Tyler Smith expected to stay a Vol; will say today

One Smith has moved on, one Smith is staying, and now comes the Ty-breaker among the Smiths who played on the record-setting Tennessee men's basketball team.

Tyler Smith, who along with departing senior JaJuan Smith and junior Ramar Smith made up the self-styled "Smith Boyz'' on the Vols' 31-win 2007-08 team, will announce his plans for the upcoming season at a 10 o'clock press conference this morning.

Tyler Smith is expected to announce he'll return for his junior season, but UT coach Bruce Pearl said Wednesday he wasn't aware any final decision had been made.

"I can tell you it's something he's given a great deal of thought to,'' Pearl said. "We've had a number of in-depth discussions. There are a lot of factors to take into consideration. This looks to be one of the strongest drafts in a long time; an unprecedented number of underclassmen have come out, and every day that changes the situations.''

The 6-foot-7 Smith averaged 13.6 points per game and led the Vols in rebounds and assists playing primarily at the power forward position last season.

Tyler Smith is projected to go 28th in the first round by insidehoops.com, but neither mynbadraft.com nor draftexpress.com have him projected as a first-round pick in the June draft.

"I know I'm going to be holding my breath hoping he comes back,'' UT associate head coach Tony Jones said. "Tyler means everything to next year's team. How many times did he make the big shot to win games during the SEC championship season?''

Enough to become an instant fan favorite in Knoxville.

Tyler Smith's warmth and personality was a paradox from his tough, tattooed and muscular appearance.

Former Vol Jordan Howell said Smith was just as popular with his teammates as the fans.

"Tyler will be a great pro whenever he decides to leave,'' Howell said. "If he decides to come back, he'll be the team leader, because has that type of personality.''

Howell said JaJuan Smith was the vocal leader on most occasions this season, and everyone respected Chris Lofton's work ethic and desire to win.

Tyler Smith was a combination of the two at different times.

"Tyler can be vocal when he needs to,'' Howell said. "When Tyler needed to step up in crunch time, he was in the huddles talking to everyone.

"I can't wait to tell my grandkids I played with him.''

UT fans are hoping the Vols' incoming four freshmen will be able to do the same.

Tyler Smith has said he will return if not projected to go in the top 15 picks of the first round of this year's draft.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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