Three games into last season, Stefan Kenic wasn't even sure he was going to be playing basketball for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2019-20.
After transferring from Cleveland State University in Ohio, the 6-foot-9, 223-pound forward spent most of the fall 2019 semester at UTC awaiting an NCAA waiver that would make him eligible without sitting out a season. Kenic was finally cleared at the end of November, but he struggled to settle in with the Mocs, averaging 7.2 points and only 15.5 minutes per game.
This past offseason, even with COVID-19 altering the Mocs' routine, Kenic was able to be around his teammates. He trained with them, bonded with them.
And now he looks far more comfortable on the court as a result, including Saturday at McKenzie Arena, where he played a big role in UTC's 79-72 win over Northern Kentucky as the Mocs improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.
Trevon Faulkner and Marques Warrick each scored 13 points and Adrian Nelson added 12 with 11 rebounds for Northern Kentucky (2-1), which was originally set to visit UTC last weekend before the Norse had to pause team activities because of COVID-19. For the Mocs, the rescheduled matchup tipped off a planned run of four games in eight days that will continue with Monday night's game at Middle Tennessee State.
Kenic had 17 points and a team-high seven assists, finding some gaps in the Norse's matchup zone for helpers while exploiting mismatches in the interior as the Mocs scored 48 points in the paint.
"His confidence is high. He's believing in himself," said fifth-year senior guard and preseason All-Southern Conference selection David Jean-Baptiste, who scored a game-high 25 points, with all but four of them coming in the second half. "Stef is one of the best players on the team, one of the best players in the conference. He's a great player and he has unlimited potential."
Kenic and Jean-Baptiste led the way in a 21-6 run that put the Mocs in control in the second half. Kenic had seven points - including a big three-point play - and two assists in the run, while Jean-Baptiste, who shot 7-for-12 in the second half, matched Kenic in points during the spurt.
UTC coach Lamont Paris liked what he saw from his senior forward on offense, but he was equally pleased with the strides made on the other end of the court.
"When you look at his limited minutes last year - which were limited only due to his defensive abilities - he was able to score some," Paris said. "But he really committed to getting better; he had a productive offseason in the gym and added some consistent things around the basket that he can go to."
Kenic wasn't the only player who settled in for UTC. Jean-Baptiste was 4-for-7 from 3-point range as part of an 8-for-14 shooting performance after making only 32% of his shots and 24% of his 3s in the first two games.
Freshman forward Jaden Frazier had some productive moments while playing eight minutes in the first half, when his four rebounds led the Mocs. Trey Doomes scored all 10 of his points in the first half, taking advantage of some open cuts in the lane for easy baskets.
Malachi Smith, UTC's leading scorer through the first two games, was limited to six points but had a team-high eight rebounds and also had four assists. Graduate transfer Josh Ayeni scored 14 points for his second double-digit showing this season.
The Mocs won their season opener in blowout fashion against Division II's Lander University, making 13 3-pointers. They had to grind out a narrow victory at Tennessee Tech while struggling to make shots. Now they've pounded the paint.
Three games. Three different styles. Same result.
"Beating Tennessee Tech was a great sign, because even though we played bad, we still won," Kenic said. "Today, we made more shots, we played better. I think we're on the road to have a great, great season."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.