KNOXVILLE -- Good news, Chattanooga!
Wayne Chism feels you!
My conversation with Tennessee's sophomore forward at yesterday's media day started like this...
Me: "Hey Wayne, my name's Wes. I'll be covering you for the Chattanooga newspaper."
Chism: "For real?"
Me: "Yeah. I'll be here pretty much every day, so I wanted to make sure I introduced myself."
Chism: "That's cool. I feel you! I feel Chattanooga!"
Me: "That's good, right?"
Chism: "Yeah."
So we've got that going for us, which is nice.
Here are some other things I noticed yesterday.
These guys really seem to like each other, which would be a great thing for Bruce Pearl's most talented team at Tennessee.
This team has the pieces to be special, but, as Arizona transfer J.P. so matter-of-factly stated, "We're just paper champions yet. We haven't even won one game yet."
Let's see if they all like each other when Pearl sets his starting lineup and playing rotation...
Speaking of Prince, I think all the (understandable) hoopla surrounding fellow transfer Tyler Smith has put Prince's potentially huge impact under the radar -- just with fans and media, though.
The team knows.
"If you don't know about J.P. Prince, you will soon," Chism said. "People who forget about him are making a big mistake."
Prince said the medical issues he had at Arizona are behind him now, and that he's ready to show why he was named a Parade All-American at Memphis's White Station High school.
Pearl gushed about Prince's athleticism and versatility, and it's not hard to see why. At 6-foot-7, Prince (Tayshaun's cousin) can play point guard, small forward and power forward, and coaches think he can play all of them well.
"He makes you go 'Wow' sometimes," Pearl said.
With Smith presumably stepping directly into Dane Bradshaw's vacated power forward spot, it will be interesting to see how Prince fits into things when he's eligible in early December. I don't remember seeing a ton of college players that tall who could handle the ball that well ... but we'll see if that means anything.
Freshman guard/forward Cameron Tatum is a lot bigger than I thought. He was listed at 6-4 or 6-5 in high school, but so when UT's roster listed him at 6-6, I rolled my eyes.
But then I saw Tatum, and I'd say 6-6 is right. In fact, he looked as tall as Smith, who is listed at 6-7.
Pearl said Tatum could work his way into the 10-man playing rotation, and I don't think he was simply trying to motivate him.
All I know at this point is Tatum physically looks like someone who's ready to help, and that everyone is raving about his toughness on the court. We'll see what happens as practice continues, though.
In a sport where most players are listed well above their actual heights and weights, I can't figure out why UT keep lists sophomore point guard Ramar Smith at 6-2, 200 pounds.
He's probably 6-3, 210 pounds.
He looks like an outside linebacker.
I'm guessing he won't have much trouble forcing his way to the rim against most college guards.
Smith honors father
Tyler Smith had two teardrops tattooed below his left eye in honor of his father, Billy Smith, who died last month after a long battle with lung cancer.
Tyler -- a Pulaski, Tenn., native -- transferred to Tennessee this year to be closer to his father, and the NCAA granted him a waiver to play immediately.
Normally, he would have had to sit out this season.
Tyler said his father planned to watch a few home games in person this season, but that "he'll still be watching."
