Chuck Ester has been knocking on the door of having what could be considered a "breakout game" for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team. Along the way, different things -- inconsistency, foul trouble -- have held him back.
He might finally have pushed that barrier down Thursday night.
Ester had 10 points, two rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes of action before fouling out as coach Will Wade's Mocs improved to 12-7 and 5-1 in SoCon play with an 82-76 win over Samford in Birmingham. The point total set a career high for the 6-foot-7 sophomore against Division I competition.
He had been showing signs of Thursday's breakthrough in recent games. He had an explosive drive to the basket for an easy layup against Western Carolina on Jan. 8, but a couple of possessions later he was one of four players assessed technicals as tempers flared during the Mocs' 66-60 win.
"It felt great. I haven't been playing well the whole season," Ester said about Thursday's performance. "Coach has always been telling me to stay aggressive, and in the past few games I was starting to get aggressive."
After starting the first three games of the season, he's been relegated to a reserve role, which included not playing in the team's loss to Wofford. He has averaged 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, averaging 14.7 minutes in 18 contests.
His last four seasons have been adjustments, as after his junior season of high school in Louisiana, he moved and played his senior year at Biloxi High School in Mississippi. He played a year at East Mississippi Junior College before coming to UTC, where he feels he's "picking it up now."
"The pace of the game has been the biggest adjustment for me," he said. "It's faster; everybody's stronger. I'm not used to people banging; everything's been easy for me before, but now it's harder and it's much tougher."
Center Justin Tuoyo was quick to praise Ester's effort Thursday night.
"He's been working in practice so hard this whole week," the 6-10 center said. "It felt good to watch that pay off for him."
Wade had an epiphany earlier in the week that Ester was set to have a good game Thursday. He had watched the sophomore have a good week in practice and felt good about what he could accomplish.
It didn't hurt that Samford's full-court pressure defense would allow Ester opportunities to create. His skill set is one unlike any on the team -- at 6-7, he is more of a ball-handler and playmaker, as opposed to a banger.
His particular abilities were needed early against the Bulldogs, as the Mocs found themselves down double digits early in the first half. They rallied, though, cutting the margin to three by halftime. It was a jump shot by Ester that gave the Mocs their first lead -- one they never relinquished.
"Last night was fun. I like playing down and having to play catch up," he said Friday. "It's much funner."
At the time, he was so immersed in the game that he didn't realize the importance of his bucket.
"I'm just in the moment," he said. "My role is to be aggressive, play hard and play the game. It's much easier now; good things happen when you're aggressive."
In short, he's learning.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.