A change in philosophy

Since transitioning to the Division I level, Chattanooga has long relied on transfers and junior college players to bolster its roster on a yearly basis. A recent shift in philosophy by the university's athletic administration has altered those long relied upon tenets. Head coach John Shulman is now looking to stock the UTC lineup with recruited freshmen that will remain in the program as four-year players. (Photo: Billy Weeks)

Peering over John Shulman’s right shoulder in his McKenzie Arena office, a 7-year-old issue of Street & Smith’s watches the Chattanooga coach operate.

On Jan. 25, 2005, the magazine declared UTC one of the top 100 college basketball programs of all time, despite it playing at the Division I level for a mere 28 years. Shulman is entrusted with shepherding that tradition. 

UTC’s mores, however, are atypical. The program carved its niche behind a steady string of solid coaching hires, an energized fan base and a hodgepodge of homegrown talent, DI transfers and junior college enrollees. It worked, for a long time.

Now, the recipe is about to change.

“We’re embarking on a completely new era,” Shulman said.

Per a change in philosophy enacted by athletic director Rick Hart last year, the Chattanooga men’s program no longer accepts junior college transfers. Those doors are locked. Division I transfers—such as current seniors Keegan Bell (Vanderbilt), Omar Wattad (Georgetown), suspended forward Chris Early (Oklahoma), junior Drazen Zlovaric (Georgia) and sophomore Z. Mason (Ole Miss)—are still welcomed, but far less relied upon. Shulman is no longer expected to plug holes with space-fillers. Chattanooga will scout, recruit, develop and furnish itself with Division I talent. At least that’s the plan. Gone are the days of leasing talent to fill needs.

“I’m not saying we won’t have another transfer, but we’re going to build our program a little differently, in terms of using traditional freshmen,” Hart said.

This is far from being a mere 180. This is a 360, with maybe a somersault and a backflip thrown in. The shift was apparent this year. Shulman welcomed four scholarship freshmen to campus, easily the largest class of first-year players in recent history. Once Shulman’s current seniors depart, an immense paradigm shift in UTC basketball will occur.

Next year, Shulman says, will mark the first time in at least 35 years that a Chattanooga roster will not feature a junior college player. If the season ended today, a combined 3,521 points, 1,501 rebounds and 933 assists would vanish from the roster. In the past, a mad dash for JUCO replacements would already be underway. Not anymore. 

“Now, it’s just different,” Shulman said. “You have to think on the front end. You have to go get talented young kids and throw them to the wolves. That’s today’s age. That’s what we’re doing.

Seven of UTC’s top 20 all-time scorers didn’t enter as freshmen—five were JUCOs and two transferred. When star forward Johnny Taylor turned the 1997 Mocs into the first Southern Conference team to reach the Sweet 16 since 1976, he did so after coming to UTC via Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. 

“We’ve had some great transfer students come through here—both junior college and four-year students,” Hart said. “Nothing I say is meant to point to them as non-desirable, but one of the things you notice is when too much of your program is built on transfer student athletes, the community doesn’t get to know them.”

Another reason for pushing toward a reliance on freshmen signees is the four-year Academic Progress Rate (APR), the NCAA’s scorecard that tracks classroom performances of Division I sports teams. Though not always the case, junior college student-athletes can be accompanied by academic risk. Additionally, difficulties can arise with credits from junior colleges transferring over to an athlete’s major of choice at UTC.

For Shulman, UTC’s change of identity is a major shift. He intended to tap the junior college landscape to fill a void in the frontcourt after losing both centers after last season. That was not allowed under the new philosophy. He says he and his staff have adjusted, but it’s difficult to remove a pillar of the program’s foundation and still expect to keep balance.

“I can go either way,” Shulman said. “I understand what Rick is saying, and I understand the APR and, in theory, this is how I wanted to build a program to start with. But it’s hard at Chattanooga with the tradition to do that. That takes time. You’re going to be very young for a little bit until you get it going.”

Hart recognizes immediate results might not be ... immediate. 

“It’s going to be a challenge, I’m sure, because we will have youth and inexperience, and we won’t just plug guys in,” said the sixth-year athletic director. “We’ve got to try it.”

The problem is, there’s no proof to show it can work. When Shulman called a former UTC coach who “had a lot of success here” and asked, "Do you think we have to have junior college kids at Chattanooga to win?” the response was telling. 

Shulman smirked when recounting the conversation.

“He told me, ‘No, not if you don’t want to win championships, but if you want to win championships, yes, and don’t forget about the transfers.'”

In the new era of UTC basketball, that's no longer an option.