The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team ran through its first closed scrimmage of the season Sunday afternoon at McKenzie Arena.
The teams were mixed and matched some, and with six seniors back and seven players returning from the team that went 29-6 and won the Southern Conference last season, Sunday was primarily about new faces. In particular, it was bout seeing how they meshed with the returners and how they would fare in what was, for some, their first college game-like situation.
“The effort was pretty good,” head coach Matt McCall said. “I was really, really happy with the new guys and their energy level. It’s always different when you throw referees out there – it’s more of a game-like situation and simulation, and certain guys tend to press a little bit that may have been playing better at times – but for the most part I was really pleased with the effort and really happy with the new guys out there.”
Sophomore junior college transfer Nat Dixon, who started his college athletics career as a wide receiver for the Boston College football team – led all scorers with 16 points, making 6 of 8 shots. Chuck Ester had 15 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore Makinde London, a Xavier transfer who is expected to be ineligible this season, had 13 points, 10 rebounds and three assists while going 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
Justin Tuoyo had 10 points, while true freshman point guard Rodney Chatman had six assists.
McCall played one half with the teams mixed up, then played a period with his returners against his newcomers before a final period of more situational basketball. In the final two periods, the games ended up tied.
McCall praised Dixon and Chatman, as well as freshmen Makale Foreman and David Jean-Baptiste. Foreman knocked down a pair of 3s and had a couple of steals in the third quarter.
McCall spoke highly of the newcomers’ intensity, and senior point guard Greg Pryor said they should be beneficial this season.
“They play hard. They work hard every day and put in the extra work,” Pryor said. “They’re learning a lot faster than I expected them to and picking up what we do a lot better.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.