Walters returns to UTC for Dr Pepper

photo Staff Photo by Tim Barber/Chattanooga Times Free Press Montreat coach Lincoln Walters, left, a former Chattanooga basketball Moc, directs his team in a drill during an afternoon practice at McKenzie Arena in preparation for Wednesday's start of the Dr Pepper Classic.

Montreat coach Lincoln Walters took a quick trip to the upper deck of McKenzie Arena as his Cavaliers prepared for a shoot-around on Tuesday.

Walters glanced up to the south end of the arena where a Sweet 16 banner hangs next to another yellow cloth listing the years that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga participated in the NCAA basketball tournament.

Flashbacks flooded his mind -- good and bad.

"There are a lot of stories that I remember, and one is running those upper-deck steps every other day," Walters said. "Coach [Mack McCarthy] would get mad, kick the ball up there and tell us to go get it."

Walters played for the Mocs from 1994-98 under then-coaches McCarthy and Henry Dickerson. Walters started 11 games as a freshman, but spent most of his career as a reserve guard -- but still a contributor to the 1995 SoCon championship squad and the '97 Sweet 16 squad.

"We put a couple of banners up there," Walters said. "In 1995 we played UConn and played Ray Allen, and then in 1997, they treated us like the President."

Walters, Montreat's first-year coach, will face the Mocs tonight at 7 in the nightcap of the Dr Pepper Classic's first day.

"When I got the job, one of the first calls I made about scheduling was to John [Shulman], and we tried to line up an early game," Walters said. "And he said something about possibly playing in the Dr Pepper Classic. And I remembered playing in it, but never thought about standing on the sideline and coaching in it."

Georgia State will face Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 4:30 in the opener. The first-day losers will play Thursday at 4:30 and the championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

"I was on the bus, talking to my wife [Charlotte] saying what a great experience it was playing here," Walters said. "She told me to make the most of my time here this week.

"I'd love another Cinderella story dealing with Chattanooga. But the stars have to be aligned, all of our shots have to go in, and the refs have to be on our side."

Walters has been back to McKenzie Arena about a dozen times since his graduation. He's attended a few games and a few UTC practices. He's spent most of his years since graduation in different roles at Montreat -- from assistant coaching to heading up fund-raising efforts.

He also spent three years in administration at Marion Christian Academy, where he learned that coaching is his true passion.

"I realized basketball was it," Walters said. "I love kids, but I love coaching a lot more so getting back into coaching was important."

Facebook allowed Walters to reconnect with some of his former teammates, including Isaac Connor, David Phillips, and a few others. He spoke with Wes Moore on the phone Tuesday for the first time in almost a decade and emphasized that the two of them should meet up this week.

"If you've still got some eligibility," Walters joked with Moore, "I'm sure we can get No. 10 on your back for a couple games."

But UTC coach Shulman has had Moore rooting for him and the Mocs. Shulman was an assistant at ETSU and Wofford when Walters sported MOCS across his chest.

"As you get older you can lie more, so I can say that Lincoln was an unbelievable athletic 2-man, a lefty shooter that could make a shot and he was on everybody's scouting report," said Shulman, who may not have reserve forward Jahmal Burroughs who sprained his right ankle Monday night.

"A nice thing about Chattanooga is that former players want to come back and they love it here," Shulman said. "We make them feel welcome. We make them feel special.

"But I don't want it to be too special for him. We'll clap for him before the game, then he's just the opposing coach. Then after the game... it depends what happens."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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