DERRICK KIRCE INDUCTED IN UTC HALL OF FAME
Derrick Kirce has been inducted to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2020 class includes conference champions, All-Americans, NCAA record holders and all-time greats at UTC. Kirce, a men’s basketball standout from 1990-1991, led an outstanding group that included volleyball’s Lara Newberry (2005-08), football’s Ronnie Powe (1976-79) and wrestling’s Cary Waller (1979-83). The inductees were honored at the annual Hall of Fame Banquet on February 28.
Kirce had a standout prep career that included a state championship at Booker High School where he earned all-state honors from his sophomore through senior seasons. He averaged 26 points as a sophomore, 28 as a junior and 31 his senior year. The Tornadoes won a state title when he was a junior in 1985. Recruited by colleges across the country, he accepted a scholarship to the University of Georgia and joined the basketball program in 1986. He started 18 of the 24 games as a freshman on a Bulldog team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds, but after returning for his sophomore season and playing in eight games.
Kirce left Georgia with the mindset that he wasn’t going to play hoops anymore but he continued his collegiate career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he was a two-time All-Southern Conference performer for the Mocs from 1990-91. His 1,113 career points are the second-most scored in a two-year period at UTC. He is the fastest in school history to 1,000 points, hitting that mark in just 45 games. His career 19.5 ppg average is the highest in school history and his 20.2 ppg in 1989-90 is the second-highest single-season average at Chattanooga. The Mocs’ MVP both years, Kirce once scored 19 points on future NBAer Robert Horry.
After graduating college, Kirce went undrafted but earned a tryout with the Los Angeles Lakers before playing in the now-defunct Global Basketball Association. A stint overseas in Switzerland, where he got his first experience coaching, ended when he wrecked his knee.
Kirce returned to Sarasota and became an assistant coach at Booker, first under Coach Ricky Thomas, then Lem Andrews. When Andrews resigned, Kirce took over the program. Coaching Eneil Polynice, Gary Clark, Marquis Robinson and Cliff McDonald, Kirce brought Booker High a state title in 2006. He now works for Better Tomorrows, a non-profit company based in Camden, New Jersey, that provides social services to low-income families.
The UTC Athletics Hall of Fame was established to formally recognize outstanding contributions to the heritage and tradition of the University’s intercollegiate athletics program. A total of 224 individuals have been inducted into the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame during special ceremonies held each year.
