Wes Moore helping to recharge Chattanooga Christian School's basketball programs

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / CCS coach Wes Moore talks to his players between quarters during their game at Notre Dame on Friday, December 16, 2022.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / CCS coach Wes Moore talks to his players between quarters during their game at Notre Dame on Friday, December 16, 2022.

Wes Moore can't deny there is a buzz surrounding the basketball programs at Chattanooga Christian School.

After struggling on the court for the past three seasons -- the boys' and girls' programs combined for barely more than 40 wins during that time -- the Chargers are brimming with potential.

With solid young talent and new excitement surrounding both programs, a return to the heyday of CCS basketball appears to be on the horizon.

"Chattanooga Christian has been a basketball school for a long time," said Moore, the Chargers first-year head coach and a 1995 CCS graduate who scored more than 2,700 points and had more than 1,000 assists before starring at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

"I take a lot of pride in this school's basketball history," Moore said. "It's still got a lot of potential. There are so many things we can achieve here. We have some special kids here who are capable of doing great things."

After Tennessee Temple's run of three Class A state championships in 2002, 2003 and 2007, CCS is the last local team to win a TSSAA boys' basketball state title.

  photo  Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / CCS (2) Dre Jackson shoots the ball during their game at Notre Dame on Friday, December 16, 2022.
 
 

Led by two-time Mr. Basketball winner Jason Holwerda -- who scored 3,033 career points and went on to help Vanderbilt to a Sweet 16 run in 2004 -- the Chargers claimed the Class A state championship in 2001 with a 57-54 win over Ezell-Harding.

This year, the Chargers are 7-4 overall, which includes last week's impressive 87-70 home victory over Hamilton Heights. The quick start is a major turnaround after CCS won just 12 games and had zero Division II-AA region victories over the past two years.

Leading the charge has been junior newcomer Dre Jackson, a 6-foot-1 point guard who is averaging 22.5 points, eight rebounds, six assists and better than four steals per game after transferring from Christian Heritage.

Versatile freshman guard Reid Conley has also impressed after playing plenty of varsity minutes for the Chargers as an eighth grader. CCS also features 6-foot-5 sophomore Caiden Bauldwin and a strong post player in Jermaine Stinson, who was a two-way football standout for a state semifinalist team.

"The goal is to certainly build a state championship caliber program here," Moore said. "There are a lot of steps to get to that goal. When we walk into the gym every day, we want to compete at that level. It takes time to build, but if we make habits of playing unselfish and leaving it all on the floor, we can get there. It's going to take all 13 kids on the team and all of the coaches to get to the top spot."

Before accepting the boys' head coaching position last March, Moore spent the past five seasons leading the girls' middle school program and assisting the varsity girls' program.

Moore is still an assistant for the Lady Chargers, who have unlimited potential. The CCS girls are 7-3 overall this season after winning a combined 14 games the previous three seasons.

Eighth grade point guard Aubriyana Camp is averaging 27 points per game for the Lady Chargers varsity program, which has another star on the rise in seventh grader Kamora "MoMo" Moore.

"What's exciting is the kind of kids we have here," Coach Moore said. "They are talented kids who want to be the hardest worker in practice every day. I get text after text after text from our players asking what time is the gym open and can I get in the gym? They want to be the best they can be and make the most of all of their talent. The future is extremely bright going forward for CCS basketball."

  photo  Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / CCS (22) Isaiah McKenzie shoots the ball as Notre Dame (11) Gaas Herman defends during their game at Notre Dame on Friday, December 16, 2022.
 
 

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