Tyler Smith is saving NBA decision till later

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee sophomore forward Tyler Smith said Tuesday afternoon that a decision on declaring for the NBA draft would come after the season.

“I’m not even really thinking about that right now,” he said after practice.

The 6-foot-7 Smith and his UT teammates open NCAA tournament play Friday against American University. Their season could end that day, or it could last until the first weekend of April on a Final Four run.

UT’s coaches remain cautiously optimistic that Smith — a Pulaski, Tenn., native and Iowa transfer — will return for his junior season, but performances like last Saturday won’t silence any speculation.

Smith scored a season-high 24 points in Saturday’s SEC tournament semifinal loss to Arkansas. He shot 10-for-13 from the field, making all three attempts from 3-point range and throwing down a vicious slam dunk on Razorbacks 7-footer Steven Hill.

The versatile, unselfish Smith is considered by several analysts to be a potential first-round draft pick. He averages 13.6 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

Smith — who signed with UT three years ago before taking a highly publicized, three-stop tour to Knoxville before last season — said his main focus was on his first NCAA tournament. He watched his future teammates’ 2007 Sweet 16 run on television as an Iowa student on spring break.

“I was hoping that they could win it all,” Smith said. “Memphis is still in my home state, too. Any team that was in Tennessee, I was rooting for, but these boys are who I was really rooting for, because this is where I’ve always wanted to be.”