UTC player Sydney Vanlandingham shoots the ball during Lady Mocs' basketball practice Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn.Second chances in college athletics don't come around often, and Sydney Vanlandingham wasn't even looking for one when she enrolled at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga last year.
But thanks to new surroundings and the sharp eyes of UTC assistant coach Katie Burrows, the former UT-Martin player finds herself back in Division I basketball after spending a year away from the sport.
"The opportunity came up, and I took it as a sign from God," she said after a UTC preseason practice last week. "It came as such an out-of-the blue thing, and I sat and thought, 'This is such a blessing and not a chance that many people get.'"
Vanlandingham signed with UT-Martin after graduating from Wilson Central High School, and she started the first six games of her freshman year with the Skyhawks and had eight total starts in the 2012-13 season. She scored in double figures four times, including a 12-point performance against Tennessee Tech.
But the 5-foot-11 forward from Hermitage, Tenn., saw her minutes decline as the season progressed, and by season's end she was ready to walk away from the game.
"Martin is a great program, but it just wasn't the program for me," she said. "I kind of lost my love for the game during my freshman year. Just lost the passion for it, wasn't very happy playing ball and going to school out there, so I thought I needed a change."
Vanlandingham came to UTC, playing intramural basketball and helping coach high school girls at Hixson, but for the most part just being a regular college student.
But she couldn't escape the notice of Burrows, who had recruited Vanlandingham under former Mocs coach Wes Moore and happened to catch the women's intramural championship game last spring.
"I was sticking around watching their championship game after we'd had a shoot-around because I wanted to see (former UTC player) Jenaya Wade-Fray play," Burrows said. "I see Sydney walk in, and I'm saying, 'I know that kid. How do I know that kid?'
"I asked Janaya who it was, and when she told me, I said, 'Sydney Vanlandingham? What is she doing here?'"
Now on Burrows' radar and with UTC looking to add a few more players after losing five seniors, Vanlandingham was invited to play some pickup with the Mocs and eventually was offered a chance to join the team.
"I'm getting a second chance, so why not take it," Vanlandingham said. "I worked out with the team a couple of times, loved the coaching staff and the girls and just realized this was a different program and more laid back."
For UTC coach Jim Foster, Vanlandingham is more than your run-of-the-mill intramural player.
"She's not really an intramural player," he said. "She had a scholarship and was a Division I player. ... I wouldn't put her in the category of finding someone in the intramural ranks. We knew she was around."
Before bringing her onto the team, Burrows made sure that Vanlandingham understood the commitment she would be making to return to Division I basketball.
"When you're out of it for a year it can be kind of freeing, and you have to decide if you want to be pulled back in," Burrows said. "I think she missed it, and I think she saw that she would get along well with the girls. ... I'm sure it also helps knowing that she's also going to get her school paid for."
Vanlandingham will have three seasons of eligibility at UTC, and she's been working to knock the rust off as the Mocs prepare to open the season Nov. 17 at home against Villanova.
"Coach Foster and the entire coaching staff have been very welcoming," she said. "After taking a year off, I'm kind of out of my groove a little bit, but everyone has been very patient with me as I get back into the flow of things."
In addition to her new surroundings and a new playbook at UTC, Vanlandingham also is having to learn to play more in the lane, working in recent practices with taller players such as Jasmine Joyner, Ansley Chilton and Ashlyn Wert.
"They're really trying to work me into playing the 4 position, which is kind of new to me," Vanlandingham said. "I'm used to playing the 3 out on the wing and at the guard position.
"But I've been playing the 4 with the bigger girls and posting up more and playing more in that 15-foot range. I'm really trying to get used to that. I'm a little rusty right now, but with time I plan on getting it down at that position."
Burrows and Foster said the new position should be a good fit for Vanlandingham, who is enjoying her new city, school and teammates while rediscovering her love for the game she thought she'd left behind.
"It's a blessing, to say the least," she said. "Not many people get to play for someone like (Foster) or get a second chance to come back into basketball with an even better opportunity."
Contact Jim Tanner at jtanner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6478. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.