Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl loves a winner, and signee Daniel West has certainly proven himself to be that.

West, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound point guard from Saginaw (Mich.) High School, signed to play with the Vols on Wednesday and will enroll in classes in June.

West led Saginaw to its second consecutive state title in Michigan’s largest high school classification and a No. 4 (USA Today) national ranking, scoring 21 points with eight assists in the Class A state title game against Detroit’s Pershing High School.

“Daniel’s a winner, simple as that,’’ Pearl said. “Now, the answer to our point guard situation next season is going to be Ramar Smith’s development. But I expect Daniel to compete and contribute as a freshman.’’

Pearl said West just needs to get stronger and gain experience.

“But there’s a lot about him I’m very excited about,’’ he said. “Defensively, he’s got some Mookie Blaylock in him; he’s very quick and he anticipates well.

“Offensively, he’s very good at making people around him better, and that’s what you look for in a point guard.’’

UT is expected to get signed scholarship papers from McDonald’s All-American Scotty Hopson on Tuesday.

Hopson, a 6-7 shooting guard from Hopkinsville, Ky., is playing in the Jordan Classic all-star game Saturday in New York City and holding a press conference at his high school.

The Vols signed two players from the class of ’08 in November, 6-10 post player Phillip Jurick from East Ridge High School and 6-8 wing Renaldo Woolridge from North Hollywood, Calif.

Woolridge will play in the Adidas Derby Classic in Louisville on Saturday night.