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In college basketball it's never too soon to be looking at the "next'' starting lineup, and that's especially true in this age of "one-and-done'' players and the NBA's willingness to draft underclassmen.

So while Tennessee is poised for another SEC title run this season with newcomers such as Scotty Hopson and Bobby Maze expected to make an immediate impact, the Vols are already looking further into the future.

The Vols already have one verbal commitment for the Class of 2009 with 6-foot-8 forward Kenny Hall of Stone Mountain, Ga., and expect to add another before the spring signing period ends.

UT assistant coach Steve Forbes indicated there's almost as much urgency in finding players out of the 2010 high school class as the final piece to the 2009 group.

"It's very important for us at this point, because we'll have several scholarships available in that class (2010),'' said Forbes, who played a major role in the Vols signing Hopson, Maze and Emmanuel Negedu in the most recent recruiting class, ranked No. 7 nationally by Rivals.com.

Tennessee figures to have four, and perhaps five, scholarships to offer in the Class of 2010.

Maze, Josh Tabb, Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince are all entering their junior seasons, and there's a chance that Hopson could be gone by the end of his sophomore year.

Forbes said scoping out talent that's still two years away from playing at the collegiate level isn't as difficult as it once was.

"Each year kids are getting more advanced in their abilities,'' Forbes said. "It's easier to evaluate kids at that age because they are so mature in their game.''

That's probably why nine of the top 14 players in Scout.com's Class of 2010 - seven of the top 14 in Rivals rankings - have already made verbal commitments.

"There's some projection involved in anyone you recruit, but the kids that are going to be juniors, you can go with what you see, especially the guards,'' Forbes said. "My philosophy has been to recruit offense and coach defense, but you're always looking for a certain dimension in their game that makes them a high major player.

"Dribbling, shooting and passing are all important, and in our system at Tennessee, the more versatile a player is, the better.''

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.