Strange: Old Smokey saw Globetrotter-like show

At least his Division II team from Memphis got a nice paycheck Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

But what does Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl take out of a 126-66 exhibition blowout?

When you make your first 18 shots from the floor, when you lead 76-29 at halftime, when you hit the century mark with 9:34 to play, relevance has left the building.

"I was hoping they'd be better,'' Pearl said, almost sadly.

"You have to take everything with a grain of salt.''

OK, everybody, grab the nearest saltshaker and let's see what we can make out of the Vols' first dress rehearsal of the 2006-07 season.

Even the mismatch couldn't disguise the fact that Pearl's second team, though far-less experienced, is deeper and more athletic than his first one. The Vols lost four bodies and gained six.

You want energy? It was there from the tip, as evidenced by a 22-2 lead.

You want balance? By the time UT hit 32 on the scoreboard, eight different Vols had made buckets and there hadn't been a forced shot in the bunch.

The new guys have to understand the transition to the college game won't be this easy. Pearl listed a few gains he hopes they can take forward to the next exhibition Friday night:

"They got a chance to see the press works. They saw the substitutions, where they didn't have to stay on the court all night long.

"I don't think anybody in the locker room will leave thinking they didn't play pretty well.''

Here's a few other clues about the coming season:

• Free-throw shooting will be a challenge, bad news for those tense February nights to come.

The Vols hit 24-of-40 at the line, only 60 percent, and Pearl said that's about on par with the first few weeks of practice.

• Another challenge: rebounding. Again.

The Vols' margin on the glass (42-36) didn't equate to their margin on the scoreboard.

• Having to sit out a season didn't leave Tony Passley the least bit rusty.

In his first organized game in more than a year Passley hit his first eight shots and finished 8-of-9.

• Scoring isn't Josh Tabb's motivation to get out of bed in the morning. Not one of the 126 points went in Tabb's column on the box score and he didn't seem to mind.

But he did plenty else: five rebounds, five assists, two steals.

Tabb hadn't entered the game more than five seconds ago when he was on the floor making a steal in the press, which led to a Passley layup.

• Chris Lofton has supposedly lost weight but you can't tell it looking at his shoulders and upper arms.

If he keeps it up, he'll soon look like another No. 5 - Kevin Simon.

• JaJuan Smith is capable of trading in his invaluable sixth-man role from last year to start.

"Coach is looking for leadership from me,'' said Smith, "so I'm going to try to bring energy at the start of the game.''

He did.

• Wayne Chism can post up a 6-2 defender, which he probably did many a night in high school.

Can he post up "Big Baby" Davis? We'll get back to you on that one.

• Ron Slay would like these freshmen. Four of the five wore headbands. Marques Johnson was the dissenter.

• Steven Pearl will be a crowd favorite and not just because he's the coach's kid.

Pearl definitely inherited the hustle gene and crammed six points, five rebounds and two assists into 10 minutes.

• Walk-on Rick Daniels-Mulholland got a basket in garbage time, proving his hunch correct that he had a better chance of scoring on the basketball court than as a tight end with the football team.

• For better or worse, the venerable Kiss Cam is back for another year. Pucker up.

• New awnings in the four corners help minimize the gaping holes of the elephant- door exits. Now there's gaping orange.

• There's a new "2006" on the NCAA tournament banner.

And there's still plenty of room for a "2007" addition.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.