KNOXVILLE — In case any of you of are interested (and I’m sure many of you are), here is the excerpt from Tyler Smith’s opening statement this morning. Smith stated his reasons for turning down the NBA draft and returning to the University of Tennessee for his junior season.

Smith answered several questions after the opening statement, and we’ll cover them all in Friday’s print edition. But for now, here are his first words:

“First and foremost, I’d like to thank my family, Coach (Bruce) Pearl, the rest of the coaching staff, my teammates, and especially the Tennessee fans. They’ve made my college experience everything that it’s supposed to be.

“I’ve been blessed to be put in this opportunity; to play basketball for this University. This past year has been very special for me, with the way my teammates and this community supported me, going through this hard time that I’ve been through this whole year, as far as my father.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been wanting to be in the NBA. But since the end of the season, Coach Pearl and my mother sat down and talked, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to be a Volunteer next year. Also ... I feel like coming into next year, we have a great class coming back. Scotty Hopson is coming in as a (high school) All-American that we’ve got, and we’ve got a lot of other great players coming in.

“I think that next year, we can repeat as SEC champions and also be a contender for the national championship.”

Read timesfreepress.com throughout the day and Friday’s print edition for more information.

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