Kenny Hall News

Tyler Smith scored 15 points and No. 11 Tennessee held off scrappy East Tennessee State for a 78-66 victory Wednesday night.

Tobias Harris. Anyone who actually follows college basketball knows the name. He's quite possibly the most sought after recruit in the nation.A Schools like Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Syracuse, Tennessee, and others have all been in the running, and Harris has expressed interest in all of them.

'He's the kind of guy that we want in this program.' As a junior last year at McEachern, Golden averaged 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds per game while leading the Indians to a 24-4 record.

Tennessee beat Austin Peay 83-54 in an in-state, non-conference game at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Confidence: a shooter's best friend. As season openers go, this was about what you'd expect .

All are pieces to the Big Orange Basketball puzzle. The question is, will they all come together to form a championship picture? Bruce Pearl leads his boys into battle for another season.

As a junior last year at LCHS, McRae averaged 23 points per game and earned 2008-09 honorable mention All-State honors from both the Georgia Sports Writers Association and the Atlanta Journal Constitution while leading the Panthers to the round of 16 in the Class AAA state playoffs and a 20-6 overall record.

The last time Tennessee was ranked in the preseason top 10, it broke the school record for wins and claimed its first SEC regular-season title in more than 40 years.

The most commonly heard words at the Tennessee men's basketball scrimmage Tuesday were "sprint,'' "effort'' and "hustle.'' Coach Bruce Pearl indicated he didn't see enough of any of it with Friday's 9 p.m. tip with Austin Peay fast approaching.

Tennessee sophomore Renaldo Woolridge is trying to find his groove on the men's basketball team.

Tennessee's basketball team has only completed two exhibition games, against Division II teams at that, but coach Bruce Pearl is sure of one thing.

Someone forgot to tell Scotty Hopson it was exhibition season. Tennessee's sophomore guard dropped in 20 points Friday night as the Vols used muscle and athleticism to overpower Division II North Alabama 117-79 to win both teams' first exhibition game of the season in front of 18,362 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Forgive coach Bruce Pearl if he's sounds a little repetitive. His Volunteers have competed for SEC championships each of the four seasons he's been with the team, and Pearl expects this year to be no different.

Skylar McBee for three was the story that unfolded at the Tennessee basketball scrimmage Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Coach: Bruce Pearl . Last season's record: 21-13 overall, 10-6 in SEC . Postseason: Lost in first round of NCAA tournament to Oklahoma State .

SCOUTING THE NEWCOMERS: Kenny Hall is a 6-8 freshman who was rated as one of the top power forward prospects in the country and was among Rivals.com's top 75 prospects.

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl is ready to speed things up again. Known for his up-tempo offense and pressure defense, Pearl slowed down the Volunteers' game last season to accommodate their youth and inexperience.

Kyle sees our Record of Wrongs and raises one of Georgia's own . With Emmanuel Negedu out for the season and perhaps his career, Bruce Pearl is moving pieces around to shore up the front court .

Tennessee lost a piece of its puzzle when it was announced Tuesday that sophomore power forward Emmanuel Negedu will not play for the Vols for the 2009-10 season and is unlikely to continue his basketball career.