The success that Greg Pryor has been enjoying early in the season for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team started long before November. It started in the Chattem Practice Facility in the offseason, where he, along with assistant coach Wes Long and former assistant Turner Battle, would work on the 6-foot-1 sophomore's jump shot.
From that point forward, both he as well as the UTC basketball program have reaped the benefits.
Pryor has doubled his point production from last season, as he now averages 11 points per game. His shooting numbers have climbed dramatically, as he now shoots 15 percentage points better from the field (from 32 to 47), while his 3-point percentage has shot up from 17.5 percent as a freshman to almost 40 percent. He's already hit eight more 3-pointers this season than he did all of last.
"I just worked on my game," Pryor said after the Mocs dropped a 68-58 decision to Middle Tennessee State University on Friday. "We worked on coming off ball screens, as well as shots I would be taking in the game.
"The biggest thing I wanted to work on in the offseason was knocking down jump shots. I felt that last year I could have knocked down a few more jump shots."
Pryor will be reunited with Battle tonight, as the Mocs (6-6) take on the University of Alabama at Birmingham at 8 at McKenzie Arena. The Blazers enter tonight with a 4-7 record, but it will be their first true road game of the season. They've played eight games at Bartow Arena, and while the Mocs were winning both games as a part of the Battle 4 Atlantis Mainland event, the Blazers were losing three games in the main event in the Bahamas.
Battle left the UTC program on Sept. 20 for a similar position at UAB. He will get an opportunity to see how his hard work has paid off this evening.
"Greg is just a warrior," UTC head coach Will Wade said. "He's just an absolute warrior. I love him to death.
"He has become a key, key contributor to our team."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.