ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
CHATTANOOGA---Chattanooga Mocs Head Men's Basketball Coach
Lamont Paris added a third new addition to the 2020-21 roster with forward Mark Tikhonenko. He comes to the Scenic City from Sam Houston State although this is not his first visit.
Tikhonenko, pronounced TEE-koh-NEN-koh completed his pre-college career at Mt. Zion Prep in Baltimore averaging 16 points and six rebounds. He signed with North Texas out of high school before a season at Sam Houston State.
Listed at 6-10, 240 lbs., with the Bearkats, Tikhonenko is originally from Moscow, Russia, where he played for the U16 and U20 Russia squads. His best performance for the U20s came at the 2018 European Championships with nine points and five rebounds in the 69-68 group phase win over Hungary.
After redshirting in 2017-18, he played in eight games for UNT before having the season cut short by injury. He transferred to Sam Houston seeing action in 32 contests making 50.0 percent (28-56) from 3pt range. Top performance was a 15-point effort keying conference road win at McNeese hitting 5-6 from beyond the arc in 15 minutes of action.
He brings a strong reputation for shooting the basketball.
"Mark is a highly-skilled forward," Coach
Lamont Paris shared. "He can really shoot it…it's a proven commodity. His skillset lends well to what we like as another long guy who can make shots and spread the floor, and he'll add some to what he can.
"The fit is good from what we want to get out of him and for the opportunity for Mark to add to what he can do."
Tikhonenko comes from a rich basketball family tradition. His father, Valeri, was a 1988 gold medalist for the USSR, while mother, Victoria, competed for the Kazakhstan U20 squad. Valeri also captured three silvers in the FIBA World Cup and was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1986.
Mark joins
three-year James Madison starter Darius Banks and
St. Louis transfer KC Hankton coming into the program. Barring any NCAA waivers, the trio will sit out with one, two and two years remaining, respectively.
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