UTC men’s basketball coach Will Wade, left, and Johnny Taylor speak to the media at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in this file photo.Johnny Taylor wears a coat and tie to University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball games because he’s a student assistant coach finishing his degree.
But if he could don his old blue-and-gold No. 23 jersey for one more game — the one he sported from 1995 to ’97 — it would be for this Tuesday night.
The Mocs (18-14) will rekindle an old rivalry when they play at East Tennessee State (18-15) on Tuesday in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
“That’s an old throwback game,” Taylor said. “It’s one of those rivalries like the old Lakers-Celtics rivalries. It’s good competition. But at the same time you want to beat them.
“It’s a game you’d get up for.”