Strange: It's October: Starting point OK for Vols

Two minutes or so into the second half, freshman Kenny Hall bolted off the bench, reported to the scorer's table as instructed and was waved into the game.

He made it to about the free-throw line when somebody pointed out he was still wearing his warm-up jacket.

That's why they play exhibition games. To get the kinks out.

At face value it might seem Tennessee shouldn't have that many kinks to get out heading into the 2009-10 basketball season.

The Vols are ranked No. 10 in the preseason poll. They return all five starters and 93 percent of their scoring from a 21-win, NCAA-tournament team.

If you had to make a call Friday night on whether this is a Sweet 16 or even an Elite Eight outfit, a 117-79 exhibition win over North Alabama at Thompson-Boling Arena won't provide any hard, fast answers.

That's almost an unavoidable conclusion. Hey, it's still October.

And that was a Division II opponent that returned exactly 4.2 points of scoring from last season. One of North Alabama's starters was a former practice player from UT.

So, this wasn't Kentucky. It wasn't even Austin Peay, Tennessee's for-real opening guest on Nov. 13.

"You've got to start some place,'' said UT coach Bruce Pearl, "and it was a starting point.''

It was a starting point for Pearl's fifth season at UT. His first four have been about as good a sustained run as the program has ever seen.

And there's no reason to think it won't continue.

The Vols are talented and athletic. They're experienced and the bench is deep.

Furthermore, the new guys, few as they are, will all help.

Tennessee shot 65.7 percent. The Vols could have run the scoreboard to 150 and upwards if Pearl really wanted to. Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism never left the bench in the second half.

Point guard Bobby Maze had nine assists weighed against only one turnover.

Not that there weren't plenty of turnovers to go around - 26 of them.

Scott Hopson was dead on, 8-of-10 overall, 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

Smith was 4-of-4 and looking to get his teammates involved, evidenced by five assists.

And Hall. Forgetting the warm-up jacket was about the only time he looked like a freshman.

The 6-foot-8 forward from Georgia was 5-of-5 from the field, hit all four free throws and hustled up seven rebounds in 16 minutes.

Well, he did manage to foul out. A lot of excitable energy to burn, I suppose.

In Hall's book, though, seven rebounds wasn't enough.

"I kind of let them push me around a little bit and out-muscle me,'' he said.

"That's OK. I'm working on getting lower in my stance and getting my legs stronger so I will not allow that to happen.''

It's encouraging to hear a freshman talk so earnestly about the fundamentals of rebounding. That should bode well for the next few years.

As for the fundamentals of pressing, the hay is not in the barn yet.

Pearl's first three UT teams - and all his teams prior to Tennessee - made a living by pressing 94 feet. He backed off last year, but he's intent on returning to his old ways.

But he didn't like what he saw Friday night against small and quick North Alabama.

The press did its job as far as forcing the tempo. However, the end product was a lot of fast-paced basket-swapping.

"We turned them over 28 times and we turned ourselves over 26 times,'' Pearl said.

"If you can't make plays in the front and you can't make plays in the back, it's hard to press.

"But, obviously, we're not giving up on it.''

It's a starting point. That's why they play exhibition games.

Mike Strange may be reached at strangem@knoxnews.com or 865-342-6276.