1 – Dee Oldham | 2 – Jackson White | 3 – Peyton Woods
 
Trey Kalina was a senior in October 2015 at North Cobb Christian in suburban Atlanta. A year later, enter Rich Kalina, freshman center for the Chattanooga Mocs.
 
Why the change?
 
"It was about the second week of practice," Kalina explained. "We have three Treys on the team with me, Tre' McLean and Traevis Graham. So I just walked up to coach and said you can call me Richard. Then there's all sorts of different names like 'Richie', 'Big Rich', 'Lil Richie'…so that's where it came from. We've settled on Rich."
 
What's not different is the potential for the soft-spoken big man. At 7-feet tall and 250-plus pounds, Kalina has something that may be cliché but no less true, though coach Matt McCall fell short of using the old "you can't teach size" mantra.
 
"Rich is a large individual," coach Matt McCall noted. "With his size, you see the potential especially on the defensive end.
 
"The key for Rich is to turn potential into performance. That's true of all young players. Big guys generally require a little more patience, and it's probably harder to wait for it to come through."
 
Kalina averaged 14 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game playing for Greg Matta at North Cobb. Future150.com listed him as a 3-star prospect ranking him as the 37th-best center in the country for his recruiting class.
 
Not surprisingly, he caught the eye of several schools with the Mocs signing him last fall over Atlantic 10 (La Salle) and Sun Belt (Appalachian State) programs. He stuck to his commitment after the coaching change in April.
 
The Mocs' depth is something that allows for patient development.
 
"Rich has some good ones to learn from," McCall added. "Justin Tuoyo is a great player, and there is veteran talent in Chuck Ester and Duke Ethridge as well. You'll see Casey Jones at the 4 too so that's a lot of experience for Rich to learn from."
 
Tickets are on sale at GoMocs.com, at the McKenzie Arena Gate One Ticket Office or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627). The Mocs play an exhibition game against Covenant on Friday, Nov. 6, before opening the season a week later at Georgia. The home opener is Monday, Nov. 16, vs. Hiwassee.