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Four former Mocs inducted into the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame

The Chattanooga Athletics Department recently inducted four members into The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics Hall of Fame. This year’s class includes Damita Bullock (women’s basketball 2000-02), Randall Mitchell (football 1982-85), Heidi Narborough Dettinger (women’s tennis 1984-85) and Ron Whaley (football 1959-62).

Bullock was recently featured in the “Wes Moore – Decade of Dominance” celebration as she helped set the foundation for the Moore era of Lady Mocs Basketball. Bullock was a two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year and led the Lady Mocs to three consecutive regular season titles from 2000-02. UTC also advanced to postseason play in each of her three seasons in Chattanooga.

Bullock currently owns four spots on the Lady Mocs career charts. With 1,384 points, the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native is ranked eighth all-time in scoring. Her 14.9 points per game average is the fifth highest all time, while her 1,220 field goal attempts rank seventh. She is currently ninth in free throw percentage after hitting 77% of her attempts.

Randall “Brick” Mitchell was an All-American defensive lineman for the Mocs from 1983-85. Listed as a nose guard, Mitchell wreaked havoc on opposing centers and quarterbacks in the Southern Conference for four seasons. He helped guide UTC to the SoCon title and its only appearance in the NCAA Championships in 1984.

Following his senior year, Mitchell was named honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press. He went on to play for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles in 1987. He was named to the Mocs’ All-Century Team during Chattanooga’s 100th Year of Football Celebration in 2003.

Heidi Narborough is a former UTC women’s tennis star who earned All-American honors during her senior season in 1985. The two-year letter winner was captain and Most Valuable Player on the 1985 NCAA Division II National Championship team and was also member of UTC’s 1984 title squad.

During her playing career at Chattanooga, Narborough won the 1985 Southern Conference #4 singles championship and the #3 doubles title. She was also named to the 1980’s Southern Conference Team of the Decade and was the 1986 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Player of the Year.

Ron Whaley was a two-sport star for Chattanooga in the early 1960s. He was a four-year letter winner on the Mocs’ football team and a three-year star on the basketball squad.

Whaley’s main focus was on the football field during his time at UTC. He was the starting safety and wide receiver under legendary head coach Scrappy Moore. On the basketball court, Whaley led the Mocs to the NCAA Division II Tournament during his sophomore season. Following his collegiate career at UTC, he was drafted in the 17th round of the 1963 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. Whaley is the only member of this year’s group inducted posthumously.

The Hall of Fame weekend began Friday, February 20, with the induction ceremony and dinner at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.

Also honored at the dinner were the Hall of Fame’s annual award winners. The Gordon Davenport Award, given to individuals who have shown outstanding commitment to UTC Athletics, was presented to long-time Mocs supporters Steve and Dolores Harvey.

Presented to the former UTC student-athlete or coach who has achieved notable life accomplishments, the Joe Morrison award went to former Chattanooga women’s tennis coach Alice Tym. Tym was recently inducted into the ITA Women’s Tennis Hall of Fame.

Volleyball star Lara Newberry is this year’s recipient of the A.C. “Scrappy” Moore Award as the UTC student-athlete who best personifies comprehensive excellence - academically, athletically and socially. Newberry recently became the NCAA’s all-time career digs leader.

The Hall of Fame award winners and inductees were honored at halftime of the Mocs men’s basketball game against Samford on February 21.

Heidi Narborough Detttinger, Director of Athletics Rick Hart, Damita Bullock, Gary Whaley (representing Ron Whaley), Chancellor Brown, Randall "Brick" Mitchell

Lady Mocs earn 10th consecutive SoCon title

As the UTC athletics department celebrated “Moore in McKenzie, a Decade of Dominance,” the Lady Mocs added one more trophy to their case with a 10th consecutive Southern Conference women’s basketball regular season title.

Wes Moore with the team With the Lady Mocs and Samford sporting identical 16-3 conference records, the Lady Mocs called upon nine years of championship experience and tradition to dominate the Bulldogs. In a “winner-take-all” game against the league newcomer, the Lady Mocs kept Samford at bay with a 72-48 win and held onto their customary spot atop the SoCon in the season finale.

The Lady Mocs came out strong and fast, dominating the Bulldogs and used a balanced attack for the win. Eight of the nine healthy players scored at least seven points led by junior Jenaya Wade-Fray’s 12 points and junior Shanara Hollinquest’s eighth double-double of the year.

Hollinquest leads the Southern Conference in scoring with more than 16 points per game and has the best field goal shooting percentage making better than 53 percent of her attempts. She along with Wade-Fray, seniors Erin Ogan and LaCondra Mason and junior Tagan Hatchett, are among the league leaders in several categories from free throw shooting to 3-point shooting, rebounding to assists.

The Lady Mocs fought Samford to stay atop the conference standings throughout the season and battled adversity throughout the season. With the loss of five outstanding seniors from last year’s squad that included three starters and two-time SoCon Player of the Year Alex Anderson, the Lady Mocs were looking at a rebuilding season.

Moore brought in a plethora of newcomers to fill the bench, but only three completed the season. Injuries and illnesses depleted the lineup and left Moore with as little as eight players at times, but the Lady Mos stepped up, called upon players from the past and, filled with pride and a sense of tradition, stepped onto the court to claim what was theirs.

Mocs Win 26th SoCon Championship

Since entering the Southern Conference in 1977-78, the Chattanooga men’s basketball team has been a consistent, dominant program with 26 SoCon titles including division and non-division seasons as well as tournament. The second closest number is 17 by Davidson including this season.

The 2008-09 season has been a rollercoaster ride for the Mocs. Overcoming injuries and a brutal non-conference slate, Chattanooga captured its seventh division title winning the No. 1 seed from the North Division for the upcoming tournament played in the McKenzie Arena.

It has been a year of milestones met and records set. It starts with senior Nicchaeus Doaks. Doaks is in the process of setting impressive career numbers, the likes that have not been met in the school’s Division I history.

At this point in the season, Doaks has 1,369 points and 791 rebounds. He is the only player in school’s modern era to have 1,300 points and 750 rebounds in a career and became the 16th member of the 1,000 point club early in the season and now ranks fourth on the scoring list. He is the SoCon’s leading rebounder at 8.9 boards per game.

Stephen McDowell shattered the Mocs three-point field goal records set by Keddric Mays in the previous two seasons before McDowell joined the program. Stephen enters the tournament with 228 career three-pointers made, 120 on the season, both school records. He has also scored 1,009 points for his Mocs career, becoming the 17th member of that club. He leads the Mocs in scoring and is second in the SoCon at 18.3 points per game, while ranking third nationally at 3.9 three-pointers made per game.

Khalil Hartwell and Kevin Goffney have been key components this year as well. Hartwell is one of just three Mocs (Doaks, Lance Fulse) with 600 career rebounds (627) since the move to Division I. After a slow start to the season coming back from offseason knee surgery, Khalil’s play in the post was a key factor in the Mocs’ stretch run to the North Division title.

Goffney has been called the heart and soul of the squad. An ankle injury in the first 30 seconds of the season at Tennessee effectively kept him out of eight of the Mocs first 10 games, a 2-8 record. With Goffney in the lineup, the Mocs are 13-10. He is one of three Mocs (Doaks, Hartwell) averaging seven or more rebounds per game, easily the best trio of rebounders in the SoCon.

2009 football recruiting class shows promise

Chattanooga head football coach Russ Huesman recently announced the Mocs’ 2009 recruiting class. Huesman and his staff will welcome 15 freshmen to the Scenic City next season. Despite getting a late start to recruiting after being named the Mocs’ 22nd head coach on Dec. 21, 2008, Huesman grabbed a ton of regional talent to fill Chattanooga’s needs for the future.

“With the late start, we feel really good about what we were able to bring in this year,” stated Huesman, a former defensive back and 1983 graduate of Chattanooga. “These recruits knew about UTC, the quality of education available and the type of program we are going to run. Once we got these guys on campus we had a great chance to get them.”

Quick notes on Chattanooga’s 2009 recruiting class:

15 members, all from either Georgia or Tennessee
14 are current high school seniors
1 transfer who is currently enrolled as a true freshman
2 with at least a two-star rating by Rivals.com and Scout.com
7 earned all-state recognition during their prep careers
1 finalist for the Tennessee Mr. Football Award
4 from Tennessee
11 from Georgia
3 from the Chattanooga area
9 expected to contribute on offense – 2 QBs, 2 WRs, 2OL, 2 FBs, 1 RB
6 expected to contribute on defense – 1 LB, 3 DBs, 2 Des
9 honor role/National Honor Society/Beta Club students
3 earned Scholar-Athlete of the Year/Student of the Year/Top Student honors

With the exception of one freshman transfer, the entire Mocs recruiting class consists of high school seniors set to graduate in May 2009. Also among the 15 are two student-athletes with at least a two-star rating by Rivals.com and Scout.com and seven others who earned all-state recognition during their prep careers.

“When we went out to sign this class, we wanted high school kids,” added Huesman. “We think we are going to build this thing with high school players. These kids have to be here for four or five years to build a program. When these guys are fifth-year seniors, that’s when they are going to be at their best. This is how you build the foundation of a strong program.”

Kicking off the list of signees is a trio of local student-athletes, including David Clemons (OL – Calhoun, Ga./Calhoun HS), Zac Fairchild (QB - Ringgold, Ga./Ringgold HS) and Gunner Miller (LB/FB - Chattanooga, Tenn./East Ridge HS). All three are among the top prep players in the Chattanooga area.

Clemons (6-2 – 270) earned Georgia AA Honorable Mention All-State honors after leading Calhoun to the state championship game last season. Fairchild was one of the top quarterbacks in the area going into his senior year. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in Ringgold’s first scrimmage, but is expected to be ready to play in the fall. The 6-4, 230-pound right-hander also possesses a 90+ mph fastball. Miller (6-1 – 210) is a versatile player who was a member of the Chattanooga Times Free Press “Best of the Preps” team in 2008.

Huesman and his staff kept their recruiting focus close to home with the 2009 class. All 15 of the signees are from either Georgia or Tennessee.

“Ultimately we are going to expand a little bit,” explained Huesman. “However, when I first got here I told the staff that we can go within a 200-mile radius of Chattanooga and fill our class every year. We should be able to sign 13-16 kids and fill our needs with excellent football players. If you can’t do that, I don’t think you are working hard enough at it.”

Feeding off of the abundance of talent in the Atlanta area, Huesman grabbed nine additional players from the Peach State. Included in this group are Marlon Anthony (WR – Acworth, Ga./Kell HS), Chris Auwah (RB – Marietta, Ga./South Cobb HS), Wes Dothard (LB – Carrollton, Ga./Carrollton HS), Jake Francis (OL – Marietta, Ga./Walton HS), Briant Henry (SS - Stone Mountain, Ga./Chamblee HS), Durlandis Hill (DE – Newnan, Ga./Newman HS), Brian Sutherland (WR – Smyrna, Ga./Miami University), Joshua Williams (DE – Griffin, Ga./Stephenson HS) and Kadeem Wise (CB - Lawrenceville, Ga./Berkmar HS).

Anthony and Wise highlight this group of players. Anthony (6-5 – 185) is tabbed as one of the top-100 receivers in the nation and a three-star recruit by Rivals.com. Wise (5-10 – 170) is a two-star prospect according to Rivals.com and Scout.com. He is listed at No. 55 among defensive backs in the nation according to ESPN.com.

Sutherland (5-10 – 175) is the lone signee who is not a current high school senior. He enrolled at UTC after transferring from Miami University in Ohio prior to the Spring semester. He was the top returner in Georgia following his senior year in 2007.

Awuah (5-9 – 190) was a member of the Cobb County Dynamite Dozen for the last two seasons. He was a quarterback in high school, but will likely move to running back with the Mocs. Francis (6-2 – 270) guided Walton High School to a 9-2 record and an appearance the state playoffs last year.

Henry, Hill and Williams are all expected to contribute on the defensive side of the ball for the Mocs. Henry (6-0 – 180) led Dekalb County with four interceptions last season. Hill (6-2 – 220) earned all-state recognition after guiding Newnan High School to the Georgia 5A semifinal game. Williams (6-3 – 210) earned first team all-state honors following his senior year.

The Mocs also picked up three other players from the state of Tennessee, including Will Brooks (FB – White Pine, Tenn./Jefferson County HS), D.J. Key (DB - Centerville, Tenn./Hickman County HS) and Graham Nichols (QB – Franklin, Tenn./Franklin HS).

Brooks (6-1 – 225) rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons. Key (6-0 – 180) earned all-state honors as a junior and was the Region 6AA Defensive MVP last season. Nichols (6-3 – 190) was a finalist for the Tennessee 5A Mr. Football award after leading Franklin to a 13-2 record and an appearance in the state championship game.

Not only do these student-athletes possess excellent resumes for their play on the field, they are also excellent students in the classroom. Of the 15 signees, nine were either honor roll students, members of the national honor society or in the Beta Club. Brooks was a class president and named the Student of the Year as a junior. Clemons earned two letters on the academic quiz team while Henry earned the PSAT National Merit Award. Sutherland was Campbell High School’s Scholar Athlete of the Year and Williams earned honors as the top biology student at Stephenson High School.

“We have signed a group of guys I think have great character, a passion for UTC, wanted to come to school here and felt good about putting their name on the dotted line,” said Huesman. “You can go out and recruit great student-athletes who are academic kids and win championships. I have said all along, we are going to graduate our football players and we are going to win championships.”

Season tickets are currently on sale for the 2009 season. Visit www.GoMocs.com and click on the ticket link or call the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS to purchase your season tickets today.

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