PROSPECTUS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | TICKETS | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
 
CHATTANOOGA---It's almost time for the Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball squad to face their first competition of 2019-20. The Mocs head southeast to the Bahamas for a 3-game tour August 4-9.
 
The last time the program engaged in a foreign tour was also to the Bahamas in August 2014. That preceded a 22-10 season, the first 20-win campaign since 2004-05's Southern Conference Championship squad. It's a point Ramon Vila recently raised.
 
"Teams that play games on a foreign trip in the summer get to see what they're good at, where their struggles are," Vila began. "The coaching staff gets early game analysis on the players. It's easier for them to analyze early potential issues in August instead of say November.
 
"Those teams always seem to have strong seasons after a trip like that."
 
There's obviously a lot excitement for the group. The Bahamas is a destination to be certain. There's sun, sand and surf, but it's a work trip.
 
"The whole summer we've worked on our cohesion on the court," graduate transfer Matt Ryan added. "We've begun work with coach's offense and being able to implement that against older pro teams will be good. It's huge specifically for our younger guys with the opportunity to play together for the first time and play with some of our older guys (blending with that experience).
 
"It's big for our coaches too. There's a lot of new faces. This has the potential to be a big year so they get to see different combinations. It's obviously very early, but that will give them an idea of how we work together on the court."
 
The plan is for balance. The three games and 10 days allowed by the NCAA for practice is crucial for a team with six returners, two redshirts and eight newcomers. This kind of trip is as much about off the court as it is on it.
 
"It's connecting together as a group," senior Jonathan Scott mentioned. "Spending time together figuring out what we're all about on and off the court. Learning about personalities and tendencies."
 
GoMocs.com plans to provide three student-athlete journals during the trip. Follow along on social media channels Twitter and Instagram both @GoMocsMBB for updates and an inside look at the trip.
 
TOSTADO ABSENT
In the parlance of education, sophomore guard Alex Tostado has an excused absence. Fifteen of the 16 Mocs on the roster have been on campus since June 1 in workouts then earnest practice preparing for the Bahamas trip. Tostado, the lone missing person, is in Lima, Peru, representing Mexico in the Pan American Games. His squad squared off with the Dominican Republic yesterday (July 31) followed by Uruguay (Aug 1) and Argentina (Aug 2).
 
The medal drive starts on Saturday, August 3, followed by the Bronze and Gold Medal contests on Sunday, August 4. Here is a link to the daily schedule where you can check on availability to follow Alex's progress.
 
"It's always an honor to represent your country in any event," the Guadalajara native shared when he found out he made the team. "I am definitely grateful and lucky for the opportunity I have."
 
For more on Alex, click his roster reveal story below.
 
PROSPECTUS ONLINE
The 2019-20 preseason prospectus is now available on GoMocs.com (linked above). It includes basic quick facts along with roster info, schedule, Coach Lamont Paris bio & previous season stats.
 
They main notes featured involve the evolution of the program as Paris enters his third season at the helm. This year's team is a year older on average (20.31) than the youngest team in the country (19.31) in 2017-18.
 
The Mocs have the most returning games played in a UTC uniform (189) and by more than double career including other 4-year schools (334) than either of the last two campaigns. This squad has almost as many career starts (124) at the DI level as either of the prior two editions had total games played entering their respective seasons.
 
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE
Season 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. Take advantage of the July prize giveaway for season ticket renewals or new purchases. Learn more about it 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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