University of Tennessee Athletics
Tyler Smith Named SEC Player of the Week
December 08, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2008
Tennessee basketball player Tyler Smith has been selected as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week following his historic performance in last Wednesday's win over UNC Asheville.
In Tennessee's 100th season of varsity basketball, after 2,338 all-time games, Smith recorded the first triple-double in school history during a productive 26-minute effort against the Bulldogs. His 10 assists were made even more impressive by the fact that he had no turnovers in the game. He added one steal in the Vols' 87-69 win.
A junior forward from Pulaski, Tenn., Smith has started every game for the Vols this season and has scored in double-figures in all seven contests while leading the eighth-ranked Vols to a 6-1 start.
Smith is averaging 17.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this season. Through the games of Dec. 6, Smith was the only player to rank among the top 20 in the SEC in scoring (sixth), rebounding (16th) and assists (fifth).
Smith's award gives Tennessee 19 SEC Player or Freshman of the Week honors since the 2005-06 season--Bruce Pearl's first as UT's head coach. This is the second such honor of Smith's Tennessee career, as he also earned weekly laurels from the league on Feb. 25, 2008.
