Tennessee had just been picked to finish 13th in a 14-team league and Rick Barnes had a question for his players.
How many of them thought they had a pro career ahead of them? A bunch of hands went up, sophomore guard Lamonte' Turner recalled.
Then Barnes provided a dose of reality, as he has done many times in his coaching career.
"Well, nobody else does," Barnes said.
Fast forward to Wednesday and Tennessee (25-8) enters play at American Airlines Center as the No. 3 seed in the South Region, facing Wright State (25-9) on Thursday.