Greatest Mocs of All-Time

UTC is celebrating 25 years in MacKenzie Arena this year. This Saturday is the final home game of the season for the Mocs and the university will announce its 25th Anniversary Team during halftime of the game.

Here at the Scenic City Sportsblog, we can't wait for Saturday evening. We have our own list of the greatest Mocs.

I know what you are thinking: what do you know about the Mocs?

Even though they have not been a topic of the SCSB very often, the Mocs and I go way back. Some of my favorite childhood memories are sitting with my friends Dylan and Ruston for games at the Roundhouse. I remember the night Lavert Threats beat a ranked ETSU team with two clutch free throws. I remember heckling teams in the consolation game of the Dr. Pepper Classic. I remember Dylan's dad George always making us leave early to avoid traffic.

That last one is silly, but I think about it because George left the Southern Conference tournament game when Keith Nelson made the dramatic shot to beat Western Carolina early and only knew the Mocs had won by the explosion from the arena behind him.

Back to the team - there are three easy picks and the rest took some time and thought. The three gimmes are:

Gerald Wilkins
Willie White
Johnny Taylor

Wilkins and White were before my time, but I heard the tales. Of course, Wilkins went on to a terrific NBA career after his UTC days. Taylor was the horse that took the Mocs to the Sweet Sixteen in 1997. He was a 1st-round pick of the Orlando Magic, but never panned out in the NBA and is currently playing in Belgium.

The last two all-time Mocs for me are:

Keith Nelson
Brandon Born

Nelson was a force inside that took the Mocs to the dance in the early 1990s. He is remembered by Mocs fans for the aforementioned game-winner that came when the Mocs trailed the Catamounts with the ball under their own basket. A baseball pass and short jumper later, the Mocs were celebrating an improbable victory.

Brandon Born was a pure shooter. I remember several nights when Born shot the opposition out of the gym. He was tall enough to be a post-player, but only weighed about 155 lbs and had to shoot from the perimeter to be effective. As his career in Chattanooga progressed, so did his abilities behind the arc.

Born barely made my cut about other standouts like Tim Brooks and Derrick Kirce. Of course, the coach of the Mocs is Mack McCarthy who led UTC to its improbable Sweet Sixteen run.

I'll update this on Saturday with the official picks.