University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Should be the Class of the SEC
July 10, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Vols Should be the Class of the SEC
Tyler Smith
By Andy Katz, ESPN.com
CINCINNATI -- The NCAA's decision to allow Tyler Smith to play immediately at Tennessee was a compassionate one since Smith's father is battling an advanced stage of lung cancer in nearby Pulaski, Tenn.
But the reality is that this move makes the Vols, a preseason top-10 team, even more of an SEC title favorite.
Tyler Smith's transfer gives Tennessee a major force in the low-post.
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl wasn't hiding from the obvious at the adidas It Takes 5ive Classic on the Cincinnati campus Saturday. He said he will start the former Iowa forward this fall. And he will highlight Smith's ability to score inside and out, saying that Smith will flourish in his ball-screen offense, using him off pick-and-pop plays and allowing the Smith to play small forward and power forward.
Pearl said he will likely have three Smiths in the starting lineup -- Tyler and guards JaJuan and Ramar Smith (unrelated) -- to go along with SEC Player of the Year favorite Chris Lofton at guard and forward Wayne Chism. The starting five will be quick but on the smaller side with the 6-foot-7 Tyler Smith and the 6- 9 Chism as the only players taller than 6-2.
That lack of size shouldn't matter. This will be a classic Pearl team -- scrappy, wiry and all over the court.
Landing Smith is by far the least expected move in Pearl's tenure.
As Pearl retells his side of the story of his relationship with Smith, it's easy to question whether this would have occurred had Smith's father not become ill. (Smith was recruited to Tennessee by the man Pearl replaced, coach Buzz Peterson, and signed an National Letter of Intent. When Peterson was fired, it was reported that Pearl fought the release of Smith's scholarship. Smith reportedly didn't qualify academically, either, which made the decision moot.)
"But he didn't know me, he didn't trust me," Pearl said. Upon reviewing the recruitment of Smith, Pearl added that he discovered a number of "things we did wrong as a university in the recruitment.
"I had to tell the AD, and after our investigation a booster was removed from being around the program for two years -- no tickets, no privileges. We had to declare Tyler ineligible for us to recruit, and I refused his letter of intent."
So Smith went to Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia before landing at Iowa under Steve Alford. Smith was a hit in Iowa City his freshman season, averaging 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds a game. It's unclear if Smith would have still left Iowa because of his father's illness if Alford stayed with the Hawkeyes instead of going to New Mexico. Still, there was a natural pull to Knoxville once there was a coaching change -- Butler's Todd Lickliter took the Iowa opening.
At the same time, Pearl said the Volunteers' program changed since Smith first signed at Tennessee. The Vols reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago and the Sweet 16 last season.
All that added up to a natural move to Knoxville for Smith this season.
