Off the Hook blog
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Tennessee forward Tyler Smith was all ready to turn pro last spring, until he spent some training time with coach Bruce Pearl.
"One weekend, he decided to come out (turn pro) ... He was so bothered by all of the guys coming out that he thought he was better than but were ranked ahead of him,'' Pearl said Wednesday at SEC basketball media days. "I was supposed to go to Houston for a huge recruiting event, but I canceled that trip and stayed home that weekend, and told him I was going to work with him to get him ready.
"After 48 hours of guard workouts, he said, 'I'm not ready.' "
Smith laughed when asked about the pivotal weekend.
"He killed me that weekend - it was the worst weekend ever," Smith said. "He called me in Saturday morning, and said we're working out at 8 o'clock. He put me through a workout to show me I wasn't prepared to make that jump.
"It was an all-guard workout with a lot of shooting. I'd shoot at one end, run down and touch the baseline, and come back and shoot again, and you had to make three in a row."
Smith said he believes he would have been a late-first round draft pick had he turned pro, but by staying he said he can make twice as much money.
Smith also said he appreciates how Pearl showed him he wasn't ready for the NBA.
"I think (the workout) was legit; he was showing me I wasn't ready in another way,'' Smith said. "It wasn't getting through to me, just him talking.''
West Out?: Pearl's outlook on the academic eligibility of freshman point guard Daniel West has gone from "hopeful'' last week to "up in the air'' on Wednesday.
"We're just waiting on appeals,'' said Pearl, who cannot go into details because of privacy laws. "I'm up in the air.''
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 19
ncvol writes:
You know I am a fan of the men's team and the ladies's team but this article seemed confusing to say the least. If you were going to talk about the ladies and the men's teams ,the title to this article is all wrong.
As far as the first story goes..Tyler is so fortune to have Coach Pearl guidance. I am glad he stuck around for another year. Go Vols !
DeWanna Bonner is a good player and she will be a contender for the SEC player of the year. Nelle Fortner is so right about her Aurburn player.
ncvol writes:
I meant Auburn coach Nell Fortner. I was making a lot of typos. Sorry...Go Vols !
tnmantravel#531151 writes:
smart part on pearl....
murrayvol writes:
Sometimes the truth hurts. But seeing and feeling it will make Tyler a better (and richer) man.
blitzshoot writes:
Wow. A physical workout. ummm
b_neas writes:
Lets just hope the NCAA (or SEC or whoever has top do it)does not treat West like Gerald Williams was treated on the football team or we will be waiting until 2010 to see him on the floor.
murrayvol writes:
I guess you're staying.
FLAVOLS writes:
Kosmo seems to always have the same thing to say...
This comment was removed by the site staff
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Maybe this article was changed by the time I saw it, but I saw no mention of women's b'ball at all. The workout described fits very well with what I have read about the way many pro teams check perimeter guys out before the draft. Congrats to Tyler for seeing the need for improvement and staying another year. My main fear for him is that we STILL need him to perform inside if the team is to be as good as it can be, so that he may not get the playing time he needs to develop as a perimeter player. Oh well, it worked out pretty well for Dale Ellis, so maybe Tyler can make the transition when he needs to.
airvols#371403 writes:
hiresanders, Leave, it's OK, really!
cmoore7 writes:
I hate to see the phrase "more money" included in this article. I would rather read that he came back to win a national championship or at least an elite eight berth.
abnermc writes:
Hiresanders is a Ky Wildcat that's why he wants us to hire Sanders.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
omh, I laughed for five mintues when I read your post.
well-played!!!!
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
1) this sucks with WEst; I don't sense anything good....we really needed that kid.
2) I can beat Tyler 1-v-1....if he's asleep.
3) I like the honesty. Yeah, Tyler wants to win, but, yeah, he understands the need for some bubks.
4) If Jajuan sticks and Tyler makes it to the NBA, that will at least give Bruce some talking points to future players about 'pipeline' to the NBA.
jasonn1970 writes:
Yeah, but Dale Ellis wasn't a 'Dale Ellis type' when he was here either. If memory serves he also played PF at Tennessee.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
My point exactly, jason! I remember everyone saying he was a great shooter even early in his college career, but he made his most impact on the team with an amazing variety of low-post moves. I really haven't seen or heard that much about Tyler as a great shooter, per se, but he surely has a great touch from 15' in. With some game experience on the wing he could be a good NBA player. He and Ellis are about the same size, while the NBA is, if anything, bigger at every position than it was in Dale's day. Hence, Tyler better learn to shoot it and, even more important, learn to defend on the perimeter if he wants to make the big bucks.
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
Jajuan did not stick as of yesterday---waived---surprised you didn't notice
THE_VOL writes:
Why blame the NCAA???? If these guys had gotten their s**t together when they should have, there would be no issues. Note that Pearl mentioned West's situation is in an APPEALS process so it isn't like the NCAA just last week said "uh, you can't play" They've KNOWN this for quite some time.
THE_VOL writes:
IMO Tyler will still be a late first rounder at best. There are at least 7-10 one & done guys coming out plus God knows how many other underclassmen and foreign guys. Tyler will be a perimeter player in the league and I don't see ANY of the top 15-20 drafting teams (the bad and not so good ones) taking a chance on a first rounder (and paying guaranteed 3 year money) that has very little experience at his projected position. More likely one of the better teams in the league will take him late because they can afford to work with him for a year or two before he really has to contribute and the investment at the bottom end of the draft is much less.
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