Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl has brought an act to Knoxville that's hard to ignore.

But like any good entertainer, Pearl has needed a solid road crew and someone to help him with his information.

One of those people is Jason Shay, who serves as lead scout among the Vols' assistant coaches.

"Jason has some big wins for us, among them Texas and Florida and he's scouting Kentucky,'' Pearl said. "He's a great game-planner, and I think that's because he played in our system as a practice player at Iowa.''

The No. 13 Vols (16-3, 7-1 SEC) play at Kentucky (15-7, 5-3) on Tuesday in a game nationally televised by ESPN at 7 p.m.

Shay also scouted the Memphis game, along with Pearl's Wisconsin-Milwaukee NCAA tournament games last season against Alabama and Illinois.

Shay, 32, is as non-descript as they come; a husky 5-foot-9, he looks more like a former football walk-on.

But when the lights go down and the film goes on, Shay turns into a demon capable of working deep hours into the night.

Shay watches at least 50 hours of tape on each opponent, drawing a "skeleton'' outline of tendencies before reviewing the film with Pearl, who then applies a strategic game plan.

"I've always been intrigued by the Xs and Os,'' said Shay, who attended Galesburg (Ill.) High School before walking on at Iowa where Pearl was an assistant coach under Dr. Tom Davis. "I also watched and studied a lot of NBA games, so that if I ever got an opportunity to be a coach, I'd be ready.''

Pearl knew Shay was ready when he left Southern Indiana for Wisconsin-Milwaukee, hiring him away from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa.

Shay's first coaching job as an assistant coach with Galesburg High's freshman team, and then he took a front-office job with the Quad City Thunder in the Continental Basketball Association.

Pearl proceeded to recommend Shay for the Mercyhurst job before hiring him for the 2001-02 season at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"I was the coach who took him as a walk-on because I liked his scrappiness and toughness,'' Pearl said. "And then I stayed in touch with him and got him back.

"He's a valuable part of what I do. That's why he was one of the people on the plane when I came to Tennessee for an interview.''

Shay's dedication to Pearl and collegiate basketball is hard to ignore.

In September, Shay and his wife, Jana, named their second born "Joah'' after Wisconsin-Milwaukee player Joah Tucker.

Shay's easy-going when it comes to his everyday life, but when the talk turns to basketball, like Kentucky, his tone immediately changes.

Asked an off-the-cuff general question about what he thinks about the Wildcats, Shay responded like a well-drilled solider.

"They're playing four guards and a big in there sometimes ... I'm not exactly sure what (Kentucky coach Tubby Smith) is doing that for,'' Shay said, sounding somewhat concerned. "I think Randolph Morris can be a little foul prone; we'll have to front him in the half-court and not let him get too deep.

"We need the game to be up and down.''

Shay said there's a lot more he's noticed about the Wildcats, but that conversation is for Pearl's ears only.

"Jason is really, really bright,'' Pearl said. "He really gets it.''