New Tennessee Coach Cuonzo Martin will give Wes Washpun a chance to crack the starting lineup as a freshman and make an immediate impact with the Volunteers next season.

Washpun, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Cedar Rapids Washington, signed with Tennessee on Wednesday.

"I really think he has an opportunity to play," Martin said in a telephone interview with the Metro Sports Report. "It's not a deal where he comes in and we say we're gong to sit you out for one or two years. Wes has every opportunity to come in and play from Day 1."

Washpun will be competing with Trae Golden and Chris Jones at point guard. Golden, 6-1, averaged 3.0 points and 0.7 assists for Tennessee this season as a freshman with one start. Jones, 5-10, from Memphis, signed with former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl last fall.

"Wes will pretty much get what he earns," Martin said.

Martin offered Washpun a scholarship in February to attend Missouri State, then renewed the offer after he succeeded Pearl at Tennessee this spring. Martin was the first major college coach to offer Washpun a scholarship and they developed a relationship that resulted in Washpun picking Tennessee over Iowa.

"The thing I liked about him was his athleticism and his passion for the game," Martin said. "He plays with a high level of energy and passion, he has a smile on his face, he's very competitive out there.

"He's one of those guys, as good as he is and as good as he'll be, he doesn't mind who gets the glory. He just wants to win and wants to be competitive. Those are the things I like about him.

"Sometimes it's hard to get guys that bind your team together, and I thought he did a great job of that. He's also a natural true point guard," Martin said. "He knows how to run a team."

Martin said he needed a few days to evaluate his new team at Tennessee before finalizing an offer to Washpun, to make sure the circumstances would be right for everyone.

"The thing is, you have to be smart in your approach," he said. "Like I said, from a talent standpoint I knew he could play at this level.

"If you had two point guards already in the fold and they're freshmen and sophomores, then you wouldn't take Wes. That wouldn't be the smart thing to do."

Martin said Golden and Jones, the other point-guard candidates, are "combo" guards who can play alongside Washpun in the backcourt.

Missouri State is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference whereas Tennessee plays in the stronger Southeastern Conference, but Martin said he never doubted Washpun had the skills to be successful in the SEC.

"I think a lot of times, it's kind of blown out of proportion what level a guy can play at," he said. "If you think a guy is good enough, he has the passion and the desire to be good, then you should move on him."

Martin thinks Washpun has to get stronger, which is typical of most freshmen.

"I think one of the biggest keys for Wes right now is strength training, getting his body big and strong, because he's one of those guys that can really attack the basket," Martin said. "But now he has to finish around bigger and stronger guys."

Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery made a late bid to sign Washpun, but Martin got there first.

"I think we recruited Wes over a period of time, and made a commitment to him and made him a priority," Martin said. "I think what helped us, we offered him a scholarship at Missouri State. He wanted to be a part of that."

Washpun never committed to Missouri State, but was seriously considering the offer. He wanted to explore other options, and when Martin went to Tennessee it opened another door.

Martin did not offer Washpun right away at Tennessee, needing time to evaluate his new situation, but he quickly contacted Washpun's family and kept them informed. He said he appreciates the role that Troy and Angie Washpun played in the process.

"They allowed me to understand and assess what we have here at Tennessee first before I made any moves," Martin said, "and I really appreciate them doing that."

Tracy Webster, a former point guard at Wisconsin, is a member of Martin's new staff at Tennessee, and Martin thinks Webster will play a big role in Washpun's development in college.