STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Related Links

• Ask Griff: Mike Griffith's blog

More Men's Basketball

• Just like Pearl planned on road
• In-state now 'a basketball event'
• Smith sees adjustment period

Share and Enjoy [?]

Get Reprints

Want to use this article? Click here for options!

Tennessee junior wing J.P. Prince had a secret last season, but as the year progressed it became painfully obvious.

Prince could not drive to his left, nor could he dunk or shoot from the floor with his left hand.

"I had hurt my (left) shoulder in the preseason, and I had like arthroscopic surgery, but that was like taping it - it was still hurt,'' said Prince, who underwent reconstructive shoulder surgery in April.

"So during the season I dislocated that shoulder a lot,'' he said. "I couldn't do anything where I put a lot of pressure on my left hand or moved my left arm too quickly.''

Prince, who has been back on the court since the Vols started individual workouts two weeks ago, said he feels fresher than ever.

"I'll still do rehab, because I need to just keep working to get it even stronger,'' said Prince, who was cleared to perform the bench press for the first time in nearly three years last week. "But I was in that sling for 2 1/2 months this summer and I couldn't run or do anything.

"But I think that injury could make me a better player, because I'm left-handed and I had to do more with my right hand.''

Prince's secret disability wasn't out last season when the Vols played at Xavier on Dec. 22 in Prince's third game with UT, and it's a good thing.

The 6-foot-8 Memphis product scorched the Musketeers with a 23-point, coming-out party in 20 minutes of play in a 82-75 win.

"He played 20 minutes, had 23 points and it felt like 40,'' Xavier coach Sean Miller said, admittedly shell-shocked by a player who had seemingly come out of nowhere.

UT basketball fans, meanwhile, had followed Prince on the comeback trail from the time he transferred from Arizona a year earlier. At that time, Prince was a 180-pound weakling, a few months removed from an induced coma, An infected wisdom tooth in the spring of 2006 had brought on a bizarre set of circumstances that led to a potentially deadly respiratory problem.

Prince, now up to 215 pounds, doesn't like to discuss his misadventures at Arizona, preferring instead to direct the talk to his budding career with the Vols.

Prince earned the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year award with his versatility and clutch play in what may rank as the biggest win in Tennessee basketball history.

Prince scored 13 points - all in the second half - pulled down eight rebounds and had two steals in a 66-62 win over then-No. 1 Memphis on Feb. 23.

Prince will be remembered for his "moment'' as much as his boxscore.

It was Prince who stepped to the free throw line facing a one-and-one situation with 8.8 seconds left and UT clinging to a 62-61 lead.

With 18,389 fans in the electric blue FedEx Forum screaming loudly with hopes of helping the Tigers extend their home-court win streak to 48 games, Prince calmly sank both free throws, all but icing the game and lifting the Vols to their first No. 1 ranking.

"As soon as I made those free throws, I turned and pointed to coach (Bruce) Pearl,'' Prince said. "I knew that without him, I never would have made them.''

Just two weeks earlier Pearl announced he was taking over as Prince's free throw shooting coach after Prince made just 1-of-5 free throws in a narrow 47-45 win at LSU.

Prince was a 44 percent free throw shooter (31 of 70) through 45 career games (31 at Arizona) when Pearl assumed free throw guru duties.

The final 13 games of last season, Prince hit 77 percent from the free throw line (23 of 30).

"We just came to practice and coach Pearl said, 'We're going to figure out what we have to do,' " said Prince, who shot his free throws left-handed, bad shoulder and all. "It was about keeping the balls straight, taking my time, taking a few breaths, and lining up on the right side of the line with my left foot centered on the goal.

"Coach saw all that.''

And now Pearl sees Prince on the verge of heavy competition at the wing as the Vols look to maximize an influx of talent.

Redshirt freshman Cameron Tatum is pushing hard on the wing and at shooting guard as is junior Josh Tabb and incoming freshmen Scotty Hopson and Renaldo Woolridge.

With center Brian Williams' improvement, the Vols could also opt for a lineup that would put Williams at center, Wayne Chism at power forward and Tyler Smith on the wing.

"All that competition makes us better as a whole,'' Prince said. "We have so many talented new people, we know we'll have a deep bench and we can wear some people down.

"I'm just glad I'm finally healthy.''

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.