Tyler Smith: We're not gonna be turkeys

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UT Men's basketball head coach, Bruce Pearl, discusses the Nov. 21 game against MTSU. Watch »

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Tennessee men's basketball team has all but turned into turkeys the past two Thanksgiving weekend tournaments.

Tyler Smith said that's not going to be the case at the Old Spice Classic. The eight-team tournament starts at noon today with the 12th-ranked Vols tipping off against Siena (TV: ESPN2) at The Milk House at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.

"We're going to come out with intensity and treat this like an NCAA tourney seeding game,'' Smith said. "We're not gonna be turkeys, we're not going to have issues, and we're not going to have any 15 or 20-point losses.''

UT suffered back-to-back losses two years ago in the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York City against Butler (56-44) and North Carolina (101-87). The Vols beat West Virginia in the first game of the Legends Classic in Newark, N.J. (74-72) before falling to Texas (97-78) last season.

"Thanksgiving hasn't been too good to me basketball-wise,'' UT coach Bruce Pearl conceded, recalling a Wisconsin-Milwaukee loss to Western Michigan.

UT (3-0) is an 11-point favorite over Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference favorite Siena (2-0), even though the Saints return all five starters from the team that knocked Vanderbilt out of the NCAA Tournament last season with an 83-62 victory.

Both the Vols and the Saints prefer an uptempo style; UT has an obvious advantage with its size and athleticism, while Siena relies on experience and continuity.

"It's hard to beat well-coached teams,'' Smith said. "But I don't think anyone can run with us.''

The Saints said they're going to try to run, anyway.

"They have some big guys, and none of their guys are slow,'' Siena post Ryan Rossiter said. "As a team, we have to beat them down the court collectively.''

Kenny Hasbrouck, the MEAC player of the week after leading the Saints to wins over 2008 NCAA tourney teams Boise State and Cornell, said Siena will play its game.

"This will be a chance to showcase our talents,'' Hasbrouck said. "We play smart; I think we're one of the better running teams in the country.''

The winner of today's UT-Siena game plays the winner of Wichita State (2-1) vs. Georgetown (2-0) at 1 p.m. Friday (ESPN). The losers meet at 10:30 a.m. Friday (ESPNU). Gonzaga (2-0) plays Oklahoma State (4-0) and Michigan State (2-0) faces Maryland (3-0) on the other side of the bracket.

Practice Report: The Vols held a private practice at Rollins College before going to the Milk House at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex for an hour-long public shootaround.

Junior J.P. Prince participated in most drills, but Pearl said the Vols are keeping an eye on Prince's ankle, which he turned in UT's 76-66 win over Middle Tennessee State last Friday.

"We'll have to see how he is (this) morning,'' Pearl said. "It's going to be a tough deal to play three games in four days.''

Wizards' Opening: A Charlotte Observer blog discussed the possibility that Pearl could be a candidate for the Washington Wizards' NBA head coaching job "down the road.''

"I don't know anything about it,'' Pearl said.

Chilly Update: Senior forward Ryan Childress, who injured his knee playing pickup ball in May and underwent surgery in June, said he'll start running next week and hopes to be cleared to practice by Christmas.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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