Tyler Smith decided to move on and Bruce Pearl is taking the same approach.

For whatever reason, Smith announced Tuesday that Tennessee basketball wasn't in his immediate future.

Call it an obvious setback, but Tennessee's basketball coach of three weeks isn't about to call it a disaster.

"We had a setback in recruiting with Tyler, but we're going to get good players," Pearl said Thursday. "This will hurt us in the short term, but what separates great programs from the rest is the ability to overcome setbacks.

"A hard job just got harder, but when we get there ..."

Finish the rest of the sentence yourself. Pearl has no doubt Tennessee basketball will "get there." Smith's decision just made it a little tougher.

The Giles County High School senior had signed a national letter of intent with Tennessee in November, but asked out of that commitment during a meeting with Pearl on Tuesday.

Pearl refused to release Smith and says he had his reasons.

Billy Smith, Tyler's father, said Pearl had told them in a previous meeting that if the Smiths weren't comfortable with him or his staff, he would grant a release.

In the meantime, things changed, partly because Pearl didn't feel the Smiths ever made a legitimate attempt to get to know him.

"One, we told the Smith family and we told Tyler we still feel it was in his best interest to play at Tennessee," Pearl said. "Secondly, I've got 11 other scholarship athletes already at Tennessee who were counting on Tyler to keep his commitment.

"I don't think they really made the effort to get to know me or my staff."

Smith plans on attending a prep school in the fall.

"I think Tyler was very open minded, but I don't think Billy Smith was comfortable with Tennessee," Pearl said. "There's another agenda there and I'm not sure what that is.

"Basically, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. I want to keep Tennessee players in Tennessee, but I don't want players who don't take pride in wearing the orange and having Tennessee across their chests."

So the man in constant motion hits the road again today.

He spent Thursday in Knoxville recruiting, working out with the returnees and filming an emotional message for his former team's banquet at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"I cried like a baby," Pearl said. "It was an emotional video because I get so close to those kids. When they give it all to you, like they did, it's tough."

Pearl isn't even unpacking his bags anymore. He was in Arkansas last weekend to watch an AAU tournament and leaves for Las Vegas and Dallas on recruiting stops this weekend.

"I'm not frustrated because so much of what has happened my first three weeks has been positive," he said. "All I have to do is demonstrate we're going to win and we're going to be exciting.

"I've had so many people come up to me and wish me luck and tell me you're doing the right thing."

Pearl and his staff already have worked hard recruiting a talented class of 2006.

He doesn't see the loss of Smith as a big concern regarding this year's talented junior class in the state of Tennessee that includes Thaddeus Young, Brandon Powell, Pierre Niles, Willie Kemp and Wayne Chism.

"That will have very little factor with those guys," Pearl said.

For now, Pearl is still working on bringing in at least one more player for next season.

"I'd really like to get one more guy to help this year's team, and there are some guys available out there," he said. "We'll have some kids in to visit next week."