Tyler Smith and Unprecedented Expectations Will Be In Play This Season for Tennessee

In two years on the job, Bruce Pearl has already done more with Volunteer basketball than anyone could have expected. Yet suddenly, the expectations are about to get higher than ever before. Tennessee native Tyler Smith has transferred to Tennessee from Iowa and was granted a waiver that will allow him to play for the Vols this season. Smith was released from Iowa and granted the waiver in part because his father, who lives in Tennessee, is ill.

The Tyler Smith saga has been interesting, to say the least. It was just a couple of years ago that Smith had signed with Tennessee as a Buzz Peterson recruit. But when Buzz was fired, Smith wanted out of his commitment, while Pearl wanted a chance to re-recruit him. Smith opted to play at a prep school instead of coming to Tennessee, then went to play for Peterson's friend Steve Alford at Iowa. When Alford and the Hawkeyes parted ways, Smith asked to be released so he could move back closer to his ailing dad. Now, instead of sitting out the requisite year that usually accompanies a transfer, Smith will join the team immediately.

Just as immediately, expectations for the 2007-08 season are rising to unprecedented levels.There's a real feeling in Big Orange Country that the Vols should make it to San Antonio for the Final Four. Notice I said should -- not could or might. I found out about Smith's waiver through an email from a friend, a message that end with the phrase "FINAL FOUR BABY!" And that kind of talk is suddenly becoming common among Vol fans and media. Shortly after the news of Smiths immediate admittance broke, Volquest.com started asking if Smith is the "final piece of the puzzle" ($) for a final four run.

It's worth keeping in mind that Tennessee plays in the same conference as two-time national champion Florida, as well as rivals Kentucky and Vanderbilt and a bunch of other teams who would like to see Tennessee's dreams crushed. But it's also interesting that the 2008 Final Four is in San Antonio, the same place UT's improbable Sweet Sixteen run ended last season, and the impetus for the Vols' "Remember the Alamodome" inspiration going into this season. Wouldn't it be just a little too perfect to see Tyler Smith and Tennessee's journeys come full circle together? Yeah, I thought so.