University of Tennessee Athletics
Sweet Tea McBee . . For Three!
November 17, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2009
By Amanda Pruitt, UT Media Relations
Whenever freshman Skylar McBee catches the ball on the wing, the sound of the crowd has been impossible to ignore. It almost sounds rehearsed.
There's an unmistakable collective intake of air from thousands who are expecting to explode into cheers when the 3-pointer falls through the net.
And why not have those expectations? McBee is always prepared to shoot the 3-pointer.
McBee has quickly become a crowd favorite at the arena even though the Vols' season is still young. He said the warm reception early on surprised him a little bit, but then again, he has all the makings of a popular player.
He's a local kid, a product of Rutledge, Tenn., and he turned down scholarship offers to walk on with the Volunteers.
"Everyone kind of likes an underdog, so I guess I should have expected it," McBee said.
In Tennessee's exhibition games against North Alabama and Lincoln Memorial, McBee hit 6-of-12 shots from beyond the arc.
"I was really, really nervous, but coming out and hitting that first three, it was a boost of confidence going into the game," McBee said of his first attempt. "It made me feel a whole lot more comfortable out there."
The 3-pointer has always been McBee's calling card on the court and was a good reason he averaged 24 points a game as a senior at Grainger High School. To make up for his 6-foot-3 height, he decided long ago to train as a sharpshooter from the outside.
"I kind of knew, being shorter and probably not as athletic as the competition I play against, that I've got to be smart out there," he said. "Threes are worth more than twos all the time, so I figured that was my best advantage."
Repetition has paid off for McBee. He said he usually goes to the gym twice a day and hits 200 3-pointers each time. To do a little math, that's 400 3-pointers a day and 2,800 3-pointers a week.
On that pace, he hits 146,000 3-pointers a year, and that's just in practice.
"I've shot so much that I can feel when it comes off and pretty much know if it's going in," McBee said.
Not to give away any game secrets, but he said his favorite shot around the arc is on the left side on the wing.
The crowd is well aware of McBee's Tennessee roots, and his teammates haven't forgotten that either. They've taken to calling him "Sweet Tea McBee" on occasion.
"The guys give me a hard time because I'm from here, and I've got a thick accent," McBee said. "You know, the thing about the South is that supposedly we make and love sweet tea. And it rhymes with my name, so the guys went with it."
But to answer the question, yes, like any proper Southern boy, he enjoys his sweet tea.
