Chattanooga played there out of conference schedule kind of topsy-turvy.  They had some good games and some not so well.  They lost to some teams they should have beaten and this frustrated Coach Shumate.  Chattanooga lost 4 of their first 7 and 7 of their first 12 and fans were wondering if this team could swim in the Deep Waters?  Chattanooga never really traveled far out of their circumference.  Early wins over Middle Tennessee State at the brand-new McKenzie Arena (built due to the team’s success and to replace Maclellan Gymnasium) and at Samford in Alabama from similar sized conference.  They did lose their first game when they wandered into the deeper old boys conference they call the SEC succumbing to Ole Miss in Oxford.   

Junior Wayne Golden is the go to guy for Chattanooga and truly is the Pied Piper of this program.  It seems like it was Ions ago but Chattanooga was not a great program never having won 20 games before Golden and company arrived from Louisville.  The ‘Louisville Connection’ made this program as Assistant Coach Ralph Underhill made it a point to recruit from that underrated gold mine of basketball Nirvana.  Underhill got Kevin Gray to commit and then got Golden’s good friend Herbert ‘Book’ McCray to commit.  Golden and McCray had led Shawnee High to a state title and when his buddy decided to go play down in Tennessee he grabbed a seat on that train.  Perhaps because he was guaranteed playing time from the get go (being a Division Two program there was no freshman waiting year as there was for Division One and Golden knew he would be in the starting lineup from day one and not have to wait his turn like they did at the basketball ‘assembly lines’ in his home town and just up the road in Lexington) and the fact at six five he is more of a tweener, combo forward.  Once Wayne decided to come south the rest followed ala the original Louisville ‘Golden Boy’ Paul Hornung decided to become a ‘golden domer.’  Golden is not huge but is really gifted in the post and on the wing.  He has a variety of moves and uses his body to position well.  Golden is not a terrific rebounder but Chattanooga count on him to rotate their half-court offense through and he has been very productive in this role.  He also loves the chance to run the court and fill the lane which is one of his strengths and part of this program’s personality.  Chattanooga have become a different program with Golden and his Louisville boys coming to town winning 20 games their first year and the D-2 National Championship two years ago.  This was a whole new world jumping up to D-1 but Chattanooga knew this was their guy to lead them into the SoCon.  Golden was well having another ‘golden’ season when he took an elbow down on the blocks from Anthony Mason in another contentious game with rival Tennessee State.  It was late in the game and he had just fouled out Len Robinson with a nice move and mid-range jumper over the Truck and got a foul call which apparently Mason did not like.  The flagrant and malicious foul broke his jaw which had to be wired shut and he missed five games recovering.  Sadly, TSUs came back in that game to win that one without Chattanooga ‘Golden Boy’ on the court and his teammates worrying about his health and future.  Without their leader Chattanooga were not the same team losing that one barely beating VMI and losing two tough ones to SoCon teams from the Palmetto State on a road trip he did not even attend.  The amazing thing is this kid came back and played the rest of the year with a wired jaw having to drink milk shakes to try and keep some weight in which has been a challenge for this rail thin kid hanging out with guys much bigger than him in the paint.  His stats dipped (he was averaging over 15 a game and 6 boards before the injury) but just being on the court was a huge plus as his teammates look up to this kid who showed the toughness of a G.I. in coming back.  

 Sophomore Willie White is another scorer who fits in well with Shumate’s style and fills it up from the wings.  White was Mr. Consistent this season and was the only player to appear in all 30 games.  White can light it up from the perimeter and can also run with his compadres.  At six three he is a physical player who can go inside and is terrific creating shots but can also hit the mid-range jumper.  White is the best clutch shooter on the team that almost always takes the big shot.  White does everything well as he helps on the boards and can create shots for himself and his teammates as he is a terrific passer.  He came on very strong down the stretch and pushed Golden for the team leadership in scoring. White is a Memphis native who really is a vastly underrated player that plays in the shadow of Golden but is every bit as important to Chattanooga’s future.   

 Now for the rest of the team as Chattanooga were loaded at the wings but needed someone to grab the ball off the iron and get the ball down the court on their terrific break.  The first part proved to be difficult but the distribution of the ball to these high scoring wings was in good hands.  Junior William Gordon handled most of the point guard duties. ‘Too Quick’ Gordon is part of the Louisville connection and has been a huge part of the team’s success since he arrived in town.  He came the same year as Golden and company but is a few years older as he sat out a few years after high school but Underhill saw him playing some pickup games with these guys and knew they needed this kid.  Gordon is a charismatic player who can score with his lightening quickness going to the hoop and knows how to get the ball to the right guys when he is picked up.  He did not score as much as he did in the championship year as Shumate wanted him to be more of a pass first point guard and he obliged to keep his starting role.  Gordon is not on par with his teammates athletically and is not a great shooter and did lose some time as the season progressed.  Still, he is the quarterback and did play solid defense and handled the ball well and can flat get to the hoop.  

The difference maker for Chattanooga was big man Walter ‘Moose’ McGary. McGary missed a few games early not because of injury but to be honest to his lack of ability.  Even when he was eligible he did not play well but they needed his size up front.  McGary was a whole new player when Shumate went back to him and he was a big part of Chattanooga success.  The junior center can post up with his size but does not but does not butter bread scoring. This Birmingham kid is a good rebounder and a really a solid low-post defender.  McGary may have been the key element to the whole success as he barely played the first ten games.  When Shumate finally put him in, Chattanooga took off.  He is a gamer and the fans love the way he plays.  It is wide open for the post spot next to McGary as many of the players who had manned these positions slid back immensely in the new world of D-1.  Seniors David Bryan and Larry Barnett were way out of their league with their lack of size and were deep on the bench by mid-season.  Sophomore Gary Stitch and Keith Parker played well but are not big time bangers and as solid as McGary is he is only 6’7.  This team needs size and are so desperate they are bringing in a skinny 6’10 Juco kid who did not even average ten points a game. A couple of sophomores came up after solid years on the JV and can bang.  Lance Fulse and Stanford Strickland are not afraid to mix it up but Fulse is only 6’6 and Strickland 6’7.  Still, Shumate and assistant Mack McCarthy (who coaches the JV) love their toughness and they might be able to get away with this lack of size in the SoCon.  No seven foot monsters like are dominating the newly named A-Sun.  But still Shumate wants somebody who can guard the rim so he can press with those athletic wings (with more coming) and apparently that Illinois Juco kid can. 

Chattanooga has a good bench which Coach Shumate used well.  The aforementioned Gray was the first guy off the bench and can flat shoot.  This lefty plays better in big games and though he was shuttled to the bench to put in White, he accepted this role with the gusto of a six year old at a T-Ball game. Fellow junior Ralph Simpson and Greg Andrews are two more back court studs who can score.  Neither is going to challenge Gray for their perimeter shot but they will get some minutes.  Fellow junior Tom Losh is a gamer but too small for post at 6’3 and not quick enough for wing.  Senior Howard Sompayrac went into last season looking to get serious minutes in his last year but got hurt five games in and his season was done.  He got approved a medical redshirt year and is deciding whether he will come back but might be too low on the totem pole.  Speaking of totem pole, sophomores Eric Smith and James Jones were a great combo on the JV on the wings but might be stuck there again with White and Golden in front of them and now they have some athletic stud transferring in from a JC.  This Atlanta kid is related to Georgia’s newest superstar Dominque Wilkins and supposedly can jump almost as high.  Great timing as Chattanooga travels down to Athens in January as the brothers will undoubtedly try to have their own dunk competition.   

Chattanooga has let the college basketball world know that a team can make the move form Division 2 to Division 1 and still compete.  Chattanooga finished second in the Southern Conference and quite easily could have been dancing. Despite their success, Chattanooga stayed at home for the postseason which did not make the fans happy.  Apparently the Old Boys Network that covers the South for football reaches over to the basketball court as well and you have to earn your place.  After all, the SEC got four schools in the NIT while the second-place team from the SoCon could not make it in.  Still, this program is well on it’s way to becoming the same kind of power they were in Division 2 if they can continue to recruit the kind of players that nobody else seems to want and they know are something special.  They still have to find some guys that are a bit bigger though in the SoCon that is not a must.  But it would help the press they want to do to take advantage of their great wings if they could find a goalie and someone who can grab some boards.  But for now what they are doing is working and this small little program is showing that you do not have to have the pedigree or history of a Kentucky or UCLA to become a basketball juggernaut.