KNOXVILLE - Kyle Alexander may or may not be going through the motion of shooting a jump hook shot in his sleep.
He's certainly spending many of his waking hours practicing that shot.
Tennessee needs its 6-foot-9 forward from Canada to provide a greater offensive threat in his sophomore season, and Alexander is polishing his moves in the post - the one shot in particular - over and over and over.
"Thousands and thousands. Hundreds of thousands," Alexander said Wednesday night after his Rocky Top League team's final game at Catholic High School.
"Well, not hundreds of thousands," he corrected himself. "I've been in the gym in a lot, trying to make sure I can make an impact this year and be part of our success."
Alexander only started playing organized basketball three months before his 16th birthday in 2012, so he showed up in Knoxville last summer as the living definition of a project.
Last season he often looked like a slender freshman still learning the game, occasionally flashing upside amid wild inconsistency. He played in 32 games and averaged 12.2 minutes, 1.7 points and 3.2 rebounds. His biggest impact was defensively - his 31 blocked shots were second on the team.
"I don't want to mistake activity for achievement," Alexander said. "I don't think I accomplished as much as I could have or should have last year. I'm looking to accomplish a lot more this year."
Alexander remembers failing to record a single stat in 15 minutes against Butler - "That was bad," he quipped - and disappearing in other games.
After his good games, praise from his friends and from fans on social media rang hollow, because Alexander knew it only mattered if he produced at that level consistently.
Though he hasn't added much in the way of weight, Alexander feels and looks like a stronger player, and he insists his comfort level is night-and-day different compared to his first year with the Volunteers.
"I feel like I belong," he explained. "In some games I felt out of place last year - not that I didn't belong on the floor, but I just wasn't flowing with the game. I've been spending a lot of time working on shots at different parts of the floor, so I'm just a lot more comfortable.
"I know if I catch the ball in a specific spot, I know I can score from there. I know what screens I can set. I know different things I can do away from the ball and with the ball, so I'm a lot more comfortable."
It's a natural progression for someone who grew up playing soccer and volleyball in Toronto.
"Last Wednesday, Kyle had his best practice since we've been at Tennessee," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said on Monday's SEC teleconference.
"I told him it's taken him a year to learn just one move we've been working on him with. He finally did it, and it was really exactly what we wanted him to do, as often as he could do it. Catching (the ball) and a little jump hook around the rim, finishing in that high-percentage area."
"Kyle physically, he's starting to look different (and) he's put on some weight, but we'd still like to add more weight to him throughout this summer and leading into next year, which will help him as much as anything."
Alexander promises there's "a lot more coming" as his offensive post game develops.
He's wired to work hard and push himself to become a good player. When one of Tennessee's assistant coaches was juggling three tennis balls during a road trip last year, Alexander taught himself to do it in about half an hour because he was bothered he couldn't already do it.
He said he's always been that way, which bodes well for his future development.
"If I'm going to do something, I want to be good at it," Alexander said. "I don't want to be below the pack in anything. I hated the fact that when I got here, I only had two years of basketball experience and I couldn't understand some things (other players) understood. I didn't feel comfortable. I didn't want the ball in my hands, people would say last year.
"Coach Barnes always said I need to take it to another level offensively, so it killed me that I wasn't on the same level."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.