The Chattanooga Mocs have taken a deep breath after a week in the Bahamas. The group had 10 practices leading into the tour and played three games in four days. What did they learn?
"Our team has a lot more maturity,” senior Jonathan Scott shared. “There's a couple of times we got down, but we rallied together. We learned how to stick together and not fall when things go wrong."
Before the trip, Scott talked about the trip and how important was for the team not only gelling in the court, but off it. So how did that go?
"Really well," he began. "We spent a lot of time together and got to know each other even better than leading into the trip."
Coach Lamont Paris was reflective discussing what he hoped to get from the trip and how it played out.
"Just wanted to learn some things about our team," he offered about on and off the court. "Spending time together, away from home like this helps you grow better as a team. The biggest thing was to spend a lot of time with each other and enjoy ourselves.
"Finish the summer off the right way."
Mission accomplished?
"Everything we wanted to accomplish, was accomplished," Paris added. "We were going to spend time together whether we played well or didn't play well. Winning the games wasn't the biggest part for me.
"I wanted the guys to spend a lot of time together. They were able to do that from time on the beach to a day away with no basketball. Even the travel time in the airport is valuable stuff."
Off the court, what are the memories?
"First of all, winning all three games," Scott countered because you can't take a competitor completely off the court. "Being in the ocean with my teammates...chilling in the hot tub...the conversations...making goals. It was just a good trip."
The good vibes carried over in the return to Gig City. It started with Monday’s announcement of the signing of Cleveland State University transfer Stefan Kenic. It quickly followed with the NCAA granting a transfer waiver to Trey Doomes making him eligible to play in 2019-20 season.