MEDIA DAY COMMENTS FROM TENNESSEE COACH BRUCE PEARL

Oct. 10, 2006

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"It's hard to believe that it was about a year ago at this time, except I was facing in a different direction, we were here visiting and getting ready to kickoff the start of our first campaign. As I said then, and I think I'll say it again now, I felt like we were going to have two first years. Perhaps this one is going to look more like a traditional first year than any other.

"This is my favorite time of year. There's no question. Not just because the weather is wonderful and the leaves are getting ready to change, but because it's the start of practice. For me, practice is an opportunity once again to focus on the process, the things that we have to do to get ourselves in position to defend our championship in the SEC East and compete for championships this year in the SEC and the NCAA.

"We had a good fall. According to our strength coach, Troy Wills, and our trainer, Chad Newman, we're bigger, stronger and faster than when we came in. This team has worked as hard, or perhaps even harder, than we have before. We've got good leadership from the guys that return, and the freshman have held up - which physically is really a challenge, and I know that we'll have an entire season to talk about that as we continue to progress.

"As you look at the SEC, it's probably never been positioned as strongly as it is right now. I look at three teams as being Final Four-caliber teams. I think that Florida certainly is, and I feel like Alabama and LSU can both make arguments to get to the Final Four. And I think Kentucky is going to be much-improved for sure. Everybody else will be competing for those next couple of spots that are so very, very cherished.

"Our challenges this year: We lose 50 percent of our scoring, we lose our leading rebounder, we lose our leading field goal percentage shooter and our leading assist man. Six out of the 11 players that will be on this roster as scholarship players will be playing in their first college basketball game. Those will be some of the challenges that we face, that lack of experience, if you will. One of the things that you could point towards last year, as far as our success, was our experience. It was reflected specifically on the road. The fact that we were 6-2 on the road in conference play and played well on the road at Texas, at Memphis and neutral sites, that experience really served us well last season.

"But we are ready to go. The attitude of the team is extremely positive."