2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster | SEC Champions
Roster
Pons, Yves
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Jersey Number 35
Yves Pons
- Position:
- Forward
- Height:
- 6-5
- Weight:
- 203
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Fuveau, France
- High School:
- INSEP Academy
Bio
CAREER HIGHS
- Points: 24 // at Kansas, 1/25/20
- Rebounds: 14 // at Alabama, 2/4/20
- Assists: 4 (3x) // last vs. Vanderbilt, 1/16/21
- Steals: 2 (9x) // last vs.Florida, 3/12/21
- Blocks: 9 // vs. Florida, 3/13/21 (school record)
- Field Goals: 8 (2x) // last at Murray State, 1/25/20
- 3-Pointers: 3 (4x) // last vs. Missouri, 1/23/21
- Free Throws: 6 // at Kansas, 1/25/20
- Minutes: 40 // vs. VCU, 11/30/19
CAREER HONORS
- 2021 SEC Tournament All-Tournament Team
- 2021 Lefty Driesell Defensive All-America Team
- 2021 SEC All-Defensive Team
- 2020 SEC Defensive Player of the Year
- 2020 SEC All-Defensive Team
- 2018 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll
PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
- Signed with French EuroLeague team LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne for the 2022-23 season and averaged 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting .500 from the field.
- Appeared in 12 games with the Grizzlies as a rookie in 2021-22.
- Signed with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies as an undrafted free agent in August of 2021 and was a member of the Grizzlies' NBA Summer League team.
2020-21 - SENIOR
- Game-by-Game Statistics
- Billed as "The Most Interesting Man in College Basketball."
- Saw action in 116 games during his four-year career, with 70 total starts.
- Started all 26 games in which he appeared as a senior and averaged 28.6 minutes per game.
- Was one of 10 finalists for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Award.
- Named to the SEC All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive season, joining Josh Richardson (2014, 2015) as the only Vols to earn that honor multiple times.
- Finished his career eighth on Tennessee's all-time blocks list with 137.
- His 1.8 blocks per game during SEC play ranked fourth among conference players.
- Averaged 8.7 points per game overall and increased that average to 8.9 points during SEC play.
- Shot a career-best .789 at the free-throw line after shooting .531 at the line through his first three seasons.
- Led the Vols in blocks 15 times, rebounding six times, scoring four times and steals four times.
- Had a team-high 21 dunks on the season to finish his career with 64 total slams.
- Ranked second on the team with 11 drawn charges (drew 21 total charges for his career).
- Set Tennessee's program record and tied the SEC Tournament record for blocked shots in a game with nine against Florida in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals (3/12/21).
- Scored 10 points and pulled in a game-high eight rebounds at Auburn (2/27/21).
- Recorded his third career double-double with a 10-point, 10-rebound effort in Tennessee's victory at Vanderbilt (2/24/21).
- Scored 10 points and hauled in a game-high nine rebounds in the home win over South Carolina (2/17/21).
- Poured in a team-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting to help UT down No. 15 Kansas (1/30/21) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
- Scored a team-high 13 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting to help lead UT past Mississippi State (1/26/21).
- Scored a season-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the home matchup with Missouri (1/23/21).
- Scored five points, pulled in five boards and dished off a career-high-tying four assists in the win over Vanderbilt (1/16/21).
- Recorded five impressive second-half blocks in the regular-season matchup with Alabama (1/2/21).
- Totaled 13 points, six rebounds, four blocks and two steals in the victory at #12 Missouri (12/30/20); also reached the 100-career-block milestone during that win.
- Reeled in a game-high nine rebounds and scored 13 points in the Vols' dominant victory over Saint Joseph's (12/21/20).
- Tallied 10 points and a pair of blocks while dishing off a career-high-tying four assists in the win over Tennessee Tech (12/18/20).
- Scored seven points with six rebounds and two steals in UT's victory over Appalachian State (12/15/20).
- Finished with eight points and knocked down two key jumpers late in UT's victory over Cincinnati (12/12/20); he also finished the afternoon with two blocks.
- Grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in Tennessee's season-opening win over Colorado (12/8/20).
2019-20 - JUNIOR
- Game-by-Game Statistics
- Started all 31 games and became the first Vol ever to be named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and just the third Vol to make the SEC All-Defensive Team.
- Finished the season with 73 blocks, tying C.J. Black (1997-98) for Tennessee's single-season record.
- Led the SEC and ranked 24th in the country with 2.4 blocks per game and also averaged a league-best 2.3 blocks during conference play.
- Blocked at least one shot in all 31 regular-season games, recording three or more blocks 15 times.
- Scored 10+ points in 18 of Tennessee's 31 games, averaging 10.8 points per game.
- His career-best scoring average was an 8.6-point improvement from his sophomore season.
- Ranked third on the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg) and 3-point shooting (.349).
- Was Tennessee's top rebounder in seven games and was UT's leading scorer in two games.
- Shared the team lead with seven drawn charges on the year.
- Delivered a clutch performance in UT's huge road win at sixth-ranked Kentucky (3/3/20), scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting (3-of-3 from 3-point range) and pulling down five rebounds.
- Scored 12 points and ripped down a game-high nine rebounds at Arkansas (2/26/20).
- At South Carolina (2/15/20), he scored 13 points, reeled in seven rebounds and blocked three shots.
- Recorded his second career double-double at Alabama (2/4/20) pulling in a career-high 14 rebounds and scoring 14 points; he also added three blocks in the come-from-behind win, with his final block coming in the game's final seconds to seal the victory.
- Scored a game-high 24 points and tallied three blocks at third-ranked Kansas (1/25/20); his 24 points were the most ever by a Vol against the Jayhawks.
- Scored 12 points, dished off a season-high three assists and rejected four shots in Tennessee's victory at Vanderbilt (1/18/20).
- Blocked a team-high five shots in UT's home win over South Carolina (1/11/20).
- Blocked three shots and scored 11 points in UT's victory at Missouri (1/7/20).
- Scored a game-high-tying 18 points and rejected three shots in Tennessee's SEC opener against LSU (1/4/20).
- Rejected a program-record-tying six shots while tallying 11 points in UT's win over Jacksonville State (12/21/19).
- Recorded his first career double-double against Florida State (11/30/19), finishing with 13 points and a then-career-high 10 rebounds.
- Scored 15 points and had three rebounds in the Vols' 75-62 victory over 20th-ranked Washington (11/16/19) at the James Naismith Classic in Toronto.
- Was a force in UT’s win over Murray State (11/12/19), recording then-career-highs for points (19), blocks (4), minutes (38), field goals made (8) and 3-point field goals made (3).
- Started the season-opener vs. UNC Asheville (11/5/19) and scored 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and three blocks in the win.
SUMMER 2019
- Spent the summer training with the U20 French National Team and then competing in the FIBA U20 European Championships July 13-21 in Israel.
- The French team fell to Germany in the third-place game.
- Pons started all seven games for France, averaging 2.6 points per game.
2018-19 - SOPHOMORE
- Game-by-Game Statistics
- Appeared in 35 games with 13 starts and shot .516 from the field.
- 15 of his 32 field goals on the season were dunks.
- Tallied six points, two assists, a block and a rebound in the home win over Missouri (2/5/19), highlighted by a fast-break alley-oop from Kyle Alexander.
- Finished with four points, three rebounds and a block vs. Alabama (1/19/19).
- Record eight points behind three dunks in UT's win over Tennessee Tech (12/29/18).
- Grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to go with four points and four assists in the win vs. Samford (12/19/18).
- Stepped up with seven points, six rebounds and a block in UT’s thrilling upset of No. 1 Gonzaga (12/9/18) in his third career start.
- Dropped a career-high 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go along with five boards and a pair of blocks in his first career start vs. Eastern Kentucky (11/28/18); he was on the receiving end of two alley-oops.
- Earned a spot on SportCenter’s Top 10 plays (No. 4) after an incredible two-handed block on a driving baseline dunk attempt by EKU’s Nick Mayo.
- Threw down an electric two-handed, contested slam dunk against Kansas (11/23/18).
- Pulled down a career-high seven rebounds in the victory over Louisiana (11/9/18).
- Set then-career-highs for points (7), rebounds (5) and blocks (3) in a career-best 21 minutes off the bench during the season-opener vs. Lenoir-Rhyne (11/6/18).
- Tallied six points on a pair of 3-pointers, three rebounds and a block in 16 minutes of action in UT's exhibition win over Tusculum (10/31/18).
2017-18 - FRESHMAN
- Game-by-Game Statistics
- Saw action in 24 games off the bench, playing an average of 5.2 minutes per game.
- Earned minutes in each of Tennessee's last 18 games after appearing in just six of the team's first 17 games of the season.
- Had an impressive all-around performance in Tennessee's win at Mississippi State (2/27/18), totaling three points, three boards and one assist in 11 productive minutes off the bench.
- Hit a 3-pointer in UT’s victory at Ole Miss (2/24/18).
- Knocked down his first career 3-pointer and added a pair of assists in UT’s home win over Ole Miss (2/3/18).
- Earned significant playing time against South Carolina (1/20/18), posting two points, two rebounds and a block in a season-high 12 minutes of action off the bench.
- Scored four points on a pair of dunks, including an emphatic alley-oop, to go along with two steals and a block in the win vs. Mercer (11/29/17).
- His collegiate debut was cut short after four minutes of action, as he was forced to the bench with an ankle injury during Tennessee's season-opening win over Presbyterian (11/10/17).
- Earned a spot on the 2017-18 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.
PREP
- Pons—who was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti—attended the INSEP (National Institute of Sport and Physical Education) Academy in Paris.
- Was considered one of the top-10 international prospects at the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championships in Zaragoza, Spain. He shot .769 on two-point field-goal attempts at that event and displayed efficiency and power while finishing plays around the basket. He also averaged 10.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per 40 minutes at the championships.
- Other notable INSEP basketball alums include Boris Diaw, Tony Parker and Ronny Turiaf.
PERSONAL
- Full name is Yves Pons
- Born May 7, 1999, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- Son of Babeth and Jean-Claude Pons
- He is a skilled saxophone player
- He is Tennessee’s first-ever men’s basketball player from France and just the eighth international player in program history
- Academic Major: Recreation and Sport Management
- Recipient of the JoNelda & Sidney Blalock Athletic Scholarship Endowment
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