Pearl wants players more controlled after first exhibition

The Tennessee men's basketball opening exhibition game against North Alabama had a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde element about it.

The Vols treated their fans to a 117-79 victory over Division II North Alabama on Friday night before an announced crowd of 18,362.

But UT coach Bruce Pearl saw plenty of warts in his 10th-ranked Vols throughout the performance.

"We like to call it 'Controlled Chaos,' '' Pearl said, referring to the pressure style UT utilized his first three years as head coach. "But I'm not sure it wasn't more chaos than controlled tonight.

"The game was too sloppy, but it's a starting point.''

UT sophomore Scotty Hopson enjoyed the strongest and most consistent performance, scoring a team-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor, including making 4 of 5 beyond the 3-point arc.

But even Hopson showed areas to improve as he failed to get to the free-throw line and had the ball stolen on drives.

"He got stripped and ripped,'' Pearl said. "His arms are so long, he exposes the ball; he's got to do a better job protecting the ball and playing through contact.

Skylar McBee, a freshman walk-on from Grainger High School, provided more fire-support from the shooting guard position. McBee scored 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting beyond the arc while making 3 of 4 free throws.

McBee admitted he had stars in his eyes taking the floor for the team he once dreamed of playing for.

"I don't think words can describe it,'' McBee said. "Playing in front of these fans, my friends and family . . . the nerves were there at first.''

Hopson and McBee's perimeter efforts set the tone. Collectively, UT made 10 of its 17 3-point attempts (58.8 percent). The Vols ranked last in the SEC last season in 3-point field-goal percentage.

Pearl praised the play of freshman center Kenny Hall and senior point guard Bobby Maze. Hall scored 14 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, and Maze had nine assists and just one turnover.

And yet, both Maze and Hall agreed with their coach that the victory left much to be desired.

"It's good this was an exhibition and we got to knock some rust off,'' Maze said. "We're not ready for November 13.''

Hall said he, too, needs a lot of improvement before the Vols' regular-season opener against Austin Peay on Nov. 13 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"I'm disappointed I didn't get as many defensive rebounds (three) as I wanted,'' Hall said.

Sophomore Renaldo Woolridge, who switched from playing primarily on the wing to power forward, said he likes his new role.

"I think I have as many opportunities for 3-point shots, if not more,'' said Woolridge, who made 2 of 3 attempts beyond the arc despite playing with a sore wrist. "Plus, I'm closer to the basket where I can rebound more.''

Pearl elected to sit out Brian Williams, Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism one half apiece in order to experiment with different rotations.

Jared Strode led North Alabama with 20 points and former UT walk-on Brett Jackson scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.

The Vols next play Lincoln-Memorial at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in their final exhibition game.