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UT's basketball recruiters get much-needed break

Tennessee assistant men's basketball coaches Tony Jones, Steve Forbes and Jason Shay said goodbye to the recruiting trail Tuesday night by NCAA mandate.

Of course, they'll be back out on the road evaluating talent July 22-31 before returning to Knoxville for the start of fall-term classes and individual workouts.

"It's definitely a break in the action, and it gives us an opportunity to keep up with our players as they finish summer school," Jones said. "Personally, it gives me a chance to see my sister, Sheila Stinson, who underwent open heart surgery on July 5 and is at Fort Sanders."

Jones finished off his recruiting trip at the Peach Jam tournament in Augusta, Ga., while Shay was at the Florida Breakdown tournament in Miami and Forbes was attending Washington D.C. summer league games.

Forbes had tentatively planned to attend the 18-under Federal International Basketball Association World Championships in Argentina this week, but travel complications forced him to cancel his trip.

"I was going to fly through Buenos Aires and have to drive 30 miles to another airport to fly to Formosa (Argentina),'' Forbes said. "That might have been a hassle, but that wasn't the problem. I couldn't get a room in Formosa, and my travel agent didn't think it would be a good idea to go down there without a room reserved.''

The U.S. Department of State's travel Web site warns that fallout from Argentina's economic crisis has been linked to a rise in street crime in the South American nation.

The Vols are expected to have two scholarships to offer players in the Class of 2009, with Ryan Childress entering his senior year and junior Tyler Smith expected to enter the NBA draft after this season.

Kenny Hall, a 6-foot-8 forward from Stone Mountain, Ga., has verbally committed, laying claim to one of the scholarships. Hall, who plays his AAU ball for the Georgia Stars, was participating in the Peach Jam.

Forbes' plans to go to Argentina likely were linked to Dominic Cheek, a 6-5 guard from St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J. Cheek, the No. 11 overall player in the Class of 2009 according to Rivals.com, is playing in the 18-under world championships and is considering Tennessee among many other schools.

The Vols also are recruiting Lorenzo Brown, a 6-4 guard from Centennial High School in Alpharetta, Ga., who Rivals ranks as the No. 37 overall player in the Class of 2009.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

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