Today, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga alum Lindsey Young discusses seven of his favorite UTC men's basketball players who have competed during his writing career and a few others who will remain memorable.
1. Johnny Taylor
He was the best player on arguably the best UTC team ever (D-1 years, at least). Taylor was the SoCon Player of the Year in 1997 after leading the Mocs to the Sweet 16 with wins over Georgia and Illinois and is the school's only first round NBA draft pick.
2. Brandon Born
I was fortunate to be able to cover Born in high school at Ringgold and follow his career through graduation in 1995. He was the rare elite local player who stayed local and starred, helping the Mocs win three consecutive SoCon titles. A lot of people might forget, but the late 80s through the 90s featured some incredible basketball in northwest Georgia.
3. David Jean-Baptiste
DJB will forever be remembered for his SoCon championship game buzzer-beating shot over Furman in 2022, but as someone who covered the Miami native for three seasons, he also made his mark as one of the most likable players in program history. For a beat writer, he was gold.
4. Lance Fulse
His UTC career spanned my time at the school and my first two years at the paper, which is one reason he stands out to me. The other is that he was just fun to watch and listen to. A free spirit who didn't necessarily look like a D-1 basketball player (an Oklahoma newspaper, prior to the Mocs playing the Sooners in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1988 called Fulse, "Chattanooga's roly-poly pivot"). Oh, and he helped lead the program to four consecutive postseason appearances and twice was first team All-SoCon.
5. Wes Moore
I've always been partial to point guards and few did it better for the Mocs than Moore, who was a four-year starter and was, along with Taylor, pivotal in the 1997 Sweet 16 run. Moore knew his role on the team and made everyone around him better.
6. Derrick Kirce
He had one of the best two-season runs in UTC history, averaging right at 20 points and displaying a true all-around game. What stands out to me to this day, though, is the lefty's role in one of the best games to be played inside the Roundhouse. I was in attendance in January of 1991 when he put up 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 76-74 win over Mister Jennings, Greg Dennis and ETSU in front of 10,000 rabid fans.
7. Ramon Villa
Like Jean-Baptiste, Villa stands out to me as much about the way he handled himself as he did by his play, though he certainly stood out with a variety of post moves and willingness to facilitate for others. Following the Mocs loss to end their season in the SoCon tournament in Asheville — the team's 20th defeat in 2018-19 — Villa exited the postgame press conference and stopped to shake my hand.
A Special Group
During my time in UTC's Journalism program, the basketball team was in the midst of one of its golden eras and I was fortunate to be able to see numerous games in person. The group of players in that time included Willie White, Gerald Wilkins, John Gibson, Eugene Deal, Stanford Strickland and James Hunter. Hunter, one of the program's more gifted athletes at the time, shared several classes with me and I never forget how, after a long week or couple of days playing on the road, he would always take the time to catch up on any class work he missed and I was glad to help.
There is one more former Moc I want to mention. Ron "Giant" Evans played in the late '70s, but many may not know that he later became a regular bowler in Chattanooga. Fun story, I competed with him in a couple of tournaments one year, including as doubles partners once. There's a photo somewhere I'd love to find.