Matt McCall and his wife Allison watch as their daughter Brooklyn becomes intrigued by Scrappy during a press conference announcing McCall as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's new head men's basketball coach while at the UTC University Center on Monday, April 14, 2015. Matt McCall hasn't wasted time getting acclimated to the city of Chattanooga.
He's already been to Hennen's ("I'm a big fan of the shrimp and grits," he said.), and now the fun begins because he is in the city for a distinct purpose.
To be the new University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball coach.
McCall was introduced Monday as the program's 19th head coach at the University Center conference room on UTC's conference, in front of a solid crowd. He was accompanied by his wife Allison and daughter, Brooklyn - who stole parts of the 90-minute conference with her infectious laugh.
"What a dream come true," he said. "I could not be more excited to be the basketball coach of this great university, to represent this town and these young men. If they ever tell you dreams don't come true, they do. I'm proof of that today."
The 33-year old coach proved himself to be quite the storyteller. He told stories of Florida's run to the 1994 Final Four, when his father - former UF linebacker Wayne - had already told the then 12-year old Matt that if Florida had defeated Duke in that game in Charlotte, that Wayne was going to fly Matt back to his hometown of Ocala, Fla., and fly Matt's mother Beth to the championship game.
He also proved to be grounded, due to humble beginnings and working his way up through the ranks. McCall's grooming for the position he now holds started similarly to the coach he replaces, Will Wade. Both began their careers as student managers - Wade at Clemson, McCall at Florida. They washed uniforms and did all the grunt work, meanwhile working for opportunity to move up the ladder. McCall was named the director of basketball operations in 2006, and held that position through 2008, earning a national championship in 2007.
"The hiring of Matt is very special for several reasons," UTC athletic director David Blackburn said. "Matt brings a lot of balance, and the foundation of who he is, and as a person to have the ability to respect himself, his family, and those he touches, are important for a lot of things, but most importantly for the players, mainly the men's basketball players but also the student-athletes and people he'll encounter.
"He has a unique ability to develop individuals, and that was a great separator."
For the full story, read Tuesday's Times Free Press.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.