Ramar Smith was the last player out of Thompson-Boling Arena following Thursday night's men's basketball practice.

The freshman point guard hoisted shot after shot from the wing outside the 3-point line, connecting on approximately 60 percent of his 500 attempts.

Smith's shot has purpose once again.

"Coach (Pearl) is telling me to think 'score' first, and that feels real good,'' said Smith, who's coming to life after early-season struggles in his transition to the college game. "I have to step up big and start hitting some big shots for us.''

Smith, who was more of a shooting guard at Detroit's Martin Luther King High School, lost the Vols' starting point guard job three games ago when UT coach Bruce Pearl went with junior Jordan Howell at Louisiana-Lafayette.

Smith, however, said that wasn't a problem for him.

"I knew when I came in I'd have to compete for the starting spot,'' said Smith, who's 4.4 points-per-game average is well under what some projected. "Watching Jordan, I've learned a lot. He doesn't turn the ball over and he takes good shots.''

Howell has produced a steadying influence and is expected to start against Western Kentucky at 4 p.m. Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

But Smith's athletic upside is obvious, and Pearl said he's seeing Smith improve in key areas.

"Against Memphis, Ramar played well and got more clock (playing time),'' Pearl said. "His decision making is better, he's pushing the break and he's better at getting us in the offense quicker.

"I'm not unhappy with our point guard play, but we need to get better.''

Smith said fans can expect to see his scoring increase, but not at the expense of the Vols' top shooters.

"Chris (Lofton) and JaJuan (Smith) are like All-Americans,'' Ramar Smith said. "But if I can't get it to them, I'll do what I need to do.''

Fellow freshman Wayne Chism said that's bad news for opponents.

"Ramar is starting to play like he did last summer,'' Chism said. "He was the fastest guy on the court against Memphis, and he's playing his game.''