The days of Skylar McBee being known as a one-shot wonder to the basketball fringe crowd are rapidly coming to an end.
McBee, a former Tennessee men's basketball walk-on turned scholarship player, delivered a career-high 18 points to lift the Vols to a 69-57 victory over South Carolina Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
McBee scored 11 points in the final three minutes of the first half to fuel a 14-4 run and sealed the win by making all four of his free-throw attempts in the final minute.
"I was just worried about getting the win,'' McBee said. "I was just happy for us to get back to .500.''
Tennessee (12-12, 4-5 SEC) returns to action at 4 p.m. on Saturday (TV: WVLT) at No. 8 Florida (19-5, 7-2).
UT coach Cuonzo Martin has been pleased with McBee's first two starts.
"Skylar has always been a tough kid, and I think that's him taking pride and having an opportunity,'' Martin said after McBee was 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the win over the Gamecocks.
"He's solid in everything he does, and he's a guy you need on the floor,'' Martin said. "You play the guys you feel comfortable with.''
In hindsight, it seems appropriate McBee's career scoring night began with banjo players strumming the national anthem.
The 6-foot-3, 199-pound McBee embraces his rural roots, having grown up on a farm eight miles outside the town of Rutledge picking Grainger County's famous tomatoes when he wasn't playing sports or assigned other chores.
Outside of farming, sports has played a dominant role in his family; father Doug has served as a basketball coach for many years, older sister Megan (Schrock) played basketball at Carson-Newman College, and older brother Chase made the UT football team as a walk-on some seven years before Skylar did the same with the basketball team.
To this point, McBee has best been remembered for his clutch 3-pointer in the final minute of UT's 76-68 home win over No. 1-ranked Kansas on Jan. 10, 2010.
McBee politely accepts praise when "The Shot" comes up, just as he rolls with conversations about his thick drawl and mustache.
But he's most comfortable talking about his team, often deflecting questions intended to draw self-praise toward the contributions of his teammates.
"On the last 3-pointer, Jeronne (Maymon) set a really good flair screen for me,'' McBee said, asked about his three straight 3-pointers.
Did starting and playing a career-high 31 minutes make him more comfortable shooting the ball?
"It's not about starting; it's about playing your hardest when you're on the floor,'' McBee said. "Anytime you're on the floor for a while and you're taking some shots, it helps to get into a rhythm.
"But it's not always going to be like that; sometimes minutes are gonna be spotty, so I have to be able to hit open shots when that time comes, too.''
McBee's shooting ability has been recognized throughout his career; he regularly shoots over 50 percent from 3-point range in practice. He leads the team with a 40.4-percent shooting clip from 3-point range this season and 44 makes. Perhaps more telling, his coaches and teammates want him to shoot even more.
"Every time I pass Skylar the ball, I scream for him to shoot it,'' UT point guard Trae Golden said. "I don't think there's ever a bad shot with Skylar.''
McBee's shot-of-a-lifetime against the Jayhawks came with the shot clock on the verge of expiring, so he was left with no choice but to air it out.
But prior to Wednesday's game, McBee had shown a slight hesitation to put up the shot, at times, even when open.
"It's hard for a shooter to go out there and be hesitant; it changes your shot, you get a hitch in it,'' McBee said. "That's something Coach Martin has talked to me about: When the shot is there, shoot the ball.
"But I think everyone did a good job with it tonight. Jordan (McRae) hit two, Trae hit one, Cam (Tatum) got one to start us off and Josh (Richardson) hit a big one.''
A point guard and quarterback in high school, McBee is adept at throwing praise around as he is passing a basketball or once was spiraling a football.
McBee didn't go totally unnoticed during recruiting. Wake Forest showed early interest, and standing offers remained from mid-major schools as UC-Santa Clara, Marshall, East Tennessee State and Middle Tennessee.
Both Middle Tennessee and Division II Carson-Newman talked to McBee about playing basketball and football. McBee also was his high school team's safety, punter, punt returner and kickoff return man.
Any questions about McBee's courage at the collegiate level were answered in a 60-57 win over defending national champion Connecticut on Jan. 21. McBee drew a foul in the backcourt, stepped to the free-throw line with 19 seconds left and hit two pressure-packed free throws.
"He didn't look like he wanted to pass the ball, which is a good sign,'' Martin said. "You want guys who want to be in that situation.''
McBee attributes his success to his upbringing.
"A lot of it comes from my dad; he coached me for a long time,'' McBee said. "There's a voice in my ear, just telling me to always work hard. When you come from a small place, and you play in a place like this, there's a lot of doubt. There's a voice you have something to prove.''
Mike Griffith covers Tennessee men's basketball. Follow him at http://twitter.com/MikeGriffith32
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 19
johnlg00 writes:
No question Skylar stepped up against USCe. I have always thought he defended better than some give him credit for, and nobody can doubt how scrappy he is. However, he needs to diversify his game a bit. He could make a tremendous gain in productivity if he could use the shot fake, the side step, the back step, and the drive a bit more, especially if he pulls up for the mid-range jumper. Showing a willingness and ability to do those things would draw even more defensive attention on him, and as a great free-throw shooter, he should look to draw more fouls by forcing the action with the ball a little more.
carbonzip writes:
Be an away game hero, too.
iowavol writes:
Good article and nice spot light on a guy that gives his all for Tennessee. Not always respected by some fans, he keeps his focus and his heart - not bad at all. Now, if some confidence can carry over to Gainesville, that would be okay too.
Witch_Doctors writes:
Witch Doctor say really? Witch Doctor not picking but maybe find a new set of friends? Witch Doctor say McBee is a good kid living the dream we all had growing up playing on goals on the side of your driveway. Witch Doctor say good for him
Bones never lie.
wigmeister writes:
What folks? Kid plays hard. Totally deserves his spot on the team. Gives 100% every time out.
underthehill writes:
If Martin speaks highly of McBee so will I..McBee not only played good offense as expected.. he played even better on defense..I never thought he would ever play a game as good as he did against South Car. ..give the guy the credit he deserves...
Sir_Spanky writes:
I'm not a part of that "oh noooo" you're talking about.
samvol writes:
McBee for THREE..............................................................
samvol writes:
WTH Dude....give it a rest.
RickyVols writes:
I say nooooo when they take Skylar out of the game. There is no one on the team I would prefer to take a 3 point shot other than Skylar, or shoot free throws.
VolFan365 writes:
It's really hard for me to understand the negative comments of a "HOMETOWN" kid doing his thing...and as far as I know he's the only "HOMETOWN" player in the rotation....Skylar is blue collar player playing his heart out. This article is about him but he always wants to put the praise back on his team. Nice work Skylar.
johnlg00 writes:
Good thing for you that the "posting bar" is low enough for you to keep stumbling over it. If every player on this team played as close to their potential as Skylar does to his, the Vols would be about 20-4 rather than 12-12. That is why he is a "home-town hero" to many of us, if not to all the pseudo-perfectionists on here.
dcap8424 writes:
Very well said.
PureOrange writes:
Your last word pretty well sums up your comment.
PureOrange writes:
Tyler is a player I can really cheer for. He gives it all he has on every play. Glad he is a Volunteer.
johnlg00 writes:
You only show hustle in trying to run down anybody and everybody associated with UT sports, whether coaches, players, or fans. People who actually know about basketball know that Bradshaw was the glue that held that whole team together while he was there.
It's not that he had big stats, it is that he did all the dirty-work things that every successful team needs at least one player to do. He guarded the other team's best player, from power forwards to point guards and helped everybody else on defense. He kept the ball moving on offense. He set screens and dived for loose balls. Every opposing coach said he wished he had a couple of Bradshaws on his team.
As for Skylar, no one thinks of him as a shut-down defender, but he isn't helpless either. He gets rebounds and steals; he takes charges; he doesn't take bad shots unless it is late in the clock; and he makes a better 3-point percentage than anyone else on the team. In short, you only THINK you know anything about basketball, and in that you are dead wrong.
Witch_Doctors writes:
Witch Doctor say we all make "bone-head" (plug) post from time to time. Witch Doctor say its the "paid" guys that we should be hating..hahaha
Bones never lie.
volnasty writes:
i cant believe some off you jerkoffs if he isnt a true vol nobody is .all he does is make good grades plays hard dosent talk phooey even though he probably should sometimes.shoots free throws yeah he gets beat sometimes but on this team who dosent i really see alot of ignorant people post on here this kid is a class act keep shooting kid they keep falling go white boy goy and play that funky string music
Southland writes:
some of you folks are just sad hateful people. You know good and well the people of Grainger county are super proud of what he is doing. Any small town in America would be proud of what the homegrown kid is doing. No he is not Larry Bird but he is pretty good kid doing a decent job and that makes him a home town hero. Good grief folks, it doesnt mean the program has gone down, it means a walk on is doing the most he can with the chance he got. Celebrate it or shut up.
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