Pennington: Wingate's loss was major blow to Vols

When center Major Wingate decided to put on some Bob Marley albums, grab a bag of Cheetos and go all Matthew McConaughey and then fail/skip a drug test, UT coach Bruce Pearl's second team took a big hit (no pun intended).

Tennessee wasn't hurt in terms of scoring, of course. Wingate never was a big-points guy.

They didn't lose a ton of rebounds, either. Wingate blocked out and kept the other team from grabbing boards, but he didn't collect that many for himself.

The Vols, as it turns out, lost something more important.

Wingate took minutes with him as he frolicked in a land called Honah Lee. Minutes that are having to be spread between two freshmen and a sophomore.

The Vols lost a banger inside. They lost five fouls to give in every game. They lost a guy who was at his best on the defensive end against premiere inside players. Players who were judged to be better than him.

That's a lot to lose when the bulk of your team has never stepped on a college court.

Now, you may be saying at this point, "Hey, other teams rebuild with freshmen, so why are the Vols struggling right now?" Because the other teams that have rebuilt with freshmen have rebuilt from the inside-out.

Brandan Wright at North Carolina. Kevin Durant at Texas. Greg Oden at Ohio State.

Those are all freshmen. And they're all BIG freshmen.

Tennessee is splitting time between Wayne Chism, who is listed as 6-foot-9, and Duke Crews, who is listed at 6-9 but is closer to 6-7.

Ina strong, balanced SEC that's asking for trouble.

To complicate matters, Crews and Chism are backed up by Ryan Childress, who first signed with Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Dane Bradshaw, who has once again been forced to play some strong forward at 6-4.

That's just not enough inside game for the SEC. Especially without Chris Lofton banging down 3s from the outside.

And that's another reason for the struggles. Obviously.

The loss of Lofton to a right-ankle injury only exposes UT's youth and lack of a frontline presence even more. Shoot, take 23 points per game away from any team and it's going to hurt them. But with the lack of experience, size and depth in the paint, it's almost fatal.

Almost.

This team has shown that WITH Lofton, with Pearl's style of play, and with the flashes of promise the freshmen display, they can compete with any team in America.

Splitting games with North Carolina, Ohio State, Butler, Texas, Oklahoma State and Memphis proves that.

So as far as this season is concerned, the Vols must stay alive until Lofton returns. If they can avoid a complete collapse with their All-American out, then they can still make a run at the NCAA tournament in February and March.

If the Vols go 3-5 in the first half of the SEC season, for example, a 5-3 stretch run is certainly not out of the question, especially if Lofton returns in good health for that backstretch.

If the Vols hit 8-8 in the conference, their non-conference work should get them into the dance. The prognosticators at ESPN and SI still have them in their bracket projections, as a matter of fact.

But as for next year and beyond, it's time for Pearl to address the Vols' biggest weakness: the inside game.

It won't be easy to find someone 6-10 or bigger who can run the court in UT's frenetic system. But that player is a must. To the point of scouring the junior-college ranks for someone. Anyone.

The rest of the pieces are in place. Lofton will be back. Ramar Smith, Josh Tabb, Crews and Chism should be ready to build on solid freshman performances.

The big man is the key.

But just one tip to Pearl before signing someone. Ask any possible recruits if they like Pink Floyd's "The Wall."

If the answer is "yes," keep looking.

John Pennington hosts The Hall's Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WATE.