PROSPECTUS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | TICKETS | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
 
CHATTANOOGA---This is the final installment of our 3-part series examining the different positions making up this year's Chattanooga Mocs mixture. We started with versatility in the post and followed with the potential on the point. Now we head to the wing where you get a little bit of everything. Buckle up because there's a lot to cover and it's obvious by his answers, Coach Lamont Paris is excited about this group.
 
"From a capability standpoint, I think this is the most capable 3pt shooting team since I've been here overall," Paris summed up. "In games and in practice are completely different things. But we are talking about just pure ability to make shots from the perimeter, I think I would say, in my three years anyway, this is the most talented team as far as the ability to make three-point shots and so were going to play to that, hopefully that's a strength of ours, continues to be a strength of ours.
 
"I think we are better at attacking the rim as well. Those are both good areas to make improvements in. I'm excited about this group and their ability to do both of those things. Some guys are better at one than the other, I mean that's just how it works," he continued. "But really capable at shooters when we are talking about the ability to make open shots."
 
Jonathan Scott is the lone returning starter on the wing with one other letter winner back in A.J. Caldwell. As we discussed in the point guard preview, David Jean-Baptiste ideally profiles at the 2, but he was discussed at length at the 1 so we'll stick mostly with Scott and Caldwell here, but it's hard to get away from what DJB provides.
 
All three are accurate shooters. Jean-Baptiste led the squad shooting 41.0 percent (50-122) from 3pt range with Scott right behind at 39.7 percent (31-78). Caldwell was solid at 36.5 percent (19-52) as the trio accounted for 100 of the squad's school-record 290 treys made.
 
"Dave early on, from the time we went to the Bahamas and a little bit before that, was shooting ball at a clip I've never seen from him," Paris stated. "When practice started, those numbers progressed to the mean for him, but now he is shooting the ball well again. I think you saw some of that in the exhibition game in his play overall. But I think Dave is just poised and ready for a big year.
 
"Jonathan has been real steady and consistent as a shooter maybe more so than anything and anybody on the team," the third-year ball coach added. "His quality of shot is at an all-time high, and I think that really helps him shoot it at a high level. He's a good shooter taking high-quality shots.
 
"A.J. has done the same thing. His big thing is to translate shot-making ability in practice to shot-making ability in games. That's been a thing for him, he knows that, that's a thing for us. I told him that this year, 'hey you're a shooter. That means you must shoot, and we have to figure out if that translates over to the game.' Right now it looks good in practice, but you can't pass that up when you're playing on the white team (scout) instead of the blue."
 
While no Moc made more than 55 of the 290 triples last year, one newcomer certainly looks to be the first to reach triple digits from long range since Stephen McDowell's '09 record 135 in 2009's Southern Conference Championship season. Grad transfer Matt Ryan (Vanderbilt) certainly looks the part of the long-range gunner.
 
Ryan led the Mocs in scoring during the 3-0 Bahamas tour averaging 15.7 per game shooting a stellar 41.7 percent beyond the arc.
 
"You know, you add a guy like Matt into the mix in which in a shooting drill scenario and workout setting, I would characterize his shot-making ability as elite," Paris explained. "My goal for him, and his also, but I told him my goal for was to shoot over 40 percent because I think he is that type of shooter.
 
"Catch-and-shoot open situations, it should go in. That's how confident...I mean it should definitely go in is how you feel when he releases it. He is going to be asked to do some other things right, take some shots from depth, have some guys hanging all over him at times, late-game situations; his percentages are never going to be as high as what they should be. Having said that, I would expect him to have a high percentage."
 
Another newcomer blends the shooting threat with an ability to attack the basket. Freshman Grant Ledford impressed coaches early in the summer and has made the future look bright. His shooting at this point is not at the Ryan level, but Paris compared the two with a gleam in his eyes.
 
"To make a comparison," Paris started, "Matt is a shooter, Grant is a shot maker. It may be hard for some to recognize the difference in that. Combine his shooting with how he is also very good at attacking the basket. Grant plays strong and physical getting to the rim. He's finding his way right now, but, we're very excited about the player ultimately, he could become.
 
"He's very even keeled. You don't see that in a young guy too often. To be intense, but very even keeled. That's a rare quality for young guys and so yeah another guy that can make shots and has some size and continuing to work on his quickness."
 
West Virginia transfer Trey Doomes is the other side of Ledford. He is true attack-the-basket wing with a special skill set that netted 24 points with 10 boards in the second team win in the Bahamas. He also profiles as the best perimeter defender on the squad as well.
 
"Trey is really good around the basket," Paris continued. "Aside from his ability just to be able to drive, I would say he has a high level of feel of when to cut to the rim and how to find the nooks and crannies and places to get the ball where he can be effective.
 
"Again, players have strengths and weaknesses. Trey's a guy who knows what his strengths are and how to get into position to know use them. I think as a cutter, he is really good and has real good touch around the basket, sometimes I don't know if he is right or left-handed when he gets around the rim.
 
"He's an explosive athlete when he gets going downhill. Trey also has something we haven't had since I've been here. He can just do some things that are unscripted, seem to happen in every game and you can't predict when or where they are going to happen. There are going to be 10 plays where getting to the rim quickly or finding a way to a loose ball or a transition play that was unscripted obviously based of a turnover or long rebound something like that, and he thrives in those scenarios."
 
Possibly the most intriguing wing is a special story. Jamaal Walker is a Chattanooga native who prepped at East Hamilton High School. He's the youngest player on the roster, but he also has the highest "ceiling" as pundits like to say about young prospects in a variety of sports.
 
"Jamaal is a very interesting case study because anything is on the board in my eyes as far as his overall level that he is able to ascend to as a player," Paris added. "I literally mean almost anything. He is an incredible kid now, I mean just thoughtful, extremely thoughtful. When he makes a mistake in practice, I sometimes even feel bad when I get on him.
 
"He absorbs it and tries to learn everything he can. This will be a very important year for him overall. His growth and just getting acclimated to what the college game is like. You usually don't say all these things about a walk-on, but I think he has a tremendous amount of potential. He does in the truest sense, He is very athletic and long. It could be a weird case when you look at it. This guy paid his own way. You could see a player three years from now and say 'there's no way this kid paid his own way his freshman year. That's on the table and so very intriguing."
 
There really is a little bit of everything to the perimeter. It may be the most interesting area to see how the rotation shakes itself out by the time the squad enters the New Year and the Southern Conference slate. The season opens Tuesday, Nov. 5, at Eastern Kentucky, followed by the home opener that Saturday against historic rival Tennessee State.
 
TICKETS ON SALE 
Season and single-game tickets are on sale now. They can be purchased on GoMocs.com (at the link above) or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or 425-5740. Fans can also stop by the Gate 1 ticket office at McKenzie Arena.
 
Full season tickets range from $105-190 for lower-level reserved seating. While your best per-game pricing is with season tickets, single game is now available as well with pricing is from $12 ($10 if bought in advance) to $22 ($20 advance) on gamedays for sections at the 100 and 200 levels.
 
There are several group discounts with savings of up to 60-plus percent on 100 and 200-level seats. That starts with a minimum of 10 tickets. Contact A.J. Lewis and Mark Curtis at (423) 425-5740 or 425-5872.
 
SHOOT DOWN CANCER
Chattanooga students are invited to #MakeCoachPay on Wednesday, Nov. 6. Coach Lamont Paris pledged $1 to the American Cancer Society for every student that comes by McKenzie Arena from 2-6 p.m., that afternoon. If they make a free throw, he'll make it $5 and if they hit a half-court shot, he's going to make it $50. For more info, go to our story here.
 
ROSTER REVEAL SERIES
GoMocs.com's summer roster reveal series is complete. Here's the list with the links to the feature stories on each in order of release:
 
4 – Maurice Commander: http://bit.ly/Commander4
1 – Jonathan Scott: http://bit.ly/Scott01
0 – A.J. Caldwell: http://bit.ly/Caldwell0
15 – Ramon Vila: http://bit.ly/RVila15
32 – Matt Ryan: http://bit.ly/Ryan32 
5 – Jaden Frazer: http://bit.ly/Frazier5
3 – David Jean-Baptiste: http://bit.ly/DJ-B3
11 – Rod Johnson: http://bit.ly/rjohnson11
14 – Grant Ledford: http://bit.ly/ledford14
24 – Prosper Obidiebube: http://bit.ly/Prosper0bi24
13 – Malachi Smith: http://bit.ly/MSmith19
12 – Ashton Smith: http://bit.ly/ASmith12
10 – Alex Tostado: http://bit.ly/Tostado10
2 – Jamaal Walker: http://bit.ly/JWalker2
25 – Justin Brown: http://bit.ly/JBrown25
23 – Trey Doomes: http://bit.ly/TDoomes23
 
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