A few minutes before the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team took the court against visiting Charlotte on Sunday afternoon, first-year Mocs coach Lamont Paris looked toward the visitors' bench and spied the third-year coach of the 49ers: Mark Price.
Around the Scenic City, Price is probably best remembered for his high-scoring days at Georgia Tech, where he, long, tall John Salley, Bruce Dalrymple, Duane Ferrell and the gang made the Yellow Jackets the No. 1 team in Sports Illustrated's 1985-86 preseason rankings.
That was also shortly before they suffered an early loss to Michigan on their way to a game at the Roundhouse against UTC. But Paris wasn't around for any of that. He grew up in Ohio, where he followed Price while the Tech product was tossing in 3-pointers for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.
"I was always a Lakers fan, number one," Paris noted a few minutes after the Mocs had topped Price's 49ers 64-50 to improve to 5-5 this season. "But the Cavs were my second team. And I was a huge fan of Mark Price. So, yes, when I saw him before the game, there was a little nostalgia there."
Price admitted it was a little nostalgic for him, too.
"Even though it was 32 years ago, I still remember playing here," he recalled. "We'd just lost to Michigan. We came up here, and I think I had a pretty big game (25 points). I know we won (94-74). I still keep up with a lot of those guys - Salley, Dalrymple, Ferrell. Those were great times."
But if this men's/women's doubleheader began in the best way possible for the host school, it ended roughly for the UTC women, who tasted defeat for the first time since Nov. 15, their 64-44 loss to Virginia Tech snapping a six-game winning streak that had followed an 0-3 start.
In characteristic Jim Foster fashion, this is how the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame coach answered a question concerning what he found positive about the loss: "The game ended. And we are healthy."
Otherwise, he offered this assessment of his team's struggles against the Hokies, who improved to 9-2 this season: "We told them (concerning one Virginia Tech player in the scouting report) no standstill shots. Make her put the ball on the floor. She took nine standstill shots. We weren't accountable today."
Maybe not this particular frigid Sunday afternoon. Virginia Tech's guards were noticeably quicker, especially off the bounce. Hokies post player Regan Magarity - her father, West Point women's coach Dave Magarity, is a longtime Foster friend - was too strong and too polished inside, finishing with 14 points, 10 boards and two blocks.
Only one Moc - sophomore guard Lakelyn Bouldin - scored in double figures (15 points) and sisters Keiana and Aryanna Gilbert were the only other UTC players to make more than one field goal as the Mocs hit but 31 percent from the field for the game.
But while the women might have been overmatched against physical, athletic Virginia Tech, the men have quickly adapted to Paris's cerebral style that focuses on team defense and patient, accurate shooting.
"If we do what Coach Paris tells us to do, everything works," said sophomore guard Rodney Chatman, who led the Mocs with 23 points. "We played as a team instead of individuals."
Added junior Nat Dixon, who scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds and stole the ball twice: "Rodney did a great job of running the show today and did a great job of controlling the pace and playing Chattanooga basketball."
Later, Dixon was asked what it means to play "Chattanooga basketball" under the former Wisconsin assistant.
"Chattanooga basketball is playing to our principles," Dixon said. "Using our brains on offense and defense. Getting to the foul line and making our free throws."
In many ways, this sounds like Foster, one of the most cerebral basketball coaches on the planet, both on the court and off. Paris, though more than 25 years younger, often seems cut from the same cloth, just much less further along in his career.
"I'm very happy with the progress we're making, but don't tell them that," said Paris, never before a college head coach. "I don't want them to be complacent."
But if they are, he can always turn to Foster to bring them back to the harsh reality there are still a lot of teams who are both more talented and more successful than them.
Or as the 69-year-old winner of 892 Division I women's college games groused late Sunday afternoon after his 332nd loss, "People make so many excuses for kids today."
Just not, thankfully, the two men in charge of UTC's basketball programs.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.
