For starters, UT 'playing together'

Not bad for starters.

That was Wayne Chism's conclusion after 10th-ranked Tennessee opened the men's basketball season with a convincing 83-54 victory over Austin Peay on Friday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"It does take a while for a team to get rolling,'' said Chism, the 6-foot-9 starting center, "but this team is really playing together.''

There were a few moments in the game when a player here or there seemed to force the action, particularly the point guards.

Senior point guard Bobby Maze has worked hard on his 3-point shot, but he has been at his best in orange when distributing the basketball.

Junior college transfer Melvin Goins is quick as a water bug at point guard, but he's learning that some of his scoring moves to the basket would be best left behind in the juco ranks.

The Vols' shot hierarchy will continue to evolve and change shape with each opponent.

Chism, for example, attempted only one 3-point shot against Austin Peay. Chism had other opportunities, but he passed on them to get the ball to teammates in better position.

"I'm still Wayne, and I'm still playing Wayne's game,'' said Chism, who had 11 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, no turnovers and two blocked shots. "There will be times I'll take them. But the other guys can shoot them, too, and I'll go be ready to rebound them.

"Coach (Bruce Pearl) looks for me to do a lot more and take more of a leadership role.''

Pearl also had been looking for Cameron Tatum to show fans why he was so high on him in the preseason.

Tatum had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 shooting beyond the 3-point arc, along with four rebounds and two blocked shots.

"Cam Tatum played really well on both ends of the floor, shot it well, defended it well,'' Pearl said. "You saw tonight what I had been seeing in practice and why I had been singing his praises.''

Tatum is sharing time with starter J.P. Prince on the wing.

Prince, arguably the Vols' best penetrator off the dribble, outplayed Tatum in the exhibition games. But against Austin Peay, he was only 1-of-3 shooting and didn't collect a rebound.

Pearl said UT has plenty of things to work on before it plays UNC-Asheville at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Thompson-Boling Arena.

"We missed a bunch of dunks, missed wide-open threes, we didn't get to the free-throw line,'' Pearl said. "We only shot 11 of them (free throws) and made five of them. That's a concern.''

About half of the players have night classes after UT basketball practices, preventing them from staying after to get extra shots.

But as Pearl alluded, it's clear that extra time will need to be spent in the gym at some point for the Vols to accomplish their goals.

Austin Peay also was able to slow down the Vols at times with its zone, and Pearl said he'll be looking to put in more offensive plays in to counter that defense.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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