Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has heard all about the exploits of his "Fab Five'' freshmen during their pick up games this offseason.

The Duke Crews and Wayne Chism monster dunks, the quickness and touch of Ramar Smith, the body control and offensive finishing abilities of Marques Johnson and Josh Tabb's penchant for making the tough hoops.

Pearl, however, has yet to be convinced.

There's a big difference between pick-up games in an empty gymnasium and rugged SEC play.

"The early oohs and ahhs are a result of a lack of hard-nosed defense like they'll see in the SEC,'' Pearl said. "These guys don't know how to get through screens or set screens.

"Yes, they're playing more physical now than high school, but it's not even close to being as physical as it requires in the SEC.''

Pearl was amused when it was pointed out that last year, he came in working on building his team's confidence and convincing them they could win.

This year, his role is to keep the five freshmen's feet firmly on the ground.

"As a coach, you have to feel the pulse of your team, and it's not always the same,'' Pearl said. "They are in for the surprise of their lives when Oct. 13 gets here.''

Oct. 13 is the start of team drills, when they'll get a healthy dose of Pearl's uncompromised work ethic.

Of late, the team has spent eight hours a week between its physical training and position workouts and playing the pickup games on their own time.

Many UT fans have caught on to the Saturday afternoon scrimmages at Thompson-Boling Arena and gotten an eyeful of the talent infusion.

Senior Dane Bradshaw admits it has made for a fun offseason.

"It's great seeing that much support,'' Bradshaw said. "I'm sure some people had come to see us before, but it wasn't like this.''

There will likely be one Saturday scrimmage left, the day of the Alabama football game on Oct. 21, as UT is sure to have recruits on hand.

After that, the curtain comes down on the pickup game show.

To date, the court has been abound with smiles, whether it's Crews and Chism tussling in the paint like a pair or puppies chewing on each other's ears, or the playful Smith making unthinkable moves and then shrugging them off as though they were by accident.

Pearl chuckles when hearing the tales of his young players and their unbridled enthusiasm.

He loves their energy and talent, but at the same time Pearl knows how challenging the road ahead will become.

"Pretty soon, we'll be going 20 hours in six days a week, then you multiply that by the number of weeks before the season opener,'' Pearl said. "Let's see how they feel by then.''

Pearl said the potential is there, but the way he evaluates a recruiting class is by how many of the players graduate and how many championships they've won by the end of their career.

"These guys are working harder now than they have in their entire careers,'' Pearl said. "I'm talking academically as well as on the court.

"I've told them this will be between two and five times as hard as they have ever trained, and that's just so we can catch up to the rest of the league.''

It's no accident that it's the freshmen doing most of the talking while veterans like Bradshaw and JaJuan Smith are noticeably quiet.

Chris Lofton, in particular, is absent from any jawing. His shots, however, have already spoken volumes.

"You know who really wows me?'' Crews said. "C-Lo (Lofton). The guy doesn't miss. Do you hear me? He is never off. Never.''

Pretty soon, the freshmen won't be off - from practice that is - and Pearl will find out just how fabulous his freshmen really are.

Orange Power: UT's new home uniforms feature a more brilliant shade of orange and are already a hit with the freshmen, some of whom have taken a picture of their uniforms on their camera cell phones.

Like last year, the uniforms feature modest black piping. Additionally, the Power T is featured on the back of the uniform on the neck as well as on the shorts.

The Vols have also had some all orange tennis shoes shipped to them that match the uniforms. UT has had orange shoes before, but the shade didn't resemble "Tennessee'' orange enough to be worn with conviction.

Mike Griffith covers University of Tennessee men's basketball. He may be reached at knsgriff@aol.com.