Tennessee's Smith to return for senior year

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE -- Tennessee forward Tyler Smith is withdrawing from the NBA draft and returning for his senior season with the Volunteers.

Smith said Thursday he had enjoyed spending the past few weeks working out with NBA teams but decided to return to Tennessee after talking with his family, coaches and teammates.

``I think we have a great chance to have something special next year with my teammates. They have been working extremely hard,'' he said.

Smith, who played at Iowa as a freshman, has averaged 15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in his two seasons at Tennessee and hasn't missed a game. He was named to The Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference team both seasons while helping to lead the Volunteers to back-to-back regular-season SEC titles.

During the 2008-09 season, Smith led the team with an average 17.4 points and 3.4 assists per game. He also grabbed an average 5.8 rebounds per game and led the team with 76 percent free-throw shooting.

He was hoping to be considered as a first-round pick in the June 25 draft. Players drafted in the first round are the only ones who are guaranteed contracts with their teams.

Instead, Smith, who also briefly considered pursuing playing time with a professional team oversees, was projected by many as a second-round pick.
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said his star player had several impressive workouts with NBA teams in recent weeks.

``It became apparent that the first round was not locked up,'' Pearl said. ``This was a good process for Tyler. He knows more clearly what he has to do (to reach the NBA). It was a tough decision, but he wanted to put himself in a better position for next year.

``It's a great day for us,'' he added.