Happy Wednesday, Ball-Knowers!

Today we have a dispatch from my current home of Chattanooga. Our Summer School film study series might as well just be called ‘School’ since we are officially in session but it’s never too late to learn some new things. Keep an eye out tomorrow for our film segment with UT-Chattanooga head women’s basketball coach Deandra Schirmer, who teaches us about inbound plays and what makes a good ‘ATO’ (after timeout) scheme.

Additionally, Ball-Knowers will get a full feature and interview below about how UTC, like many other mid-majors in women’s basketball, is recalibrating their approach to success in a transfer portal and NIL world.

We’re still on the road this fall to make you a better and smarter Ball-Knower, so stay tuned for more installments ahead!

SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell joined me on a special episode of Luxury Tax…

And Tyler breaks down some of the biggest storylines going into the WNBA season…

Mercedes Russell is more than just a towering presence for the Indiana Fever by Tony East, The IX Sports

Wings' years of patience finally paying off with defensive star Awak Kuier by Myah Taylor, Dallas Morning News

I’m voting Angel Reese for Defensive Player of the Year, and here’s why by Noa Dalzell, SB Nation

by Andrew Haubner

Chattanooga is, in many ways, the southern bookend of the Appalachian Mountain Range. Nicknamed ‘The Scenic City’, it carries a lot of similarities to another Appalachian-adjacent city: Burlington, Vermont. Where ‘Burly’ has the University of Vermont, maple syrup and Lake Champlain, Chattanooga boasts the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, moon pies and the Tennessee River.

And Deandra Schirmer, third year head coach of UTC women’s basketball, is interested in leaning into the quirks and uniqueness of her city as a way to build her program.

“[We’re] the Subaru,” she jokes, “We have a niche group.”

Now, it’s not just the city, the proximity to the outdoors, the university’s acclaimed engineering program or the culture that permeates the Cumberland Plateau that Schirmer believes is the draw. It’s also the legacy of Mocs women’s basketball and the regular appearances they make in the SoCon Tournament finals and NCAA Tournaments.