Strange: Prince starts, Ramar finishes counterpoint : govolsxtra.com

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In football, there's a school of thought that if you've got two quarterbacks, you've got no quarterback. Some jobs, in other words, require an unquestioned leader.

Translate that to basketball. If you've got two (or even three) point guards, do you really have a point guard?

Tennessee hopes to avoid having to definitively answer that question for the next two weeks.

The curiosity lingers on because the Vols got away with their two-point guard experiment Sunday in a 76-71 overtime win over Butler.

It's not just that there are two of them, but which two.

J.P. Prince made his starting debut at the point, played 31 minutes and had some pretty nice numbers in his box score:

Nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot.

How many teams carrying legitimate Final Four credentials would hand a new point guard the basketball in their 35th game, which, oh, by the way, happens to be in the second round of the NCAA tournament with a Sweet 16 berth on the line?

My hunch is Bruce Pearl is the Lone Ranger on this one.

"It's not a panacea,'' Pearl said Sunday, "but I was able to do some different things offensively, things Butler hadn't seen.

"And that was fun. Actually, it was fun.''

Whether the Vols survived against a very good Butler team in spite of or because of their dual point guards, I'm not sure.

But March Madness is a bottom-line business and it worked. Tennessee plays on.

"I thought it worked well for about 39 minutes,'' Pearl said. "In the last minute, I probably asked J.P. to do too much.''

In the last minute of regulation, Prince committed his fifth and sixth turnovers. After the fifth, Butler scored to tie it at 63-63. After the sixth, a travel with 4.1 seconds to play, Butler got a chance to win it but failed to capitalize.

For overtime, Pearl went back to Ramar Smith, the sophomore who had started 17 games this year before falling from grace.

"I told them J.P. and I did not close out the regulation well,'' said Pearl. "I didn't play-call well and, no fault of his, he's never been in that situation.

"So I said, 'Bail me out.' ''

Ramar to the rescue.

After Butler took its first lead of the game, 68-66, Smith slashed into the lane and scored.

With UT up 70-68, Chris Lofton hurried the ball up court and fed Smith for a layup to make it a four-point lead with 26 seconds left.

"Going to the basket, that's my strength,'' Smith said. "Coach always says go to your strength.''

It's a strength Tennessee saw plenty a year ago, but not as much lately.

Smith played only 13 minutes in regulation, but all five of the overtime.

"Even though we haven't been getting great play from Ramar,'' said Pearl, "he's been in that situation before and he obviously delivered.''

And his teammates loved it.

"He ain't put his head down one time,'' said JaJuan Smith. "He's been right there. He showed he cared by making big plays when we need 'em the most.''

"He went out there,'' added Duke Crews, "and did exactly what he was supposed to do - make plays.''

Thanks to those plays, the experiment moves forward to Charlotte, N.C., where the Vols play Louisville on Thursday.

"I'm not the most popular guy in that locker room, I guarantee you,'' Pearl said. "But I've got to do my job and they've got to handle it.''

They handled it Sunday. It wasn't seamless but, in the end, the job got done.

Now, the stakes get even higher. In a best-case scenario, Prince will be more comfortable; Smith will be re-energized by his strong finish Sunday.

Maybe two point guards won't be one too many.

"He's got my back,'' said Prince, "and I've got his back.

"That's what we do.''

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.