My favorite University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball story involving the Virginia Military Institute goes something like this:
Back in the mid-1980s, when Mack McCarthy was roaming the Mocs' sideline and Joe Cantafio was doing similar good coaching work for VMI's Keydets with a couple of dynamic guards in twins Ramon and Damon Williams, a fellow member of the Scenic City media corps tapped me on the shoulder one night at the Roundhouse.
"This Williams guy is killing UTC," he said. "He's already got 38 points."
I quickly replied, "Which one?"
He answered: "What do you mean, 'Which one?'"
Said I: "Well, there are two of them. They're twins."
"Oh," he said. "Never mind."
For the past seven years, there's only been one Dan Earl at VMI. And if he could definitely have used the Williams twins during his first five seasons as coach of the Keydets, he got them to .500 or better overall the past two, posting .500 Southern Conference marks in both the 2020-21 season and the 2021-22 campaign just passed.
In one of the toughest mid-major jobs imaginable, Earl not only made VMI competitive against all odds, this past February he knocked off the Mocs - on their way to a sweep of the SoCon regular-season and tournament titles - inside their Roundhouse, and not just by a point or two.
Without star big man Jake Stephens, who missed much of that Feb. 19 matchup with an injury, VMI nevertheless prevailed 80-75 in a game that was rarely that close.
Said Mocs veteran wing player A.J. Caldwell on Wednesday, just after Earl was introduced as UTC's newest head coach after Lamont Paris' jump to South Carolina: "They were a hard scout. They moved so well. Played together so well. Shot the ball so well. Tough team to play."
This is what everybody thinks about when they discuss Earl's coaching. They think about offense, 3-point shooting and spreading the floor. All things that often sell tickets and enthusiasm and entertainment, but don't always equate to championships.
So right after Earl told the crowd at the University Center that had gathered to properly welcome him, "We pride ourselves on ball movement, player movement and we'll shoot that basketball," he also added, nodding in the direction of the returning Mocs, "I will say you're going to have to play defense, as well."
He also said something the best coaches always practice: "The art of coaching is blending your style with the type of talent that you have."
Exactly what talent that will be is uncertain at the moment. Caldwell says he will be back. One can hope that Grant Ledford returns, as well as local product Jamaal Walker and a few others.
Then there's the aforementioned Stephens, with his 19.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game this past season and his Tuesday evening entry into the transfer portal, which will surely spark much speculation, if only for a day or two, that he might join Earl at UTC.
Given that Stephens also averaged 3.3 assists and 2.0 blocks an outing, plus the fact he stands 6-foot-11, weighs 266 pound and hit a preposterous 49% of his 3-pointers, it's doubtful he'll choose to transfer to UTC. Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, or West Virginia (where he grew up) would seem far more likely.
Even Earl, when asked about the possibility Stephens could wind up a Moc, said something about "recruiting rules," then added, "I don't know if I'm the biggest fan of the way college basketball is going," as if anyone is.
Yet he also qualified his reticence about the transfer portal by adding, "But you have to embrace it."
And Earl will have to embrace it if UTC is to have any hope of repeating as SoCon champ and making the NCAA tournament for a second straight season.
Yet regardless of what his new head coach can or can't say about Stephens, Caldwell is all in on the prospect of the immensely tall and talented post player joining his coach in Mocsville.
"It would be awesome to have him here," Caldwell said. "He can really shoot."
And as Earl noted Wednesday of the advantages he'll have at UTC with or without Stephens: "There's so much to sell here. More resources. Upgrades to the Roundhouse to sell to recruits. The practice facility is also something we didn't have at VMI."
All that should help. All of that always helps.
But what will help bring a smile to Mocs Nation for years to come will be if Earl makes good on this pledge to the University Center crowd.
"I promise you we'll win some games," he said, "and we'll compete for championships."
No one who watched VMI shock the Mocs inside the Roundhouse should ever doubt that.
Mark WiedmerContact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @TFPWeeds.