Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl said the Vols are in the process of trying to schedule more games against in-state schools.

"We want to add some longer-term opponents,'' Pearl said. "I know they appear to be everything-to-lose, nothing-to-gain games, but you need to play teams from mid-major conferences in a battle to keep your RPI high.''

The Vols earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament last season thanks in large part to a schedule that rated third in the nation and No. 6 in the RPI rankings.

Pearl mentioned games with Middle Tennessee State, Chattanooga and Tennessee State as possibilities.

"Those are good RPI games and they are in-state,'' he said. "MTSU was 117 and Tennessee Tech was 136.

"Anything 150 or below is considered a pretty good deal.''

The Vols have beefed up their non-conference major schedule the past couple of years with games against Texas, Ohio State, Memphis and Oklahoma State.

Pearl said playing the in-state schools also gives UT more exposure.

"We may move the sites,'' said Pearl, who had the Vols play Murray State in Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center last season and will play Oklahoma State there this year. "We've talked about playing in Murfreesboro, Nashville and Chattanooga.

"I don't know that we will always do that, but we're talking about it for now.''

Pearl said opening last season at home with East Tennessee State "helped our fan base in the Tri-Cities.''

"Our kids just better know they better be up for it,'' Pearl said. "These would be big games for those schools, and it better be for us, too.''

Dane's Game: Pearl said forward Dane Bradshaw had the cast removed from his fractured wrist and is back to conditioning with the team.

"He hadn't been able to condition because he couldn't run; he couldn't move his wrist or jerk it around,'' Pearl said. "A week ago they took the pins out and put him in a brace. He's trying to get his range of motion back.

"It could be a month before he picks up a basketball, but it's great to have him back in the weight room for the voluntary workouts.''

Recruits: Cameron Tatum, a 6-foot-5 prospect from Tucker (Ga.) High School, has said he wants to play for Tennessee, but it's almost a sure thing he won't be in this year's recruiting class.

Tatum has yet to qualify and more than likely will enter a prep school or junior college.

Tatum, who's rated No. 77 in this year's class by Scout.com, could be in the Vols' recruiting class next year.

At this point, UT has two scholarships available for the '07 signing class. One of the scholarships is expected to go to a player who can replace senior center Major Wingate.

Wayne Chism and Marques Johnson are enrolled in the first term of summer school and on campus, and Duke Crews is expected for the second term.

Josh Tabb is awaiting clearance from UT's admissions office, and Ramar Smith is awaiting a qualifying-test score.

Pearl Likes Mavs: If you watch close enough, you'll see some similarities between the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and Pearl's Vols.

"We do a lot of things you see there; a lot of the ball screen stuff,'' Pearl said. "I like the way they (Dallas) play.''