If you're wandering by Tom Black Track early Wednesday morning, you might catch an impromptu track meet. No gold medals will be awarded and several of the runners will be unusually tall.

It's Buzz Peterson's annual back-to-school conditioning test. The dreaded 12-minute run. Complete 6 1/2 laps and you're good to go. Anything less, try again.

Two Vols won't be able to make it. Chris Lofton is recovering from an appendectomy; Major Wingate has a sprained ankle.

Lofton began his first semester on an ominous note. Instead of moving into the dorm, he moved into UT Medical Center.

Lofton wasn't feeling well on the drive down from Maysville, Ky. By the time trainer Chad Newman got a look at him, symptoms pointed to the appendix.

The appendix came out Tuesday, Peterson said. By Thursday, Lofton was in the gym shooting.

"His dad said he's a different kid,'' Peterson said. Lofton will be restricted for two weeks.

Wingate is wearing a hard boot for a week as a precaution. X-rays were negative.

Tri-Captains: Seniors Brandon Crump and Scooter McFadgon and junior C.J. Watson have been named tri-captains.

Crump served as the lone captain on last season's senior-less team.

A DeVoe on Board: Elliott DeVoe is enrolled as a walk-on freshman. That means his dad, Don, is sure to be spotted in the stands from time to time.

Don, who coached the Vols from 1978-79 to 1988-89, will be spending his first winter without a team, following his forced retirement from the Naval Academy. He and his wife Ana will remain in Annapolis this year until their daughter graduates from high school.

Assuming DeVoe remains retired and moves back to Knoxville a year from now, Peterson said he would welcome the insight of a veteran coach.

"I don't anticipate any openings on our staff,'' Peterson said, "but I would love to have him sit in on our practices and watch and help me in some areas.

"I have a lot of respect for coach DeVoe. He recruited me out of high school.''

DeVoe will be a guest speaker at Peterson's annual coaching clinic this fall. As for the 6-foot-5 Elliott, Peterson has seen only videotape.

"He's lanky and looks like his dad. He plays hard, I know that. I've always loved having coach's kids. They have a good feel for the game.''

Another walk-on of note, is JuJuan Smith, a combo guard from McMinn County.

Schedule Due: The 2004-05 schedule is on athletic director Mike Hamilton's desk awaiting a thumbs-up on a December game with UT Chattanooga. Because the date falls within the study period for semester exams, it requires special approval.

The Vols non-conference travel plans are to Maui, to New Mexico on Dec. 18 and to Louisville in the midst of the SEC season.

The Maui Invitational is Nov. 22-24, with the Vols opening against Stanford. Peterson said he debated scheduling a game on the West Coast en route to Maui - North Carolina is stopping to play Santa Clara - but didn't pull the trigger.

"There's a lot of advantage to teams on the West Coast,'' Peterson said. "That's a long trip from the East Coast to Maui. I thought about getting a game on Friday (Nov. 19), but decided not to rush into it.''

The Vols will have two exhibition games prior to Maui, against Carson-Newman and Tusculum. The regular-season home opener will be Nov. 29 against Wofford.

Once a 'Cat : The Vols could save a few postage stamps by not sending any more recruiting mail to Richard Semrau, a 6-9 prospect in Cleveland, Ohio. His coach at Lutheran West is Phil Argento, a guard at Kentucky in the early 1960s who hasn't forgotten the lay of the land from his college days.

"There are four schools I absolutely refuse to help,'' Argento told the Lexington Herald-Leader, "Louisville, Cincinnati and Indiana and Tennessee. I don't even open Tennessee's mail. There's no orange in my house.''

Houston Visits: Allan Houston will be on campus Tuesday and will visit with the team. UT, for several years, has worked to warm relations with its highest-profile NBA player. The school's career scoring leader has been receptive. "He really wants to be involved,'' Peterson said.

In 2003, Houston endowed the Wade Houston Scholarships in honor of his father.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.