Randy Smith: Remembering The 1981 Chattanooga Mocs Friday, February 12, 2021 - by Randy Smith
Randy Smith
It s hard to believe it has been 40 years since the UTC men s basketball team made their first appearance in the NCAA Division-I basketball tournament. They claimed the Southern Conference Championship in Coach Murray Arnold s second year at the helm, the first of three consecutive league titles. There was a big group of talented newcomers to enter the UTC program that season - a couple of junior college transfers who made a huge impact in Nick Morken and Russ Schoene and a hot shooting guard from Memphis named Willie White. But the catalysts for that 1980-81 squad were both holdovers from Coach Ron Shumate s tenure. Forwards Eric Smith and James Jones were the top two scorers on the team and helped guide the Mocs to a 21-9 overall record.