Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster watches his team practice in this March 21, 2014, photo.University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach Jim Foster gathered his team Sunday afternoon on the practice court at the Lawson Center to open preseason practice. Foster told his players he thinks they can be very good - especially on defense - but that he will expect a lot of them in the coming weeks as they prepare to host Villanova in the Mocs' season opener Nov. 14.
After losing five seniors from last season's Southern Conference championship squad, there's a lot of work to be done in the next month, although NCAA rule changes allowing more interaction with players during the summer have given Foster and his staff a jump start.
"It's a lot different than it used to be," he said before opening practice Sunday. "There used to be a lot of excitement on the first day and you had to squeeze a lot into a little time, in my mind.
"Now, we have these opportunities a couple of hours a week in the summer with the whole group and some individual stuff. You start a lot different than you used to, and it's not all teaching the first day. There's a lot of tightening up. Because you can be with them longer, you can tighten up some loose ends. You're better prepared, I think."
SoCon Female Athlete of the Year Taylor Hall and dominating post players Ashlen Dewart and Faith Dupree are no longer part of the Mocs roster, and valuable perimeter players Meghan Downs and Alex Black are gone as well. But the addition of five newcomers joining the returning players gives UTC a chance to play a different style from last season.
"I feel like we're going to be pretty dominant with our defense," senior Ka'Vonne Towns said. "And with our running game I feel like we're going to be able to get up and down the floor pretty quick."
Foster also said that having a more athletic squad could create a different type of team and allow a more up-tempo style of play, but he reminded his team before practice that they are going to have to communicate better if they want to be successful.
"I need to be more vocal," sophomore guard Chelsey Shumpert said. "Last season, I can't say I wasn't comfortable, but this year I need to be way more comfortable getting my team together because we have a lot of freshmen plus a transfer. Being more vocal will help me a lot.
"Each day we're getting better, and we've had individual workouts. So we're perfecting our game. We've got spots to fill, but I'm not worried about that. We just want to go out and compete."
As a freshman last season, Jasmine Joyner quickly made a name for herself as a shot-blocker, getting a team-best 56 blocks in just 25 games playing behind Dewart and Dupree. This year, she will need to continue to improve on both ends of the court as the team leader under the basket.
"Last year I did more on the defensive end and getting rebounds," Joyner said. "But this year I have to do more on offense ... to put up shots and be aggressive. I'm working on that this preseason. I've worked to find my strengths. If I'm going up against a big post player, posting up may not be good, so I'm working on my driving and dish off to the guards. And I'm also working on my step backs and my shooting."
With a daunting nonconference schedule that includes games against two of last season's Final Four teams -- Notre Dame and Stanford -- as well as a big game against Tennessee on Nov. 26 at McKenzie Arena, team leadership will be important. Foster said it's too early to tell who will step up and take charge of the 2014-15 Mocs.
"People think they can teach [leadership], and people make a lot of money writing books about it. But not every West Point, Annapolis and Air Force academy graduate are great leaders, and Colin Powell went through the ROTC at a public university. It's not easy to know [who the team leaders will be]," Foster said.
The challenge of playing some of the best teams in the nation excites Joyner, and she thinks the young UTC team has the chance to do good things this season and live up to the high standards set by previous UTC teams.
"In practice these girls really shocked me at what we can do, and then Coach Foster can put his tweaks in it," she said. "I think once we get those tweaks in and we just go out and play ball, it's going to be good.
"Even though we lost five amazing seniors from last year, I feel like we've transformed into -- I don't want to say a better team -- but a new and different team that's going to be way different than last year."
Contact Jim Tanner at jtanner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6478. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.