By Mike DeCourcy

updated 1:51 p.m. ET March 27, 2008

Mike DeCourcy

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bruce Pearl did not get to Tennessee without making some bold decisions along the way, and he certainly didn't quit once he got there. That's why you know him for the orange jackets, the painted torso and the subtle feuds with coaches from John Brady to John Calipari.

This is big even for him, though. This is as though Elvis, having already introduced the '50s to longer hair and swiveling hips, suddenly decided to wear a visible tattoo and tongue stud.

After 34 games in which dynamic Ramar Smith started half at point guard and steady Jordan Howell started the other half, Pearl sent out 6-foot-7 sophomore J.P. Prince to open the Volunteers' NCAA Tournament second-round game against Butler. This worked just well enough for Tennessee to advance to a Sweet 16 matchup with Louisville, to be played Thursday night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena — but it remains an audacious maneuver. Even for Pearl.

"We won the SEC this year with good point guard play," Pearl said. "We did not have great point guard play. I didn't think good point guard play was going to help us to win the national championship. I didn't think good point guard play was going to help us advance."

A championship-caliber Final Four point guard can be the Jimmy Black type (solid leader surrounded by heavyweight talent) or the Mateen Cleaves type (dominant figure controlling the game) or the Mike Bibby type (extraordinary talent who can impact every possession). All of those players led their teams to national titles.

How often, though, does a team win a championship with no sense of certainty at the position?

I'm only scrolling back about a decade here, but I'm going to settle on "never."

Even the 2006 LSU team, which had no point guard, was solidified in the position by the time it bullied Duke and Texas to earn its improbable Final Four berth. The Tigers won the SEC title with 6-5 wing Garrett Temple handling the ball and initiating the offense, and were able to score because of Darrel Mitchell's clutch shooting and the relentless offensive rebounding of Tyrus Thomas and Glen "Big Baby" Davis.

In Tennessee and Louisville, however, we find two teams still in flux at this essential position, as they sit only two victories short of college basketball paradise — the Final Four in San Antonio. Andre McGee and Edgar Sosa split time at the point almost equally for the Cardinals. So Louisville is closer to the LSU model — consistently unconventional — than Tennessee is.

UT's plan lately has been shifting from game to game. Against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament semifinals, Smith started for the Vols for the 17th time. That didn't go as well as Tennessee might have liked — a 92-91 loss to Arkansas, four assists and three turnovers from Smith — so Pearl decided he needed something different. He used Howell, who'd started the other 17 games, to open against American, but the Vols were sluggish throughout.

Because Prince's experience at the position was limited mostly to preseason practice months before he became eligible to join the team in December, it wasn't certain he could produce great point guard play. Still isn't. He passed for five assists but committed seven turnovers in the Vols' overtime win against Butler.

Slide show   March Madness moments Highlights of men’s NCAA Tournament’s first two rounds, including upset wins by Davidson, West Virginia and more. more photos

Each team scored only 63 points in regulation, a fairly leisurely game in which to give up the ball so often. But Pearl opted for the lineup that placed his five best players on the floor. It's possible he'll go in that direction again, but the Cardinals like to press almost as much as the Vols, which could cause problems for a turnover-prone point guard.

Pearl acknowledges what he is attempting is not ideal. "Is it hard to make this adjustment at this point? Absolutely. That's your quarterback." But he didn't get this far by being timid — and he believes Tennessee will go no farther if he starts retreating now.

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