Allan Houston was asked recently to pick his happiest moment in a Tennessee uniform.

I knew exactly what he was going to say.

It wasn't breaking the career scoring record. It wasn't that buzzer-beating miracle against Kentucky in 1993. It wasn't torching LSU for 43 in an unforgettable shootout with Chris Jackson.

It was giving his dad a hug during the 1991 SEC tournament in Nashville.

"That's my number one memory,'' Houston said, "even though it probably only lasted five seconds.''

The embrace followed the final horn after the Vols ran Georgia out of Memorial Gym, 85-65, in the semifinals.

The worst UT basketball season in 30 years was 40 minutes away from an NCAA tournament bid.

There was no fairly-tale ending, of course. Alabama provided a reality check in the title game.

Still, in the 15 years that have passed since that week in Nashville, there hasn't been a Cinderella story quite like it.

Arkansas took the underdog route to the 2000 tourney trophy and a surprise NCAA tournament bid, but the Razorbacks were a No. 3 seed out of the Western Division.

The '91 Vols barely had a pulse when they hit town.

They had finished 3-15 in the SEC regular season, losing 11 of their past 12 games. It added up to a 9-21 slate for Wade Houston's second season as coach.

They were a No. 9 seed in a nine-team field (Kentucky was ineligible). That's starting at the bottom.

"We knew we had some good talent,'' said guard Jay Price. "We just hadn't jelled.

"We felt if we had the opportunity, a little more freedom on offense, we would have had some success.

"When we got in the tournament, that's what happened. Coach stepped back a little bit and said let it go.''

Price is in his second year as coach at Chattanooga State Community College. He said he still uses the lesson of that '91 tournament to inspire his teams today.

"If you play hard,'' he said, "you never know what will happen.''

The Vols opened with a 94-85 win over Ole Miss. Wade Houston had inserted Price into the starting lineup and he responded with 16 points.

Up next was a fresh Mississippi State, the No. 1 seed. State led 43-38 with 16 minutes to play, but the Vols stunned the crowd, roaring away to win 87-70.

Carlus Groves scored a career-high 22, Price again added 16 and UT set a tourney record, shooting 77.3 percent in the second half.

Next was Georgia. Fate gave Tennessee an assist as All-SEC guard Litterial Green couldn't play because of an injury suffered the previous day.

UT shot 60 percent in each half and routed the Bulldogs by 20.

"We were excited,'' said Price. "We didn't have anything to lose.

"Once we won the first two, nobody could tell us we weren't going to win it all.''

Allan Houston was thrilled to see his father enjoying a banner week after a brutal season.

"That was our opportunity to start over without having a whole summer to think about it,'' Allan said.

"My dad made some changes and we had a newfound energy and belief in ourselves.''

It lasted for about 24 minutes against Alabama.

The Tide, with three future NBA players, led 55-49 with a little over 16 minutes to play. Then the bottom fell out of UT's energy reservoir.

The rim shrunk. The floor tilted uphill. Alabama pulled away, 88-69.

Groves made the all-tournament team. Houston was the MVP, scoring 98 points, second most in SEC tourney history. Nobody since has topped 69.

With a touted recruiting class on the way, Wade Houston seemed to have unexpected momentum going into his third year.

It wouldn't last. There would be a big win here and there, but nothing ever again to match that week in Nashville.

"That's where we got to show our stuff,'' said Price. "I couldn't sleep at night, waiting to get back on the floor.''