Strange: New faces, old results on hardwood

Strictly speaking, it's not a whole new ballgame at Thompson-Boling Arena this winter. But it's close.

Friday night I watched Tennessee's men run up a ridiculous 40-2 first-half lead on Tusculum College in an exhibition game. There were one or two familiar faces.

If I'm not mistaken, I recognized Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism from that Sweet 16 team of last year.

The night before, I watched the Lady Vols run up an even more ridiculous 135-55 exhibition win against Carson-Newman College.

I believe that No. 44, Alex Fuller, helped cut down the nets in Tampa early last April.

So the point is, there's a lot of new faces - I mean a lot - populating the court as Tennessee's men and women get set to launch new seasons.

A quick word about the old season. Between them, the Vols and Lady Vols went 67-7 last year.

The women went 36-2 and won their second consecutive national title. The men won a record 31 games and reached the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.

In short, Tennessee has never seen a season like it.

And most every player who had anything to do with it is gone.

The Lady Vols lost all five starters. The men bid adieu to five of their top eight players.

However, no one out there in Gainesville or Nashville or Storrs is feeling sorry for Pat Summitt or Bruce Pearl. That's because there are some exciting new kids on the block.

They're not just exciting, they're exceptional.

I watched six brand new freshmen over the past two nights who were McDonald's All-American selections. Five of them were Lady Vols, the other Scotty Hopson.

When the Lady Vols routed Carson-Newman on Thursday night, newcomers scored 121 of the 135 points.

You're going to love Shekinna Stricklen. You'll be proud of Glory Johnson, the hometown girl who scored 33 in her debut.

"Shekinna Stricklen is just a player,'' Summitt said. "Glory is one of the best athletes we've ever had in our program.''

Any of the other true freshmen, Alicia Manning, Alyssia Brewer, Amber Gray and Briana Bass, could start for most teams in the country on opening night. Redshirt freshman Kelley Cain is a formidable presence in the post.

"I see the potential for them to be very competitive,'' Summitt said.

"I think a lot of people think this is the time get us, but we don't want to let that happen.''

Pearl's men, meanwhile, have something Summitt doesn't: a preseason SEC player of the year candidate in Smith. Plus, veterans Chism and (once he's healthy) J.P. Prince.

Still, the Vols have to replace 47 points of offense. And they have to do it with only one McDonald's All-American. Of course, that's one more than UT's men usually have.

That said, Pearl's recruiting class was ranked No. 7 in the nation by rivals.com and Friday night offered a few clues why.

Newcomers scored 50 points in an 82-51 win over Tusculum.

Reynaldo Woolridge was the leading scorer. Hopson and Emmanuel Negadu were solid, as was redshirt freshman Cameron Tatum. Bobby Maze, the junior-college transfer, performed his function with nine assists.

I wondered if Pearl had formed an opinion yet as to whether the new guys could adequately replace the old guys. The answer is not yet.

"We just play 'em one at a time and see where we're at,'' he said. "We've got to get better to beat Chattanooga.''

That's the official opener, a week from tonight.

And while both UT teams are leaning heavily on new faces, their respective situations aren't necessarily comparable because they're on different learning curves

"The Lady Vols,'' said Pearl, "have got five or six McDonald's All-Americans who came here planning on starting because they lost five starters.

"At Pat's first practice, everybody's on the same page. They're learning at the same pace.

"This group here is a blend. We've got Tyler and Wayne saying, 'Let's go,' and I say, 'Hold on, the other guys have got to get caught up.' ''

They caught up some Friday night. There's a ways to go yet, but it ought to be fun watching them get there.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strangem@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!