UTC senior forward Duke Ethridge shoots around Furman forward Kris Acox during a game earlier this month at McKenzie Arena.Duke Ethridge and Dee Oldham came to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga looking for a place to call home.
They found it – and then some.
The transfers will play their final home game for the UTC men’s basketball team Saturday, when the Mocs (24-5, 13-3 Southern Conference) host Samford (13-17, 4-13) at 5 p.m. at McKenzie Arena. UTC hopes to wrap up the SoCon regular-season championship and the top seed for next week’s conference tournament in Asheville, N.C.
Ethridge and Oldham are two of four seniors – Alex Bran and Eric Robertson are the others – who will be honored as part of senior day.
Oldham ended up at UTC due to an email. Unhappy with his situation at UT-Martin, the 6-foot-4 guard reached out to a number of schools in fall 2014 as he considered transferring.
Then-UTC head coach Will Wade brought Oldham in and was impressed by his versatility. The school then went through the process of trying to secure Oldham’s eligibility for the entirety of his senior season, a process that started under Wade and continued when he left for the head coaching job at Virginia Commonwealth University and was replaced by Matt McCall.
Oldham was ultimately cleared by the NCAA about two weeks before the 2015-16 regular-season opener.
“The funny thing about it is I feel like I’ve been here all four of my years and I’ve had numerous games at McKenzie, but I’ve only had this year,” Oldham said. “I’m going to miss it for sure, but we’ve still got more ball to play this year.
“The ending to this chapter hasn’t come yet.”
When asked for a word to describe Oldham, McCall said “energy.”
That’s exactly what Oldham has provided off the bench for the Mocs this season, figuring out his role recently and excelling in it. He has scored in double figures in six of his past eight games, averaging 9.9 points in that span. For the season, he is averaging 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds, and he’s fourth on the team in rebounding despite not starting a game and averaging only 17.7 minutes per contest.
“Dee’s path to get here is different than anybody else, and it would have been easy for him to be consumed with himself, but he never is,” McCall said. “He just brings the energy every day.”
Ethridge came in as a junior-college All-American at South Georgia Tech prior to the 2014-15 season, with his 6-foot-6, 225-pound frame able to physically dominate opponents.
He’s had his share of ups and downs this season, having missed time due to an injury at the beginning of the season and a one-game suspension against East Tennessee State University, but his athleticism and skill have never been a question. He ripped the rim off a backboard while dunking during his first week on campus.
He has improved all of his statistical averages from last season, averaging 7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in just less than 16 minutes per contest, and McCall said Ethridge has made an impact off the court, too.
“If I need a word to describe Duke, I would say laughter,” McCall said. “He just brings joy every day. The person he is affects our team and makes you laugh. That’s just the type of person he is.”
McCall pointed out that he is Ethridge’s third college head coach and Oldham’s fourth.
“All of these guys have been faced with so much to get to this point,” McCall said. “Each is unique, but all have been consumed with the team all year long, and that’s what makes them special.”
Ethridge was a standout football player at Lanier County High School in south Georgia, and he was presented with a number of opportunities from Football Bowl Subdivision programs. He said Thursday that he plans to go through spring practice with the UTC football team in hopes of using his final year of eligibility with the Mocs.
As far as his basketball career, he called his two seasons with the Mocs “my best memory of being here.”
“To be in college from how I grew up, the last two years have been my favorite memory,” Ethridge said. “It’s gone by fast. I’m very excited to be a senior, and I’ve had a great time here with my team.
“I’m happy. I’m glad to be a part of the team and to be around great players, a great staff and coaches that motivate me. I’m glad to be around these guys.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.