UT's lineup starts to take shape

"We made progress tonight,'' Pearl said Wednesday night after putting the team through a scrimmage with officials at Stokely Athletics Center.

"We're going to have to get better as we go. This is good that we got better tonight. We're a long ways away but I saw progress.''

The Vols, with six newcomers expected to play significant roles, are only five days away from their opening exhibition. They play LeMoyne-Owen College on Tuesday night.

But other than guard Chris Lofton and wing JaJuan Smith, Pearl isn't ready to identify a starting lineup. And he won't be after Tuesday either.

Ramar Smith took a step toward the point guard job Wednesday. Duke Crews played with authority at center. Wayne Chism and Ryan Childress got some good work done at forward and Dane Bradshaw was in do-it-all mode.

"That's the best Ramar has played,'' Pearl said. "We need a few more practices to make some decisions about Tuesday.

"But I would say the lineup that starts Tuesday, I can't see it being the lineup for the year.''

Crews notched 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 at the free-throw line.

Chism was 5-of-13 from the field, Childress 8-of-16. Chism led the scrimmage with 10 rebounds.

"Duke is playing only at the five,'' Pearl said. "Wayne is playing the four and the five because he does show some perimeter strength.

"As a result, Duke is really taking to that position. Wayne is playing well but he's at a disadvantage because he's playing at two positions.''

Bradshaw was 7-of-11 from the field with six rebounds. JaJuan Smith was 5-of-10 shooting with five rebounds and six steals.

Lofton was 5-of-10 from the field. Tony Passley was 5-of-6 and showed some shooting range.

Ramar Smith and Marques Johnson each had four assists.

The lineups were juggled for different portions of the scrimmage.

"Because there are so few roles defined yet,'' Pearl said, "anything and everything goes right now.

"I'd say until maybe after the next two exhibitions, only then will I begin really start to help them find their role.

"They need to succeed and fail at different things. I can't stunt their growth yet.''

Scrimmage Notes: Jordan Howell (hand) did not play. The evening was divided into segments ranging from five to 10 minutes each. In one 10-minute segment of varsity vs. walk-ons, eight different players accounted for the nine baskets. The Vols will likely scrimmage again on Saturday. There's another local walk-on on the practice squad. Quinn Cannington, a guard from Fulton High School, has joined Steven Pearl (West), Ben Bosse (Farragut) and Rick Daniels-Mulholland (Oak Ridge).

Lofton Listed: Lofton was included Wednesday on the 50-man preseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award and Wooden All-America team. The list will be trimmed to 30 in January.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.