Wondering what the Tennessee men's basketball team is going to look like in its regular-season opener at 7:30 tonight in Thompson-Boling Arena?

UT coach Bruce Pearl is.

"I'm like you; I'm ready to see what we have,'' Pearl said Thursday. "I really don't know for sure.''

For that very reason, Pearl put the Vols through a walk-through session that approached three hours Thursday night.

"We've had a good week of preparation,'' Pearl said, "but we're going to have to adjust quickly against Middle Tennessee State.''

The Vols are replacing 54 percent of their scoring from a year ago, 51.8 percent of their rebounds and 51.3 percent of their minutes.

The Blue Raiders have some adjusting of their own, having lost All-Sun Belt selection Adam Vogelsberg to a broken bone in his right foot last Sunday.

Still, Middle Tennessee State has Pearl concerned.

Most notably, Pearl said the Blue Raiders have an excellent transition offense that will challenge his young team to hustle back on defense quickly.

"It's a lot like what Memphis does,'' Pearl said. "Dan Weisse is an assistant coach there, and he played for me at (Wisconsin) Milwaukee, so they'll know our stuff pretty good.''

Players ought to know Pearl's "stuff'' pretty good, too, as UT's second-year coach has hammered them with repetitions and constant verbal barrage throughout the week.

The Vols' biggest areas of concern are at point guard and center where they start -- and rotate in -- freshmen.

Ramar Smith gets the nod over Marques Johnson in the starting lineup at the point because of his ability to break down defenders off the dribble, Pearl said.

At center, Duke Crews will start and share time with Wayne Chism. Pearl said there's very little difference in the players' ability at this point, and Chism has said he's just as comfortable coming off the bench as starting.

"Some people might not understand that, but there's an advantage to not starting,'' Chism said. "You get to watch your position and watch your opponent and pick up on some things.''

Crews said he doesn't view himself in competition with Chism.

"We play for each other, not against each other,'' Crews said. "I really didn't mind who was starting, because it's an 'us' thing on this team.''

Crews and Chism have an obvious friendship that's most always playful. The pair played a makeshift game of hopscotch on the checkerboard baseline following Wednesday night's practice.

Tonight, they'll need their hops against the Blue Raiders' interior men, 6-foot-10 senior Kyle Young and 6-10 sophomore Theryn Hudson.

"I can't duplicate 6-10 in practice,'' Pearl said. "Will Duke, Wayne, Ryan (Childress) and Tony (Passley) be able to score against that length? When they get challenged, will they make the good decisions to kick it out?''

If so, perimeter aces Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith will be waiting to take the open shot.

Lofton, a preseason All-SEC selection who canned a school-record 114 3-pointers last season, has gotten off to a relatively slow start, scoring 10 points in each of the two exhibition games.

Not so for JaJuan Smith, whose hard work in the offseason appears to be paying immediate dividends. Smith led UT with 22 points in a 126-66 win over LeMoyne-Owen and 21 points in the 100-57 win over Tusculum.

"It's possible JaJuan could lead the team in scoring,'' Pearl said. "If he does, it's because he's one of our best players and he has worked hard in the offseason.''

Smith said this year's season opener feels different than last season's.

"A lot of people are looking for us to do well right away,'' Smith said. "We used to be underdogs; now we're favorites.''

Smith said that he's not concerned with how well the freshmen adjust.

"They'll be ready within the next 24 hours, write that down,'' Smith said. "That's all those boys need.''

Career Path: Pearl said he had some interest when he was approached about the Middle Tennessee State head-coaching job following his 1995-96 season at Division II Southern Indiana.

"I just couldn't get myself to say 'yes,' '' Pearl said. "It had nothing to do with Middle; I just wasn't ready to leave Southern Indiana after my fourth season. I couldn't do it emotionally.''

Weisse Insider: Weisse played for Pearl his junior and senior year, and helped lead the Panthers to the 2003 NCAA tournament by making 42 percent of his 3-point shots and playing in 32 games.

Pearl recommended Weisse for his job with the Blue Raiders.

Been A While: Tonight's game marks the first time MTSU has played Tennessee since Jan. 21, 2002, when the Vols won 74-56 in Knoxville.