Mocs Basketball Sign Four During Early Signing Period

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Chattanooga Mocs Head Men’s Basketball Coach Will Wade announced the signing of four prep standouts to the 2015 recruiting class. Wade quickly noted that the Mocs added to targeted areas.

“We feel good about this class,” Wade said. “Our staff worked very hard to secure the commitments and see things through to signing day. There were a couple areas we needed to address. And we did that.

“One was point guard and we got that with Austin Donaldson”.

The Mocs got their man in Donaldson. With a sophomore starter at the position, this was an area of intense focus by the staff.

“Austin has a college-ready body. He’s just an incredible kid on and off the floor” Wade noted.

Donaldson is considered one of the top point guards in the state of Georgia. He led Dan Maehlman’s Jonesboro High School Cardinals to the Class 4A state title in his first season as a starter. The 6’1” Donaldson averaged 8.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.

Just as importantly, Austin carries a 3.8 grade point average to the Scenic City. He chose Chattanooga over Sun Belt Conference member Troy. He was ranked No. 8 overall in Georgia by bigshots.net just ahead of signees for Xavier, Cincinnati, Mississippi State and Tennessee.

Depth in the post was another issue. The Mocs have one true “big” in Justin Tuoyo so to get someone with the upside of Kalina was a must.

“The second thing we needed was some size and we addressed that in a big way with Trey Kalina,” Wade added. “Wes Long did a phenomenal job building a relationship with the Kalina family. He’s got a chance to be a tremendous player. He’s a high IQ guy, he’s got a chance to be very good for us.”

Kalina is 6’11” post out of North Cobb Christian in Atlanta, Ga., where he plays for Greg Matta. A three-star prospect per future150.com, he ranks as No. 37 nationally at his position, 11th-best overall in Georgia. He averaged 8.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game for a 21-9 Eagles team in 2013-14. He chose Chattanooga after visits to LaSalle, Appalachian State and Liberty.

The first commit of this year’s class was ZaQwaun Matthews. He is a three-star prospect according to Rivals.com as an athletic wing. His length and quickness are perfect fits for “Chaos”.

“ZaQwaun Matthews was our first signee,” Wade continued. “He’s a perimeter player who’s bigger and has length. He can really shoot it and score it.

“He fits our style of play.”

Matthews is listed as a 6’4” combo guard. He averaged 15.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest for coach Wes Hepler at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, N.C. His Mustangs reached the first round of the state tournament and he decided on the Mocs over interest from Richmond, Charlotte and East Carolina. He earned Southwestern 4A All-Conference from the Charlotte Observer.

The Mocs also wanted to add another defender…someone to “hound” the ball. That’s Lee to a tee.

“We also needed to address our on-the-ball defense,” stated Wade. “Lamarcus Lee was the defensive MVP for his area. He’s like our other Louisiana kids Casey Jones and Shaq Preston. They’re great kids, blue-collar kids. He’s just like those guys in that respect.”

Lee, a 6’2” combo guard from Baton Rouge, La., is the No. 15 prospect by NOLA.com/Times-Picayune. His Scotlandville Magnet Hornets are trying to reach a sixth straight Class 5A championship game under coach Carlos Sample. The Hornets won it all in 2012 and 2013. He reportedly received offers from VCU and South Alabama and is a two-star wing according to verbalcommits.com.

“They all come from winning programs,” summed up Wade. “That’s important to us. Austin won a state title last year, Lamarcus’ team has played in the state championship game every year he’s been there winning twice. Trey was a vital cog on a really good North Cobb Christian team and ZaQwaun’s Myers Park team has been one of the better programs in the Charlotte area for a long time.

“We wanted guys who came from winning programs…guys who are used to a winning standard."