Tennessee's 2012-13 basketball season, for which practice began last Friday, is getting started under immensely different circumstances to say the least. Instead of getting used to a new coaching staff, a new system and new individual roles for virtually everyone on the roster, this year's team has been able to hit the practice floor running. So to speak.

Anyone familiar with Cuonzo Martin's first year on the job will recall that there were some glaring examples of the sort of expected growing pains you'd expect to see from a team in transition. Those examples were almost entirely to be found early on, in November and December, when Tennessee was still in the process of not only 'buying in,' to a new way of doing things, but learning the ins and outs of exactly what that meant on the court.

"There's no comparison between this year and last year as far as our understanding of the system, and probably just as important, how coach Martin wants things done," Trae Golden said. "You expect to have some ups and downs when you have as much change as we did, and with the schedule we played early on last year a lot of that stuff showed up quick.

...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now for a FREE Trial