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I used to think that the price of admission to receiving a basketball scholarship was, at the very least, to be able to shoot the basketball and score. Isn't that what the game's all about?

But, UT has had a serious problem finding guys who can score from the field AND the free throw line, except in Rocky Top League games.

I've said for years that UT coaches need to get these players out of the Rocky Top League because of the bad habits they're learning there. There is no defense played, and that experience has got to carry over to real games.

Don't even get me started on free throws. Sixty-five percent is unacceptable for any progam. And that's with Quinton Chievous hitting 2 for 2 for 100%, which skews the number. Without that, they're shooting 57%. How do these guys get college scholarships shooting that kind of percentage for FREE throws? The Next Big Thing - Jarnell Stokes, shoots 51%.

Credit Martin for the defense - it's as good as it gets. Maybe as good as Louisville's. But why are guys like Golden, McRae and McBee so undependable on offense? And, why do the bigs miss so many put-backs underneath?

Because of their shooting deficiencies, UT will see a lot of zones this season, and so far, they have treated a zone as an alien lifeform. They don't seem to know what to do with it. And, that is on the coach.

I played college basketball, so I'm not shooting from the hip here. I know the loss of Maymon is significant, but there is no excuse for scoring less in an entire game than almost every team in college basketball scores by halftime.

The good news is that the talent is there, and perhaps by March, the offense will improve. If it does, coupled with Martin's defense, UT can be a player.