Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has a confession to make: The Vols aren't necessarily as good as the hype.

Not yet, at least.

There's the smallish front line, a serious depth issue and the lack of a scorer who can take over games at will.

That said, Pearl's not complaining.

Not yet, at least.

"One of the things I've purposely not done is blast our team,'' Pearl said. "They could get blasted in January or later on. Obviously, when the time comes, I can be critical.''

But for now, UT men's basketball program is 5-0 and loving life. Undefeated, playing hard and drawing large, inspiring crowds at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Pearl knows the outcomes of the Vols' games could change, but he insists the style of play and the team's effort will not.

"What you're looking for now, I have to step up as a coach,'' Pearl said. "How much can each player step up given the fact that the competition will increase dramatically. How much will that elevate each one of us as opposed to disintegrate us.''

Pearl said it's a fact last year's team didn't handle adversity well. This year's unit has stepped up to meet each challenge.

But there's a big difference between withstanding an Appalachian State run at home and battling Texas on the road this Saturday.

"We can't be affected by winning and losing; We have to understand we have to improve,'' Pearl said. "Some teams don't get better throughout the year. This team has gotten better so far and we've been able to respond when the competition steps up. We need to keep finding a way to win.

"Anybody can sail the ship when the seas are calm. It's when it starts to blow when you need to have all hands on deck.''

From an Xs and Os standpoint, Pearl is relatively pleased with his starting five and Andre Patterson and JaJuan Smith coming off the bench.

"JaJuan and Andre are good enough to start,'' he said. "They've been productive coming off the bench and giving us firepower.''

Pearl said one change fans might see against Texas and Oklahoma State (Dec. 22, Oklahoma City) is more playing time for Jordan Howell, who has elevated his game enough to earn the back-up point guard duties.

Ryan Childress, UT's 6-foot-8 freshman forward, remains a work in progress. Hand-picked by Pearl at Wisconsin-Milwaukee before transferring to UT, Childress has a better game than he has shown.

"The minutes are available for Ryan, but when he's in the game he needs to be productive,'' Pearl said. "If he starts playing better, which I hope he does, he'll play more.''

Pearl said his "Controlled Chaos'' scheme will need to be adjusted when the Vols take on better competition.

"We need to put more control in the chaos and pick our spots to press and run,'' Pearl said. "When the fast break isn't there and we don't have numbers, we'll have to be more patient. We'll also have to value the basketball more and not have as many unforced turnovers.''

Pearl remains optimistic the Vols can get the job done and make an outside run for the NCAA tournament. After all, at 5-0 there's no need for worry.

Not yet, at least.