13 Tennessee Volunteers

Mark Beech

November 23, 2009

Last spring Tyler Smith thought he was ready to go pro. Tennessee's All-SEC power forward declared for the draft after leading the Vols in scoring (17.4 points per game) and assists (3.4) as a junior. But a couple of things held him back: His spotty jump shot had scouts projecting him as, at best, a second-round pick; and Tennessee's 77--75 loss to Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA tournament was eating him up inside. Returning to Knoxville, he reasoned, would let him work on his game at the same time he was working on winning a championship.