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• Just like Pearl planned on road
• In-state now 'a basketball event'
• Smith sees adjustment period

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Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl can appreciate how his players and the fanbase is feeling.

Hence the team's latest slogan as they prepare for fall workouts: "Unfinished Business.''

But with five newcomers, a redshirt freshman and a new starting backcourt, Pearl and his coaching staff will have to adjust how they go about their business on the practice floor.

UT associate head coach Tony Jones explained that the changes are underway.

"A representative from John Lucas' basketball academy worked with some of our players on individual instruction,'' Jones said. "It included individual moves, inside and on the perimeter, and some drill work for reaction skills.''

Jones said that, usually, the players get a great deal of that type of work when individual workouts begin at the start of fall term.

"This year, we may start with a little more structure as far as learning our flex (offense) as opposed to those individual skills,'' he said. "We'll integrate them into the press and our pressure techniques and fundamentals.''

The talent level of the new players enables the Vols to put their season preparation on fast forward, and UT's rigorous early season schedule all but demands it.

Jones said the staff is confident the players will be able to handle it.

"These kids we have are high quality, and each and every one of them has proven that by being diligent, by being on time for the appointments on their schedules,'' Jones said. "When you have that type of character, you'll be more on task than maybe in the past.

"I can tell you that all of us coaches are looking forward to working with these newcomers. They'll bring a new level of knowledge and skill.''

Jones said he likes the reviews he has heard on rising sophomore Brian Williams, who shed 100 pounds en route to landing at UT last summer and has since firmed up his frame.

"Brian has been our most improved player from what I'm hearing,'' Jones said. "That's big for us; it gives us the option of sliding Wayne (Chism) to the four (power forward) and Tyler (Smith) to the three (wing) in some personnel packages if the situation calls for it.''

Jones controls the substitutions for the Vols in Pearl's 10-man rotation system. He can casually throw out a half-dozen personnel combinations within seconds, and another four or five should fouls become an issue.

"We'll just have to see what happens and how they look on the court when we get to work with them in a couple of weeks,'' Jones said. "But we're excited.''

UT assistant Steve Forbes, the staff's defensive guru, is as anxious as Jones to break down the newcomers.

"You know regardless of our plan this fall we're going to have time set aside for defense,'' Forbes said. "It will need to be a little more basic with the new guys, but we won't know how basic until we get into it and see where they are at.''

Jason Shay, whose primary responsibility remains scouting and game-planning with Pearl, said it's tough playing the waiting game.

"It's all about matchups, and we gotta know our players before we can really get into that,'' Shay said. "It's gonna be a challenge; If we don't have the toughest schedule in the nation, I'd like to see it.

"You've got the Old Spice Classic, which is loaded, and then we're at Temple, at Kansas, we play Marquette with those three Big East guards, and then Gonzaga and Memphis roll in here in January,'' Shay said, laughing out loud before finishing his thoughts on the slate, "and we haven't even started talking about the SEC, and you know that's gonna be tough again.''

So, Shay was asked, how is his mentor (Pearl) handling all this behind closed doors?

"Shoot, you know Coach (Pearl),'' Shay said. "Nothing's changed with him. We want to win the SEC and we all know Tennessee hasn't been past the Sweet 16, and we haven't either as a coaching staff.''

Unfinished business, indeed.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.