Buzz Peterson has coached at seven different locations since his playing days at North Carolina, but he's never really left the powder blue behind. You won't find it in the Tennessee color scheme, but it will color many of the decisions Peterson makes in trying to change the Volunteers' underachieving pedigree.

You'll find it in the form of the Dean Smith Method, which has proven to be the most productive trickle-down coaching philosophy in basketball. From Larry Brown to George Karl to Roy Williams to Bill Guthridge to any of several others, the profession has gone head over Heels for former Smith assistants and players.

	Tennessee has shown early signs of responding to Buzz Peterson's demands.

That includes Peterson, who has never had a losing season in five years as a head coach. He's won a minimum of 20 games in each of the last four seasons -- three at Appalachian State and one at Tulsa -- good enough to earn him his shot at cleaning up the talented mess Jerry Green left behind in Knoxville.

The cleanup began with a home win over sneaky-tough Tennessee Tech. Next up is another quality opponent, Marquette, Wednesday night in the Great Alaska Shootout.

Watch the Vols and you should see evidence of the Smith Method at work.

You already see it on the cover of the media guide: honor thy seniors. That means Jenis Grindstaff (career 3.1 points per game) and Del Baker (2.3 ppg) join star forward Vincent Yarbrough there, while junior forward Ron Slay (12.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg last year) goes on the back page.

You see it in practice plans detailed to the minute, with a Thought for the Day and Emphasis of the Day, just the way Dean did it.

You see it at practice. Already, retired head coaches Smith, Bill Guthridge and Eddie Fogler have stopped by to watch and share ideas with Peterson, who is always looking to learn from others' successes and failures.

You assuredly will see it on the court in style of play. And, if Peterson is earning his sizeable paycheck, you will see it in the areas of toughness and headiness -- areas where the Vols came up small, finishing the year 6-10 after a 16-1 start and earning Green his dismissal.

"My first day at Appalachian State (in 1996), I asked coach Smith, 'What does it take to be successful?'" Peterson said. "He said, 'You've got to have discipline.' I've always remembered that."

At Tennessee, there was much work to do in that area. Discipline started with punctuality -- be on time to class, meetings and practice. It carried over to academics, where several players were in trouble when Peterson arrived.

Miss class and you might run. Or -- and this was not a part of the Smith Method -- you might find yourself called in to read Shakespeare in the coach's office.

The message: Your slacker days are over, Vols. Or, as Peterson put it, "Do the right thing when nobody's around to watch you."

"From Day One, they've been pretty good," Peterson said of the Vols, who lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. "It's a feel thing. I'll learn things along the way I need to correct.

"You have to be open and communicate. I was talking to (Carolina coach) Matt Doherty about it, and he feels like he lost his team there at the end (last year). I've tried to communicate to our players, 'This is what I expect from you.'"

Peterson's Communication 101 seminar has become a night class. He's meeting with his players every night in Alaska at 10 p.m. Just to talk. Become better acquainted. Hear a few life stories and talk a little basketball strategy.

Monday night's topic: Communicating on the court.

"We don't think real well on the court," Peterson said. "To help that, we're calling each other's names out in passing drills."

The name that should be called out most often for Tennessee is Yarbrough's. The splendid swingman has been forced to play power forward so far this season because of a spate of injuries, but will spend the majority of the season at small forward. His ability to shoot the 3, score off the dribble and rebound make him NBA material -- if only Peterson can teach him to play a little defense. Goodness knows Green didn't.

"We've been talking to him about being physical on the defensive end, being a stopper," Peterson said. "He's so quick and long that he has that ability. He really bought into that and did a good job in (the Tennessee Tech) game."

He also scored 26 points, two shy of his career high. Until 6-foot-10 Marcus Haislip returns from academic ineligibility in mid-December, and Slay fully recovers from a stress fracture in his leg -- he's expected to play against Marquette, but not to start -- Yarbrough will be asked to carry an otherwise young team.

The Marquette-Tennessee game will be an interesting evaluation game for both Peterson and another talented young coach, Tom Crean. His team is 2-0 and his buttons are bursting with pride in former assistant Tim Buckley, whose Ball State squad has now stunned Kansas and UCLA back-to-back.

Crean's Marquette program is undergoing a rapid and dramatic infusion of athleticism. The result: The formerly deliberate Golden Eagles averaged 91 points in their first two victories, over Loyola (Chicago) and Chicago State. The guard tandem of senior Cordell Henry and sophomore Dwayne Wade combined to average 43.5 points in the two games to lead Marquette.

"We're much more athletic, but at the same time, we're trying to convince them to be a good half-court defensive team and a good rebounding team," Crean said. "The Tennessee game will be interesting to see where we're at with our team defense."

Games of the Week

Alabama vs. Memphis Wednesday Guardians Classic Think a few NBA scouts might turn out for this third-place game? At the very least it should be great fun to watch, as Dajuan Wagner, Kelly Wise and Chris Massie take on Rod Grizzard, Erwin Dudley and Maurice Williams. Louisville at Oregon Saturday Cardinals won their opener by 54. Ducks have won three games by an average of 37.7. Both teams are scoring tons of points. It should be entertaining -- and a great measuring stick for both teams. Oregon is bigger, but Pitino has had an entire week to devour film of the team that beat the 'Ville by 23 last year in Freedom Hall. Vanderbilt at Hampton Saturday This game didn't look like much until Hampton took out Carolina in its season opener. Add that win to its upset of Iowa State last year in the NCAA Tournament, and the Commodores might be realistic underdogs for this one.

'Pitinoball' in full effect
The fact that Rick Pitino's debut at Louisville exceeded the hype tells you how dominant the Cardinals were in scorching South Alabama 92-38 Sunday.

Every element of Pitinoball was present, from the press to the fast-paced offense to the exceptional stamina of the players. The initial blast of full-court defense produced nine turnovers on the Jaguars' first nine possessions, and it took them 6½ minutes to even get a shot to the rim. The score morphed to 19-0, then 31-3, then 47-11.

"I saw that look on teams' faces when I would watch Coach's teams at Kentucky," said guard Erik Brown, a Lexington native. "It's a totally different feel we bring to the court right now. We kind of get used to the intensity in practice. It was good to see that look on another team's face."

Let it be known that the young South Alabama team on the floor Sunday was awful. Let it also be known that this Louisville team bears no resemblance to the dysfunctional, effort-optional group that lost 19 games in Denny Crum's final season.

Even though it's largely the same players.

It had to be an odd feeling for Crum, who attended the game in low-profile fashion, to watch players he could get to do so little now doing so much. He was not introduced to the crowd at any point -- perhaps another sign that he and athletic director Tom Jurich never really made up after the acrimonious end last season -- and left quietly with about four minutes to play.

This Louisville team still has deficiencies, starting with its interior play. But the rest of the country has been forewarned: Better lace 'em up tight if Pitino's team is on your schedule.

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