Pearl to make 1.6 million next season (Rivals.com)

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:32:00 PDT

Tennessee head basketball coach Bruce Pearl has been rewarded for an regular season SEC Championship and a...

Tennessee Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:01:28 PDT

The best season in school history over after a second straight regional semifinal loss, Tennessee now ponders how to make the next step as a basketball program.

A 31-win team will return three starters and most key reserves for 2008-09, although the two starters it must replace just happen to be guards Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith, who made the team as explosive as any in the nation for most of the season.

Next year's team will be headlined by 6-foot-7 junior forward Tyler Smith, who proved to be one of the country's most versatile players. Smith led the team in rebounds and assists while also scoring in double figures.

Six-nine junior center Wayne Chism seemed to turn his season around with an 18-point, 18-rebound performance against Vanderbilt in mid-January.