Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl interviewed Kent State assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer in Knoxville on Friday, but the process of finding a new staff member might not be over.

Pearl said earlier this week he was still considering five coaches to fill the vacancy on his staff that came about when Scott Edgar left to take the head-coaching job at Southeast Missouri State.

Oppenheimer's resume consists largely of coaching jobs at mid-major programs. He had a three-year stint at DePaul as well as two years at Delaware and Duquesne. Oppenheimer played at Rhode Island and helped his team reach the Sweet 16 as a freshman. He transferred to Northern Arizona his sophomore year and averaged 17.5 points per game over the next three seasons.

Oppenheimer, along with former Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes and ABA coach/general manager Bob Sundvold are considered the favorites, but Pearl said he might look at yet another candidate. Barnes was in Knoxville on Wednesday and former Iowa State assistant Damon Archibald interviewed last week.

"I still feel I'll bring in one more coach for an interview,'' Pearl said Friday. "It won't be until next week, and maybe by the end of next week we'll be ready to fill the position.''

Pearl said filling the No. 2 assistant slot (Tony Jones is the associate head coach) with the right person is critical.

"There are many dimensions on this staff,'' Pearl said. "We're all very close, and they are all very good people.

"Me winning national-coach-of-the-year honors is a reflection of our entire staff in addition to our players.''

Award Winners: Awards were handed out at a team banquet Friday night.

Jordan Howell received the Burchfield-Moss Most Courageous Award, JaJuan Smith and Major Wingate earned the Lowell Blanchard Award as the most-improved players.

Dane Bradshaw received the Team Before Self Award after playing much of the season with a wrist injury. He also earned the John Stucky Lifter of the Year Award for his work in the weight room.

The Thornton Athletics Student Life Center honored walkon Ben Bosse for posting the highest grade-point average. Tony Passley received the Hardest Worker Award.