GETTING INSIDE

A repeat trip to the NCAA Tournament will be no easy task for Chattanooga this season. The Mocs lost nearly every bit of production from last year’s staff, leaving coach John Shulman starting virtually from scratch.

Most notably among the losses is guard Stephen McDowell, who finished second in the conference in scoring at 18.1 points per game.

Gone, too, from the starting lineup are Kevin Goffney, Nicchaeus Doaks (who was third in the Southern Conference in rebounding at 8.6 per game), Khalil Hartwell and Keyron Sheard.

The numbers associated with the loss of those players is staggering. Shulman will have to replace 88.1 percent of the scoring, 77.9 percent of the rebounds, 83.6 percent of the assists and 88.7 percent of the steals Chattanooga proeduced last season.

And then there’s this number—1. That’s how many starts the players on the roster had a season ago.

Matters became complicated, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported, when Shulman was forced to suspend the team’s best returning player, Ty Patterson, for the fall semester.

Additionally, junior college transfer Troy Cage and forward Chris Early will be limited at the beginning of the season because of to injuries. Early was productive in limited minutes as a freshman and was expected to be a solid contributor this season.

All in all, Shulman and the Mocs have their work cut out for them. The good news is that the coach has again loaded the team with players who have previous experience at other colleges, including two who previously played at major schools.

“We have a lot of hungry guys right now and a lot of competition,” Shulman said. “Every spot is up for grabs and playing time is a precious commodity. I really like this team and its potential, but you’d like to have a lot of known commodities. There is very little known about this team.”

NOTES, QUOTES

• Chattanooga enters the 2009-2010 season tied with West Virginia and Davidson for the most Southern Conference tournament titles. The Mocs earned their 10th last season when they defended their home court en route to advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

• Due to graduations, suspensions and injuries, the Mocs’ top returning scorer and rebounder isn’t one with eye-popping numbers. Sophomore forward Chris Early, who averaged three points and two rebounds per game, is the most noted player available for the start of the season.

• Coach John Shulman has repeatedly said that transfer guard Keegan Bell could put up similar numbers to that of departed guard Stephen McDowell. Bell, who sat out last season after transferring from Vanderbilt, chose Chattanooga over Michigan, Notre Dame and Butler after deciding to leave the SEC school.

Last Year:   18-17 overall, 11-9, tied for first in Southern Conference North Division; lost to Connecticut in first round of NCAA Tournament.

Head Coach:   John Shulman (career 90-72); fifth year at Chattanooga (90-72).

Quote To Note:   “Everybody has said we just need to bond. We’ve got a great point guard, Keegan Bell. … I think everybody is expecting a lot out of everybody on this team right now. All we have is each other.”—Junior Troy Cage, on how a team full of new players will meld for Chattanooga.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   While most of the first-year player talk revolves around point guard Keegan Bell, Troy Cage, Ridge McKeither and Josh Odem also are expected to compete for serious playing time right away. Ridge was a junior college All-American a season ago at North Dakota State College of Science, where he averaged 17.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. He shot better than 55 percent from three-point range.

Key Early-season Games:   Coach John Shulman admitted after last season’s non-conference schedule that perhaps he took it a little too hard on his players. So, he trimmed down the early season schedule a bit from a year ago. Still, Chattanooga will take on Elite Eight qualifier Missouri on Nov. 24, as well as Georgia Tech on Dec. 14.

Program Direction:   Calling this a rebuilding year might seem obvious, considering the Mocs have to replace so much so quickly. But most of the players from this year’s team saw first-hand how Chattanooga should be able to compete for a top-tier spot in the league every season. Led by another round of transfers and young players, the increasing experience level should help as the Mocs go.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Keegan Bell, G Ricky Taylor, F Troy Cage, F Ridge McKeither, F Dante Harvey.

Roster Report:  

• F Dante Harvey appears to be healthy after missing nearly a month during Southern Conference play last season. When he was healthy, Harvey was able to provide some life off the bench, including during a very effective seven minutes during the league tournament title game.

• The only returning player with a start for the Mocs is 7-foot-1 center Jeremy Saffore. The big man doesn’t always seem to fit in Chattanooga’s run-and-gun offense, but limited experience across the board should provide for more playing time.

• Junior forward DeAntre Jefferson might finally be finding his niche in his third college stop. After spending time two junior colleges, Jefferson stepped in right away and recorded a double-double in one of the Mocs’ pre-season exhibition games in Toronto.

• When senior forward Ty Patterson returns, the Mocs will have a player who averaged more that eight points and three rebounds per game off the bench last season. Patterson was suspended for the fall semester.