Ridge McKeither sauntered onto the court in McKenzie Arena and was greeted by hugs from Keegan Bell and the Mocs managers on Sunday.
It had been nearly two weeks since McKeither bounced a basketball -- a terrible two weeks.
McKeither lost his stepfather, Charles Green, on Christmas Eve and needed extra time to get family affairs in order which meant missing practices and the Dr Pepper Classic.
"I'm glad to get back on the court, it's been tough at home so it's going to feel good to be around people with positive energy," McKeither. "It's going to be nice to catch up with my teammates and have some fun again."
McKeither returns to a team that is on a roll, and he does so with a new role on the team. UTC beat Tennessee Temple with McKeither on the bench for the second half, then won the Dr Pepper Classic with walk-on freshman Sam Watson and sophomore Chris Early playing his power forward position.
They played well with Watson doing the dirty work as the starter and Early reminding coach John Shulman why Oklahoma signed him.
"I'm not complaining about starting, we'll see how long I can play well, but if I have to come off the bench again, I'll gladly do that," Watson said. "The way I play, I don't get much of the glory anyway, so starting isn't that big of a deal."
The power forward position is getting congested with three naturals available to play there, plus Jeff Smith is available to slide down, and sophomore Dante Harvey is two-to-three weeks away from returning with a healthy left wrist.
"It's a great problem because we're to that point where I don't have to scram, guys just sit," Shulman said. "Before the season, I wouldn't have said Sam's in the rotation or Jeff is in the rotation, so now, we've got Sam, Ridge, Jeff, Chris, Dante and when Dante comes back, he's playing because he's my top guy."
That's five guys for one spot -- a rare treat on the mid-major level. And Shulman defines a player's position by who he would guard.
Two of those post players could play at the same time when Shulman chooses a zone defense, but that would likely leave the lone senior, Ty Patterson, on the pine.
"If we went to full zone then Chris or Dante could play the 3 then we'd be really big," Shulman said as McKeither walked on to the floor.
"When Ridge left, we were in a funk," Shulman said. "Now when he returns, everybody is hugging and happy. That's good for him."