UTC Mocs guard Greg Pryor (1) takes the ball to the top of the key at McKenzie Arena.Will Wade is all about the details. He wants his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball team to be just as focused on them as well.
Since the team has been allowed to practice, Wade has been harping on "the little things," making sure that everybody is in the right spot at the right time. Drills have been centered, for example, around how quickly the Mocs can get the ball out of bounds after an opponent's score and to the point guard, who gets to survey the scene and make sure everybody is where they need to be.
"We want to score quickly. We want to get the defense on their heels and not give them a chance to breathe if they're out of position," Wade said. "With that being the goal, everything matters."
Although the Mocs finished second in the conference at 75.4 points per game in Wade's inaugural season as coach last year, the offensive pace wasn't quite as fast as he would have liked -- due to limited depth. That doesn't figure to be a problem this season with 13 players on the roster capable of contributing, so the staff has been preaching a faster pace in practice. They keep a stopwatch and time how quickly the offense gets to the right position on the floor after a score.
Those spots aren't approximate, either; they're exact.
"Something as small as two feet can make a difference in our spacing," Wade said. "If we don't own the details, it makes things difficult, which is huge considering what we're doing."
Point guard Greg Pryor said the "12-second" drills help put the team in the right mindset for when games start, but he is prepared to adjust things should somebody not be in the right spot.
"If we can score quick, we can set up our press," he said. "We didn't really have the depth to play it like we wanted to, but we're deeper this year and guys have really bought into it [the press]."
The team, back at full strength medically, took Thursday off after practicing all week. The Mocs have a practice this afternoon before joining the women's basketball and wrestling programs for the downtown Ball N' Brawl event, which begins at 5.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.