The Daily Times

KNOXVILLE — There’s not a timetable on Jeronne Maymon’s injured knee. But Cuonzo Martin said on Thursday that eventually a decision will have to be made.

“(It’s) just a case as we get into January, one of those deals where we sit down with Jeronne Maymon, training staff, doctors and his family and make a decision,” Martin said.

Maymon is listed as ‘out indefinitely’ after suffering a setback in recovery from offseason surgery.

“No decision is made as we speak right now,” Martin said. “We’ll figure out the best case scenario for Jeronne Maymon first and foremost.”

Maymon averaged just over 12 points and eight rebounds per game last season, when he started 32 of Tennessee’s 34 games.

He scored at least 12 points in every Southeastern Conference game last season, recorded a team-high nine double-doubles and was Tennessee’s top rebounder (8.1 per game).

As the setback from the surgery lingered, Martin said he and Maymon discussed the possibilities for this season, which could include a medical redshirt if the 6-foot-7, 270-pound senior forward can’t play this season.

“We’ve talked about every scenario,” Martin said. “You have to do that. We didn’t sit around for five or six months and say lets just see what happens. We talked about every case scenario and we’ll make a decision at the right time.

“He’s open to everything. The thing about Jeronne is he’s a coachable guy. He wants to do what’s best for the team.”

The older the season gets, and the longer the setback lingers, the less chance Maymon can, or will, return this season.

“I wouldn’t bring him out if there’s a month left in the season,” Martin said. “I wouldn’t do that to Jeronne.”

Healthy hall: Kenny Hall missed Tennessee’s 78-62 win over Presbyterian Tuesday with a hamstring injury.

The 6-foot-9 senior forward returned to practice Wednesday and should start tonight against Western Carolina barring any setbacks, Martin said.

“He practiced yesterday, practiced well yesterday,” Martin said Thursday. “We’ll see how it goes, if he has soreness or pain. If he’s healthy, he’ll start for us.”

Hall averaged 6.9 points, 5.75 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game while starting all eight of Tennessee’s games before Presbyterian.

Same approach: There was a lot of change in Tennessee’s first- and second-half performances against Presbyterian. The Blue Hose, after scoring just 13 points in the first 20 minutes, scored 49 after halftime.

Martin called it a “lesson” for his team after the game. That lesson was Tennessee’s continued struggles against smaller, quicker point guards.

“I think the second half, the adjustment made from those guys at Presbyterian was really penetrating with their point guard,” Martin said. “I thought he did a really good job.

“ ... I think for us as a team we have a tendency to struggle with a small, quick point guard that can penetrate off the ball screen. Hope we don’t see that too much down the stretch.”

The Vols won’t see a small point guard tonight, but they’ll see a scorer in Western Carolina point guard Trey Sumler.

“They have a guy that’s 6-2, he’s a good ball player,” Martin said of Sumler. “He’s leading them in scoring, 15-plus (points) a game, leads them in assists, gets to the rim.

Sumler leads the Catamounts in both points per game (15.7) and assists (45).

“He’s a good player, scores a lot of different ways, but not every time off the ball screen.”