BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- When C.M. Newton talks, people listen.

Newton, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, said Wednesday at SEC Media Days that the hiring of Bruce Pearl at Tennessee is good for the Vols, and good for the league.

"Bruce is a great hire,'' said Newton, who won an NCAA basketball championship as a player at Kentucky in 1951 and ranks as the SEC's third winningest coach in history with 340 wins at Alabama and Vanderbilt.

"Personally, I'm glad to see him in the league because he brings a style of play that's needed,'' he said. "We've gotten to be a half-court conference since Rick (Pitino) left our league and Billy (Donovan) and Tubby (Smith) started playing more half court. Our teams need that experience when they go out of the league and in the postseason.''

Newton, who as President of USA Basketball changed the Olympic team from college players to NBA players and oversaw selection of the 1992 Dream Team, said there's nothing to prevent UT basketball from becoming successful once again.

"It can happen because it's happened before,'' said the 75-year-old Newton, a native of Rockwood. "Ray Mears had a great program there, as did Don DeVoe. It can and it probably will happen.''

Newton said Pearl's system, coaching experience and recruiting are the keys.

"What he (Pearl) has done is taken what (Iowa coach) Tom Davis used to do and gotten pretty modern with it and brought it up to date,'' Newton said. "I'm sure he's borrowed from Rick and others. He's adapted it to where he's playing with different looks.

"You can't simulate that (style of play) in practice. It hits you right between the eyes, boy, when you experience it.''

Newton, who hired Smith while serving as Kentucky's athletic director, said he "would think'' Pearl's style will be attractive to recruits.

"I know he's a tireless worker and he'll recruit well,'' Newton said. "I just think that Bruce's idea is to play an uptempo game, both ways, offensively and defensively, and he'll get the kind of players that will fit his system.''

Odom's Take: South Carolina coach Dave Odom, whose Gamecocks press about as much as any other team in the SEC, said Pearl could be challenged to change the personality of his team.

"They haven't been full court as a defensive team very much, so it takes some education and you've got to work on that every day to gain the confidence of your team,'' Odom said. "Sometimes you can see immediate results, and sometimes it takes a couple of years to get it going. I know he (Pearl) is committed to it, and eventually he'll get it going.''

Odom said UT point guard C.J. Watson could do well in the uptempo system.

"He could get more easy baskets,'' Odom said. "Most of his baskets in his three years at Tennessee have come out of the offensive sets. But if he can get some broken-floor layups and jump shots and quick baskets, it certainly would make him a better player.''

Odom said the Vols must also work on their ability to beat the press, as well as apply it.

"What you'll find is that one of the most effective ways to go against a pressing team is to press them themselves,'' Odom said. "You'll find teams in this league that are every effective in picking their spots and moments to press.''