Going to Maui, been there. Playing Stanford, done that.

No, the thing that surprises Andre Patterson is finding himself wearing an orange jersey with "Tennessee" across the front.

"You never know what's going to happen to you,'' Patterson said with a chuckle.

Flip the calendar back four years. Patterson had recently moved to Los Angeles to live with his mother, Teresa, after spending three years in Fort Wayne, Ind., with his father, Andre Sr.

He was a big-time basketball prospect at Washington Prep. All the name schools made a pitch for a 6-foot-7 forward with good moves and good hops. Tennessee, coming off a NCAA tournament Sweet 16 appearance, sent a feeler.

"The funniest thing about Tennessee is they recruited me in high school,'' he recalled. "I told my mom, 'I'm never coming to Tennessee.' I was an L.A. kid. I used to not open a lot of letters. I saw that letter and threw it on the table and said, 'I'm not opening this. I'm not going to Tennessee. That's too far from the house.' "

You never know.

The L.A. kid signed with UCLA. But maybe it was too close to the house. For whatever reasons, Patterson was in academic trouble off and on for two years. He started as a sophomore, averaged 7.5 points, led the team in rebounds and led the Pac-10 Conference in field-goal percentage.

But by the summer of 2003, he was back in Fort Wayne, flunked out of UCLA and trying to figure out what was next.

"I was doing some soul-searching,'' Patterson said. "I really didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to play basketball, but I didn't know if I wanted to go back to school or go try the CBA or what.''

The CBA is a minor league in which Andre Sr. played. His coach with the Fort Wayne Fury was Gerald Oliver, a former Knoxvillian.

"I've known Coach O since I was a baby,'' Patterson said.

A plan was formed. Patterson would stay in school, transferring to Fresno State.

But you never know. Oliver, a Young High School and Carson-Newman grad who was on Ray Mears' staff at UT, remained close to the family. He suggested that Knoxville might be a favorable environment for a fresh start.

"I thought about the competition, Florida and Kentucky and everybody else in the SEC,'' Patterson said. "I really wanted to go to a program that wasn't winning that well, to try to win with them.''

Patterson had never been to Tennessee in his life, but he took Oliver's suggestion. Fifteen months have passed and there are no regrets. It's been a good fit on the academic front and on the court.

"He's somebody that's very quick around the goal,'' said coach Buzz Peterson.

"His intensity level will sometime fluctuate up and down. I holler his name a lot. I'm constantly staying after him.

"But he's got a lot of talent and a lot of ability.''

Enough to be in the starting lineup for UT's final exhibition game. He's likely to be in the lineup Monday night when the Vols face Stanford in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.

Stanford. How ironic.

One of Patterson's favorite memories from UCLA was going to Stanford his freshman year and helping the Bruins upset the Cardinal on Senior Day.

"I hate Stanford,'' he said. "To this day I hate Stanford. I just hate them. We always hated Stanford and USC.

"It's going to be kind of strange playing that team in a new uniform.''

Several of his old Stanford adversaries might recognize him, but he says he's a different player now.

"I've got a lot more confidence,'' Patterson said. "At UCLA, I was young. We had a lot of older guys we were looking up to.

"Now, I'm an older guy. I have to be a role model to the younger guys so I've got a bigger role on this team.''

For a team trying to garner some respect, Patterson could be a valuable role model.

He's made the Maui trip before, as a freshman with the Bruins. He's tested himself not only against Stanford, but the likes of Duke, Kansas and Arizona.

"I can't wait,'' he said. "My last game was the Pac 10 tournament (in 2003). For me to be going back to Maui and jumping right back in the fire is just great.

"If you don't want to play big-time schools, I don't know why you're here.''

Here is a long way from L.A. You never know what's going to happen to you.

Elsewhere: Alabama has lost one of its prized recruits. Freshman point guard Glenn Miles has quit the team after one exhibition game and requested a transfer. He lost the starting job to fellow freshman Ronnie Steele. Freshman Corey Brewer has won a starting job at Florida. Mississippi State hopes to have Lawrence Roberts (broken nose) in the lineup tonight against Syracuse (ESPN2). Two ex-Vols are off to good starts at new homes. Derek Stribling averaged 22.3 points on Tennessee Tech's three-game exhibition trip to Mexico. Elgrace Wilborn averaged 11.5 points and 10 rebounds in Western Kentucky's two exhibition wins.

Other media contributed to this report. Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.