There's a lot of ways to get a nickname. Sometimes it's an odd moment or maybe even something we try to bestow on ourselves. Others are earned. Enter our hero Jerry Buckets.
"Buckets" was bestowed upon him a few years ago.
"It came in prep school," Buckets shared. "I couldn't miss over a five or six game stretch. One of my coaches started calling me Jerry Buckets. Ever since then, I've carried it along.
"They see my social media name 'Jerry Buckets' and people are like that just seems right. I'm just going to call you Jerry Buckets because you play basketball."
Fellow backcourt mate
David Jean-Baptiste saw enough last season to form an opinion. He got to witness Johnson's potential while sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules after coming to Gig City from Fairfield. Does he immediately think of Jerry when he hears the term buckets?
"Yeah, automatically," Jean-Baptiste quickly replied. "He's always a threat to score. No matter where he is on the floor, he's in attack mode looking to make a play to get buckets."
So does it bring special meaning to the holder?
"It's a reminder to me when I'm in a down moment either in practice or a game, that I have something to live up to," Buckets noted. "It motivates me. They call (Indiana Pacers forward) Doug McDermott 'Dougie McBuckets'. It's all he does, just fill it up. That's what I'm known for, so you want to be able to bring that to the table."
So what's the expectation for someone carrying the nickname "Buckets"?
"For him to get buckets," laughed
Thomas Smallwood. "It's pretty simple."
He kept the congenial tone when asked how hard it would be to live up to the name.
"If you walk in a room and say 'I'm Jerry Buckets', you gotta live up to it," Smallwood continued with a smile befitting a 7-footer. "That's for anybody.
"But he does a pretty good job living up to it."
Buckets: slang term used in basketball to describe a basket made! Exclamation point leads one to believe only big shots earn buckets in the nomenclature. Urban Dictionary
IN A WORD
David Jean-Baptiste –
Engaged
Thomas Smallwood –
Dad
Rod Johnson –
Mayor
Kevin Easley –
Goofy
Justin Brown –
Waffle
BASKETBALL TIPOFF EVENT
The Mocs men's and women's teams are hosting a get together in McKenzie Arena on Tuesday, October 30 at 6:30 p.m. It's an interactive program allowing young and old a chance to meet all of their Mocs and maybe even try their hand at displaying their own hoops abilities. There are game and skill stations managed by the student-athletes covering knockout, free throws and dribbling. Artists can render their interpretations of the players along with photo and autograph areas as well.
More info here.
TICKETS
Season tickets are on sale now. They can be
purchased on GoMocs.com or by calling (423) 266-MOCS. Fans can also stop by the Gate 1 ticket office at McKenzie Arena.
Full season tickets range from $90-190 for lower-level reserved through upper-level general admission.
| Seat Type |
Season Ticket |
| *Padded Reserved |
$190 |
| 100 Level Reserved |
$165 |
| 200 Level Reserved |
$165 |
| 200 Level Corner |
$135 |
| 200 Level End Zone |
$105 |
| 300 Level GA |
$90 |
*Mocs Club Donation Required
UTC faculty/staff season tickets are offered at a reduced rate. Faculty/staff members should stop or call the McKenzie Arena ticket office for more information or to purchase.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. 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.
