CAMPS | NOTES PACKAGE | PHOTO GALLERY
 
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs historic 2015-16 season was among the best in school history. This is the final piece in our three-part position-by-position review checking out the posts (4s & 5s). Check out the prior two: point guards & wings.
 
It was a great year at the post position. The mix started the season with great experience and depth, but that was tested early.
 
Casey Jones (12.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.9 apg) and Justin Tuoyo returned up front with Chuck Ester and Duke Ethridge giving the Mocs enviable depth as freshmen Jackson White and Rich Kalina were added to the mix. Eight games into the season, Jones, the preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year, was lost for the season due to an ankle injury.
 
He was one of a handful of players nationally leading his squad in points, rebounds and assists. According to coach Matt McCall, that did not limit his impact.
 
"People want to talk about what Casey brought to the team before getting hurt," McCall noted. "But I was even more impressed by how he responded to being injured. He was still a leader of our team. He was on the bench at every game, and he was a huge part of why we succeeded with him out. He constantly stayed in guys' ears and tried to motivate and lead. He was terrific from that standpoint.
 
"He's so talented and gifted offensively and does so many things out on the floor. He scored 21 points in the second half in an SEC environment after not having a great performance in the first half. To do what he did with everyone else in foul trouble at Georgia, just goes to show how good a player he is."
 
Tuoyo (11.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.3 bpg) continued his impact on the defensive end. Much like a shutdown corner in football who rarely gets the ball thrown his way, his block numbers took a hit as teams avoided his presence in the lane. That did not escape the notice of the league's coaches who tabbed the big man with SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors for a second-straight campaign.
 
Like when talking about Jones, McCall strayed from the obvious when discussing the rising senior.
 
"I think Tuoyo became not just a guy who could change the game defensively, but offensively too," he explained. "He had some really big moments especially in conference play where late in the game, the ball was in his hands, and he made the right play.
 
"I felt like offensively, he really, really grew to go along with his ability to block shots. I've been around some good shot blockers in my career, and I'd put him up there with the (Joakim) Noahs and (Al) Horfords as far as the ability to block shots.
 
"He really anchors our defense."
 
Ester (7.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg) picked up where Jones left off. He impacted the game on both ends of the floor and grew into one the team's most important contributors.
 
"In our offense, the power forward position is one of the most valuable on the floor," McCall continued. "The ball is in those guys' hands so much offensively, and Chuck was such a mismatch problem every night because of his ability to put the ball on the floor. As the season progressed, you saw him stretch the defense because of his shot.
 
"That's where offensively, he took his game to another level. We were relying on him so much in so many aspects of the game. He was a huge factor in our success.
 
"We said this of (Tre') McLean too, Chuck made one of the biggest jumps from one year to the next of any player in the country."
 
Ethridge (7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg) was a factor off the bench. Not the easiest role for a talented senior, McCall quickly lauded his unselfishness in helping the team reach its goals.
 
"Duke's selflessness to come off the bench all year like he did tells you how good of a teammate he is," he added. "When you bring a guy of his caliber off the bench, it creates so many problems for opponents with our depth. Some of the highlight plays he had, that took our energy to a different level. He was terrific late in the game against Illinois. He was terrific late in the game at Wofford.
 
"We probably don't beat Samford in the SoCon Tournament without his play with Tuoyo in foul trouble."
 
Top performance in the post in 2015-16?

• Tuoyo set the school's career record for blocks with the first of his three in the January home win over Mercer. He needs just 19 for 200.
• Ester scored a career-best 13 points three times, none bigger than his effort in the SoCon Semis win over Western Carolina in what amounted to a Catamount home game in Asheville, N.C.
• Ethridge came off the bench with Tuoyo in foul trouble to post the first double-double of his collegiate career in the SoCon Quarterfinal game. He scored 13 and grabbed 11 boards keying the win over Samford.
• Jones had season highs of 23 points (at Georgia), nine rebounds (at ULM), seven assists (vs. Alabama State) and three blocks (at ULM) in his eight contests.

Click the links above to see the season in pictures in the post as well as the season-summarizing notes package.
 
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.
 
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
- The Mocs are by far the most successful program in the Southern Conference since joining the league in 1977-78. The team has won 30 titles with 11 regular season, 11 tournament and eight division.
- 16 NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1961 (DII), 1973 (DII), 1975 (DII), 1976 (DII Runner-up), 1977 (DII National Champs), 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 (Sweet 16), 2005, 2009, 2016
- 11 SoCon Tournament Crowns: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2009, 2016
- 11 SoCon Regular Season Championships: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2016
- 8 Division Titles: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011
- The 1997 team went to the NCAA Sweet 16 with wins over Georgia and Illinois.
- 5 SoCon Players of the Year: Willie White (1981-82), Keith Nelson (1991-92), Tim Brooks (1992-93), Chad Copeland (1993-94) and Johnny Taylor (1996-97).
- 3 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year: Z. Mason (2014), Justin Tuoyo (2015, 2016).
- 4 SoCon Coaches of the Year: Murray Arnold (1982, '83), Mack McCarthy (1986, '92, '93), Will Wade (2014) and Matt McCall (2016).
- 9 NBA Draft Picks: Walter "Moose" McGary (1973 & '74), William Gordon (1977), Wayne Golden (1977), Russ Schoene (1982), Nick Morken (1982), Willie White (1984), Gerald Wilkins (1985, 13 seasons) and Johnny Taylor (1997 1st Round).