For Pearl, 'It's not personal, it's business'

There were times the Tennessee men's basketball practice sounded like anything but a holiday gathering Thursday morning.

UT coach Bruce Pearl said that's because there's work to do with the No. 9 Vols.

The Vols (4-1) play host to the College of Charleston (1-2) tonight (TV: CSS, 7 p.m.) at Thompson-Boling Arena

"We're getting great leadership, and our veterans have bought into what we're doing,'' Pearl said. "They understand it's not personal, it's business. We're practicing much more physically.''

Senior captain Tyler Smith said the Vols are all on the same page and need Pearl's intensity.

"We're coming back together here to get better,'' Smith said. "We felt like we beat ourselves (73-72 against Purdue), but we know we're right there.

"We've got to take care of business; we know Charleston has great guards, and Tony White (Jr.) is going to want to have a good game back home.''

White, the son of former UT standout Tony White Sr. (1984-87), is a Bearden High School graduate and the Cougars' starting point guard.

"(Charleston coach) Bobby Cremins is known for doing great things with his guards, and they have three very talented ones who were all point guards,'' Pearl said. "They do great with their ball-screen offense, and this is a team that beat South Carolina last season.''

The Cougars are coming off a 77-71 loss at East Tennessee State Wednesday night, though they were the preseason pick to win the Southern Conference.

That's why Pearl was both meticulous and intense in Thursday's 2 1/2-hour "walk-through" practice.

"I hated having to bring the kids in here on Thanksgiving, but we at least got our workout in early so they could enjoy the holiday,'' he said. "I asked them to appreciate how blessed they are on this day.''

Cam Connection: UT sophomore Cameron Tatum was a high school teammate of Charleston's Jeremy Simmons and trains in the offseason under the direction of Andrew Goudelock's uncle.

"I played with (Simmons) three years,'' said Tatum, the all-time leading scorer at Tucker High School in Lithonia, Ga.

"He stayed right down the street from me, and we would ride together to practice.''

Tatum said he and Simmons talked about this game during the summer, and he communicated with Goudelock last week.

Series History: The Cougars beat the Vols in the teams' only meeting in the first round of the 1996 NIT by a 55-49 count.

"I remember I hit four 3-pointers in that game,'' said UT video coordinator Aaron Green, who played on that Vols team under former coach Kevin O'Neill, "and they still kicked our butts.''

SEC Leaders: The Vols lead the SEC in free throw shooting, hitting at a .742 clip.

UT is also the top 3-point shooting team at .455, led by Scotty Hopson (.584), who is second the SEC to Arkansas' Rotnei Clarke (.622).

Smith leads the SEC with a 3.4 assist/turnover ratio, and the Vols lead the SEC with 19.8 assists per game, scoring margin (29.2), and turnover margin (7.4).

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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