The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team hasn’t quite fully reached its potential on the defensive end of the court.
But the Mocs are getting very close.
They enter today’s 5 p.m. home game against Furman ranking third in the Southern Conference in points allowed per game, 66.8. UTC (11-4, 2-1) is fifth in the league in field-goal-percentage defense and third in 3-point-percentage defense.
Yet in some respects the team has only scratched the surface.
“We could be really good – one of the best defensive teams in the country,” senior Tre’ McLean said. “There are some things we’ve still got to work on, some kinks we’ve got to figure out, but at the rate we’re going and if guys stay bought in and keep working hard, we could be really good with the length and athleticism that we have and the ability to guard multiple positions.”
Not many teams – especially at the mid-major level – have a big man capable of switching out on opposing guards. The Mocs have two in 6-foot-10 two-time SoCon defensive player of the year Justin Tuoyo and 6-11 sophomore forward Makinde London.
Add to that the length of McLean, Johnathan Burroughs-Cook, Casey Jones and Rodney Chatman, the toughness of Greg Pryor and Makale Foreman and the speed and versatility of Nat Dixon and collectively the Mocs have a unit that indeed could be special on defense.
“I think that’s going to be a key factor for us later on as we continue to grow,” London said. “That’s a big key for us, and it’s going to be big in us maxing and meeting our potential. The more we build trust and bring this group of guys together, I think the better we’ll be, and that’ll be the thing that pushes us over the limit and gives us the X-factor. There aren’t many teams that can do that and have their 4-man and their 5-man switch out on a guard and stay in front.
“As long as we keep getting better – and we’re not there yet – but as long as we keep making strides towards that, we’ll be good.”
UTC’s defensive potential was on full display in Thursday’s 77-66 win over Wofford. The visiting Terriers had a 22-11 lead 11 minutes in but scored only 24 points in the next 23 minutes, while the Mocs scored 53 in building a double-digit edge.
“Defensively our guys did a terrific job in the game, understanding what we were trying to do,” UTC coach Matt McCall said. “This team is at their best when we can get stops and get on the break. That allows us to settle in offensively.
“We’ve got to continue to hang our hat on our defense. That’s where this team can be special, with their ability to guard, defend and switch actions with our length and athleticism.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.