Basketball teams take pre-season preparation to pavilion
Jeremy Acree
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Sports
The men's and women's basketball teams got their final tune-up before the start of the regular season Saturday in the first Blue and Gold games ever hosted outside at the First Tennessee Pavilion.
The women's team is coming off a regular season Southern Conference Championship and the men's team took the SoCon Tournament Title, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. But the men also lost all five starters from last year's team.
Saturday was the first chance for fans to see the 2009-10 Mocs in action.
As a culmination to the athletic department's Blue and Gold week, the two teams joined with fans and administration for what turned out to be much more fun and games than actual preparation.
Each coach gave public interviews and kids joined layup lines in the event that took place just before the football game against Western Carolina.
The highlight of the day, however, came in the "Last Moc Standing" event in which five members from each team took a layup, free throw, three-pointer, long-range three-pointer and a half court shot. A miss meant elimination from the competition.
If this competition was any evidence, the Mocs' may not improve much on last year's 65 percent free throw shooting. All but two from the men's side were gone after the shot from the stripe, while all five Lady Mocs remained.
The men rebounded, however, as junior Deantre Jefferson, from Bloomington, Ill., held on through the long-range three-point attempts to claim the title.
Both teams received Southern Conference Championship rings prior to the football game on midfield at Finley Stadium.
Things get serious for both teams with exhibitions at McKenzie Arena this week. The Lady Mocs host Lee University Thursday night, while the men host Tennessee Wesleyan Saturday night.
The Mocs will host Virginia Intermont Nov. 13, for the regular season opener, but they face an uphill battle early in the season.
Junior Chris Early, from Huntington W.V., is out with a broken hand and senior Ty Patterson, from Anderson, S.C., has been suspended for the first eight games of the season.
The two combined for an average of 11 points-per-game last year, but both were expected to fill holes left by seniors from last year's team.
The women's team is coming off a regular season Southern Conference Championship and the men's team took the SoCon Tournament Title, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. But the men also lost all five starters from last year's team.
Saturday was the first chance for fans to see the 2009-10 Mocs in action.
As a culmination to the athletic department's Blue and Gold week, the two teams joined with fans and administration for what turned out to be much more fun and games than actual preparation.
Each coach gave public interviews and kids joined layup lines in the event that took place just before the football game against Western Carolina.
The highlight of the day, however, came in the "Last Moc Standing" event in which five members from each team took a layup, free throw, three-pointer, long-range three-pointer and a half court shot. A miss meant elimination from the competition.
If this competition was any evidence, the Mocs' may not improve much on last year's 65 percent free throw shooting. All but two from the men's side were gone after the shot from the stripe, while all five Lady Mocs remained.
The men rebounded, however, as junior Deantre Jefferson, from Bloomington, Ill., held on through the long-range three-point attempts to claim the title.
Both teams received Southern Conference Championship rings prior to the football game on midfield at Finley Stadium.
Things get serious for both teams with exhibitions at McKenzie Arena this week. The Lady Mocs host Lee University Thursday night, while the men host Tennessee Wesleyan Saturday night.
The Mocs will host Virginia Intermont Nov. 13, for the regular season opener, but they face an uphill battle early in the season.
Junior Chris Early, from Huntington W.V., is out with a broken hand and senior Ty Patterson, from Anderson, S.C., has been suspended for the first eight games of the season.
The two combined for an average of 11 points-per-game last year, but both were expected to fill holes left by seniors from last year's team.