KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl isn’t sure whether junior guard J.P. Prince will return for tonight’s game against Louisiana-Lafayette, but his preference is no mystery.

Pearl wants his “second-best player” on the court.

“Obviously we miss J.P.’s presence, and obviously we’d like him back as soon as possible,” Pearl said last week. “He had really started to get going before that ankle injury, too, and that’s a shame. He was practicing and playing in games really well.”

Prince, the Southeastern Conference’s reigning sixth man of the year, sprained his ankle one day before UT’s Dec. 13 loss at Temple. He took an awkward step off the Owls’ elevated floor during the Vols’ walk-through practice, and he hasn’t returned since — despite warming up with the team before its Dec. 16 win over Marquette.

But the versatile, 6-foot-7 southpaw has practiced the past few days, which suggests he will play tonight against the Ragin’ Cajuns.

UT senior forward Ryan Childress missed Sunday’s practiced with lingering soreness on his surgically-repaired knee, which will hamper his intial hopes to dress for tonight’s game.

Prince’s return would probably give the team a more immediate boost, though.

“It’s going to be even crazier when J.P. comes back,” freshman guard Scotty Hopson said. “We’re going to be a much better team with him, because he does so much for our team on the floor.

“He’s a really exciting player. He gets us going a lot of times.”

Junior forward Wayne Chism said the Vols did “pretty good” to lose just once (Temple) in Prince’s three-game absence. He said they handed this situation better than two seasons ago, when star guard Chris Lofton missed several weeks with an ankle injury.

“We won two of the three games we played without J.P., so that shows that we can really step up and grow up and become better out there on the court,” Chism said. “Obviously we’d like to have him back, though. It’s definitely not been the same. He does things that are hard to replace.”

The 16th-ranked Vols (8-2) probably won’t struggle too much against Louisiana-Lafayette (4-6, 1-1 Sun Belt). But they could use Prince’s length, quickness and creativity during a brutal January schedule that includes home games against Gonzaga, Kentucky and Memphis, and trips to Kansas and Vanderbilt.

Junior forward Tyler Smith said Prince “makes a lot of plays that people really don’t notice” on both sides of the court.

“We need J.P.,” junior forward Tyler Smith said. “It’s very, very important for us. That’s an extra body for us, and an extra man in our rotation, and another defender, and he’s a great slasher.

“We’re definitely a better team when he’s out there with us.”