Mem-Phis Re-Ject!

The jeers rained down on Tennessee's Dane Bradshaw at FedEx Forum last year during Memphis' 88-79 basketball victory over the Vols.

This year's battle for state bragging rights is in the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena at 9 p.m. Wednesday and will be televised by ESPN2.

The Tigers are ranked 16th and are 6-1 after beating Marshall, 78-69, on Monday. UT is 6-2.

But a year ago, in Memphis, Bradshaw found himself uncharacteristically bothered by the fans' reaction to him.

"Normally, I enjoy the boos or jeers on the road,'' said Bradshaw, the Memphis White Station product who has been known to shoot playful comments back into student sections. "But last year at Memphis, I didn't enjoy it because it felt like it was people who knew me.''

Even worse, some had come to know Bradshaw for his reference to "gang bangers'' in Memphis. They called his school with death threats before a game.

"After the LSU game, someone had asked me if I was bothered by their (LSU's) student section,'' Bradshaw said. "I just said I'd played in rough areas and made that (gang-bangers) reference, but I wasn't trying to relate it to the Memphis fans or the program. I have a lot of respect for their players, their fans and the program.

"I learned a valuable lesson to choose my words more wisely.''

And the Memphis fans in attendance at last year's game learned Bradshaw is anything but a reject. Bradshaw scored a career-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting with 10 rebounds, five steals and four assists.

UT coach Bruce Pearl said anyone who judges Bradshaw on a reference that was "severely taken out of context'' is making a mistake.

"I'd put Dane Bradshaw up against any student athlete in the country,'' Pearl said. "The fact that it has even come up again is a disservice.

"Dane Bradshaw deserves better than that.''

Pearl said he can't write the stories for the media, but he sees the Memphis-Tennessee game not as one of animosity, but rather, two quality programs with mutual respect.

"This is a game with one top 10 program playing another that's trying to become one,'' Pearl said.

Pearl himself had a run-in over comments he made in Memphis last summer when a television reporter asked what it would take for UT to become the No. 1 program in the state of Tennessee.

"I didn't know there was a ranking that ranked Memphis No. 1,'' Pearl said at the time.

The reporter persisted, and the interview ended with the Vols' head coach saying it was a "bull (expletive) question.''

Memphis coach John Calipari called Pearl after seeing the television report and the two shared a laugh over it.

"I have such respect for Cal, I don't think we'll have any problems,'' Pearl said. "He is Memphis basketball. Memphis is a top-10 program because of him.''

As for Bradshaw, he apologized to both Calipari and his wife for any confusion that came out of his comments, and that exchange ended with the Memphis coach patting Bradshaw on the back.

"This year's game isn't about getting back at Memphis or anything like that,'' Bradshaw said. "It's about playing against a great program from my hometown.''