Darius Banks stood on the Harrah’s Cherokee Center basketball court in Asheville, North Carolina, rocking some sunglasses and an elation that went beyond being part of an overtime victory in the Southern Conference championship game Monday night.
There was a time in the 2020-21 season when he questioned his decision to leave James Madison University and transfer to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. It’s why, despite being cleared to play when the NCAA granted all transfers immediate eligibility last season, Banks was hesitant to put a jersey on and join the Mocs in a game, recently admitting he considered going back to JMU.
He had achieved individual success with the Colonial Athletic Association program in Harrisonburg, Virginia, scoring 1,069 points in 93 games. But the Dukes went 33-60 in those games, including a 9-21 campaign in 2019-20, his final season there.
With the Dukes, Banks reached double figures in points on 54 occasions, a level he has reached 21 times as a Moc, highlighted by a 26-point performance in a Feb. 12 win at Furman that put the Mocs in prime position for their eventual SoCon regular-season championship. The 8.4 points he averaged this season were the fewest in his five-year collegiate career, but the 2.7 assists per game marked a career high and he also averaged 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals.
In line with the theme for this year’s Mocs, who as SoCon tourney champions receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the 6-foot-6, 215-pounder has done whatever it takes to win.
So the relief, the elation on his face as the confetti fell Monday night and he got a chance to revel in the Mocs’ 35th victory since he started playing for them on Jan. 12, 2021, was warranted.
“This is unbelievable,” Banks said that night. “I’ve gone through probably the most adversity of anybody on this team: Three years of losing at JMU, not even getting 10 wins in a season, to coming here and getting, how many wins do we have? Twenty-seven in our second year here, that’s unbelievable. That’s just praise to the team, praise to the coaching staff, everybody.
“I can’t thank this team enough, honestly.”
On Sunday evening, the Mocs (27-7) will find out when and where they will play their next game, but they know they’re among the 68 teams on college basketball’s biggest stage. Most prognostications have them as either a No. 12 or No. 13 seed, which would likely mean a trip to Buffalo, Milwaukee or Portland, Oregon.
The Mocs will also finally know which team they’re playing next, and while that will mean preparing to compete again, they can also enjoy the experience the week ahead will bring – and look back and realize just how much they’ve accomplished to this point. It’s the program’s first NCAA trip since 2016, and UTC hasn’t won a tourney game since a Sweet 16 run in 1997 as a No. 14 seed – the Mocs lost in the first round in 2005 (as a No. 15 seed), 2009 (No. 16) and six years ago (No. 12).
UTC’s stated goal all season long, though, has already been reached. The Mocs are SoCon champs – twice over – and they’re going to the NCAA tournament.
That’s why Banks and his teammates felt so satisfied in Asheville.
“We’re going to celebrate this,” Banks said Monday. “This is the biggest goal; we wanted to get into March Madness. That goal is complete now, and we got it one step at a time, just like we did tonight.”
Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / UTC’s Darius Banks is going to the NCAA tournament in his final season of college basketball. He transferred in 2020 after three seasons as a starter at James Madison University.Watch with the Mocs
While the Mocs have played their final home game of the season, UTC is inviting fans to join the team at McKenzie Arena one more time Sunday evening for a watch party of the NCAA tourney selection show.
CBS will televise the special at 6 p.m., and doors will open one hour prior at McKenzie. Gates 1 and 3 will be open, and fans may park in lots 20, 32 and 33 without passes.
There is no charge to attend, but concessions and merchandise will available on a cashless basis. Information on NCAA tournament and season tickets will also be available.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.