Vols have hands full with Smith

Actually, the attention in tonight's 7:30 game between Tennessee and East Tennessee State University will be on guards.

UT men's basketball home opener could largely be decided by how well their backcourt holds up.

ETSU's Tim Smith, a lightning-fast 5-foot-9 senior, was chosen as the Atlantic Sun Conference's preseason player of the year after averaging 22.2 points per game last season.

"Smith is probably the quickest guard we'll face,'' UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "He was seventh in the country in scoring last season and he's left-handed. He's a prolific scorer. He fills up a stat sheet: points; assists; steals; turnovers.

"One of the keys is his match up against C.J. Watson.''

And what of the Vols' "Controlled Chaos'' defense, and the effect it could have on Smith and the Bucs with a crowd of more than 20,000 expected at Thompson-Boling Arena to watch Pearl's first official game with the Vols?

"I would say it probably helps him (Smith), because it opens the court up and he's better in space,'' Pearl said. "They're going to want to run, and one of our challenges, because Smith is so quick, is they could be a team that's difficult to press.

"If it (pressing) makes them better, we'll have to find another way to beat them.''

Watson, considered by NBA scouts to be solid all-around but not spectacular in any area, will draw the majority of the defensive assignments against Smith.

Pearl said he has other plans to challenge Smith but was unwilling to disclose them.

It's understandable: While UT has won three in a row against ETSU, the Bucs return five starters and have added stellar recruit Courtney Pigram to the mix.

With Smith suspended for ETSU's lone exhibition game, a 99-71 win over Mars Hill on Nov. 10, Pigram stepped up with a team-high 23 points.

Pigram, who helped Memphis White Station to the Class AAA state championship his senior year, thought he was headed to Louisville but failed to qualify academically.

UT counters at the two-guard with its most prolific scorer, Chris Lofton. Pearl said he's sure ETSU coach Murry Bartow plans to slow Lofton, the SEC's top returning 3-point shooter.

"A lot of my anticipation, to some extent, is what their defense will give us,'' Pearl said. "Some people are going to try to take Chris away. In so doing, Chris' looks could be fewer on some nights.

"But I want him to be aggressive offensively, and when he's open, I want him to shoot it, drive it or make plays.''

That could be easier said than done. Bartow's experienced squad is expected to throw a lot at a UT offense that's still finding itself in Pearl's new system.

"Playing ETSU early has really forced us to get ready for a lot of different things,'' Pearl said. "They play both man and zone, and they do a little bit of pressure.

"(Wednesday) in practice, we had to work on the three-quarter-court pressure that they use; it was the first time we had gone through that particular defense.''

Pearl also said the Bucs could cause trouble in the paint, particularly if 6-7, 265-pound senior power forward Dillion Sneed gets on track.

"You look at what he did against Alabama last year,'' Pearl said. "He scored 30 points and had 14 rebounds.''

That could put UT senior forward Andre Patterson in position to play heavy-duty minutes off the bench in relief of starter Major Wingate.

"It's good to have Andre back,'' said Pearl, who suspended Patterson for the first four weeks of practice and the exhibition opener. "One of our challenges is blending in Andre after two weeks, into a team I've had for six weeks.

"I think within the next couple of weeks we're going to learn a lot about our basketball team and where we're at.''