From the moment Dan Earl accepted the job as University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball coach at the end of March, he had no choice but to hit the ground running.
Five seniors were already gone from last season's 27-8 team that swept the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament championships, advancing to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2016. And with SoCon player of the year Malachi Smith also likely to exit - either by remaining in the NBA draft pool or entering the NCAA transfer portal - a huge part of the Mocs' 2021-22 nucleus was going to be missing.
Earl's job was to bring in a group of players who could not only maintain the recent level of success under former head coach Lamont Paris (65 wins the past three seasons before departing for South Carolina), but potentially create a level of consistent success not seen in Chattanooga in 30 seasons - the last time the UTC men won at least 20 games in three of four seasons.
Seven players on last season's roster ultimately left (in addition to the five seniors, Smith ended up at national power Gonzaga and reserve forward Jaden Frazier wound up at Division II Rollins College). And Earl has made seven additions he believes will not only be able to compete this season but help the Mocs continue to be one of the SoCon's top programs going forward.
"I'm still a little old school where, ideally, you're building a team from the ground up, you're bringing in young guys, you're making them better," Earl recently said on the "Mocs on the Mic" podcast. "They're here four years, hopefully, or sometimes five or sometimes two or three, so I still believe in that, and I still want that to be a decent amount of what we're doing."
Here's a look at the additions (all Earl quotes are from UTC releases).
Sam Alexis (6-foot-9, 190 pounds)
An incoming freshman forward, Alexis is more of a project, but he had a solid prep career at Florida's Apopka, averaging 13.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game and shooting an efficient 67% from the field with 11 double-doubles this past season.
Earl: "At his size, he has the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways."
Khristion Courseault (6-2, 180)
A transfer with two years of eligibility remaining, he started his collegiate career at Nevada but recently blossomed toward the end of his time at Houston Baptist. He averaged 18.1 points in his final six games, including a 30-point, seven-assist, six-rebound performance in a triple-overtime win over McNeese on March 5. His scoring average for the season was 9.5 points per game.
Earl: "He is fast with the ball, has size for the guard position and has a knack for being able to score. He is also a very good on-ball defender with the ability to get deflections and steals on the defensive end."
Demetrius Davis (6-9, 185)
A late bloomer from the Atlanta area, Davis has grown five inches since graduating from high school in 2020 and has the chance to be special at UTC. He averaged 13 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest at Lawson State Community College in 2021-22, averaging more than one 3-pointer made per contest.
Earl: "He is extremely versatile and will be able to defend multiple positions. Demetrius is just scratching the surface of the player he can be and has a very bright future."
Honor Huff (5-10, 155)
A SoCon All-Freshman selection last season for VMI - where Earl was head coach the past seven years - Huff will likely have to sit this season out (the SoCon does not allow immediately eligibility for transfers within the league), but he will have three seasons left once eligible. He averaged 10.0 points and 2.3 assists while shooting 38% from 3-point range last year, including a 22-point performance with five 3s in a win over the Mocs on Feb. 19.
Earl: "His work ethic will allow him to continue to improve. His speed, skill and shooting will be a great addition for our team. He has an infectious personality that UTC fans will enjoy."
Jamal Johnson (6-4, 195)
Once ranked as the eighth-best combo guard in the country coming out of high school, Johnson lands at UTC after stints at Memphis, Auburn and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His best season was 2020-21, when he averaged nearly 10 points per game for Auburn. He has knocked down 160 3s in his collegiate career and has one season remaining.
Earl: "He has proven that he can make an impact at the high-major college level. Jamal has great size for the guard position and is an excellent 3-point shooter."
Jake Stephens (6-11, 266)
The graduate transfer from VMI was possibly the steal of the class for Earl. Stephens had a number of offers from high-major programs once he hit the portal, but he chose to stick with his previous coach, who helped develop him into an All-SoCon first-team selection in 2021-22. Stephens averaged 19.6 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 49% from 3-point range, which led the league.
Earl: "Jake is a skilled and talented big who will impact our program at both ends of the court. We love his versatility, unselfishness, work ethic and his shooting ability."
Dalvin White (5-10, 162)
He started 23 games last season at the University of South Carolina Upstate, averaging 8.7 points and nearly four assists per game. He was 20th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, with 121 assists to just 46 giveaways. He's in his final season of collegiate eligibility.
Earl: "Dalvin brings a wealth of college experience, having played in over 100 games. He has a great feel, will make his teammates better and is a very good 3-point shooter. Most importantly, his leadership skills will help to impact winning."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.