Vaux’s Trayvond Massenburg, right, hugs teammate Amir Butler during Vaux’s win against Johnsonburg in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A championship game in March 2013. Massenburg, who has since played two seasons of college basketball, recently signed with UTC.A couple of unexpected exits left the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team thin in the post entering the 2016-17 season.
But now the Mocs have a player who could help them fill that need.
Trayvond Massenburg, a 6-foot-8 forward from Philadelphia, has signed with the program and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining starting this year. His addition is intended to help offset the losses of graduated senior Duke Ethridge as well as Traevis Graham and Jackson White, walk-on sophomores who could have contributed but are no longer with the program.
Massenburg drove to Chattanooga from Philadelphia this past week, a two-day, 800-mile journey that ended Thursday evening. He averaged 5.6 points and 5.5 rebounds as a sophomore at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa. He had averages of 6.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks as a freshman at Miami Dade College.
“We have to try to manage expectations for him,” UTC coach Matt McCall said Sunday afternoon. “The biggest thing is understanding where he’s at and understanding he’s walking into a difficult situation not having been here all summer. For myself, our staff, our players, we have to do a great job bringing him along.