Strange: Tyler Smith is glue guy for UT

On Jan. 13th last year, Tennessee went to Ohio State and lost a basketball game in which Greg Oden was a towering presence. Exactly one week later, Tyler Smith went to Ohio State and lost a basketball game in which Oden was a towering presence.

Today, Tennessee and Smith join forces to try turn the tables on the Buckeyes. Oden is presumably in another state.

The merger of Smith and the Vols has been a boon for both parties. On this day at least, Ohio State probably wishes he were still an Iowa Hawkeye.

In his only game against the Buckeyes during his only season at Iowa, Smith scored 21 points in an 82-63 loss, en route to Big Ten All-Freshman team honors.

"I didn't score a point the first half,'' he recalled Friday. "It was good to play in an environment like that but they had us outmatched because of the players they had.''

Players like Oden, the 7-foot freshman who was one-and-done as a Buckeye on his way to the head of the NBA draft. He hit Iowa with 29 points and 10 rebounds that day.

The previous Saturday, Oden recorded 24 points and 15 rebounds in a 68-66 win over the Vols.

Two months later, in San Antonio, there was Oden swatting away Ramar Smith's frantic driving shot at the buzzer to preserve an 85-84 Ohio State win in the Sweet 16.

Subtract Oden - as well as Mike Conley Jr., Ron Lewis, Ivan Harris and Daequan Cook - from Ohio State's roster. Add Smith to Tennessee's, along with J.P. Prince. The lay of the land has shifted.

Smith is averaging 13.4 points and 5.8 rebounds for Tennessee. He is the team's stat leader in assists, field-goal percentage and steals.

But he's more than all those numbers. He has become the glue guy.

When the Vols needed big baskets at the end to overcome Ole Miss, Tyler Smith got them. When the Vols needed a big play to stem Vanderbilt's rally Thursday night, Tyler Smith made it, initiating a steal that led to his break-away dunk.

Tennessee wouldn't be 15-1 if he hadn't decided to come home from Iowa and if the NCAA hadn't granted his hardship appeal for immediate eligibility.

I asked him Friday if the season was going even better than he could have hoped, both for the sixth-ranked Vols and for himself. I assumed his response would be an unqualified yes.

"I was hoping we were 16 and zero,'' he said.

"But 15-1 is great,'' he added.

In a best of all worlds, one thing would have made it greater: his dad Billy in the crowd today.

Smith's motive for coming home from Iowa was to be closer to his dad, who was terminally ill with cancer. Billy, however, died in September before seeing his son in a Tennessee uniform.

"I really didn't know if he'd get to see me,'' Smith said. "But he was hurting so much, I'm happy with how it took place.''

There was another reason to come home.

Look on Tyler Smith's sneakers today. Chances are "Pops" will be inscribed on one and "Amare" on the other.

Amare is Smith's son. He lives in Pulaski, where Billy is buried. Amare makes it to most home games.

"That's the two people in my world that mean so much to me,'' Tyler Smith said. "That's going to keep me driving to make my dream come true.''

Smith's bond to his late father is manifested by a gesture more permanent than writing on his sneakers. He had teardrops tattooed on his cheek, just below his left eye.

Every time he looks in the mirror, he sees the reminder. Every time someone looks him in the face, he knows they can't help but notice the tribute to his dad.

"That reminds me,'' Tyler Smith said, "that, hey, he's still in my life.''

And it's a good life these days, even if the Vols are a notch short of 16-0.

"It took us a couple of weeks to come together,'' he said, "but now we are coming together and it's great.''

It took a year for Smith and Tennessee to come together to mount a joint effort against Ohio State. This time, the odds are in their favor.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.