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s all-time great basketball players and teams.
The recently-installed mural, which is 8-feet tall and stretches the length one wall in the gym, is one of several new decorative items in the facility that showcase UTC men’s and women’s basketball’s tradition.
“It shows ownership,” said Lady Mocs coach Wes Moore, whose 11 Southern Conference championships are recognized on a banner at one end of the gym.
Just inside the front doors of the Lawson Center, there is a large “Chattanooga Basketball” sign on the left. In the hallway leading to the gym are large letters that spell out “MOCS” and on one wall are frames for 10 large photos. Among the photos already on display is a shot of Mindaugas Katelynas winning the 2005 NCAA slam dunk contest.
Men’s basketball coach John Shulman said the practice facility, which opened in January 2009, needed some personality.