Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl apologized on Saturday to fans and
fellow coach Pat Summitt for the arrests of four members of the
14th-ranked men's basketball team.
Senior forward Tyler Smith, sophomore guard Cameron Tatum,
junior center Brian Williams and junior point guard Melvin Goins
are facing misdemeanor drug, gun and alcohol charges. Knoxville
police arrested the four Friday after stopping the car they were in
for speeding.
Pearl says he's phoned the parents of all his players and
even texted Lady Volunteers coach Pat Summitt to apologize if his
team has tarnished the good image she's worked to build.
"This is tough. This is so hard because we've worked so hard
to try to do the right things," Pearl said.
The four players are indefinitely suspended, and Pearl says
dismissal could be an option once he has more information about the
incident.
According to a police report, officers smelled marijuana
coming from the car and found a handgun with an altered serial
number, a bag of marijuana and an open container of alcohol. Tatum
was driving the car, which Pearl said was a rental borrowed from
one of the player's friends.
Officers could not determine whether any of the players were
under the influence of marijuana, though the strong odor suggested
marijuana had recently been smoked in the car, the police report
said.
Knoxville attorney Don Bosch said he was representing Smith
but declined comment. Bosch recently represented Tennessee football
player Janzen Jackson, who was charged with two teammates in a Nov.
12 armed robbery. All charges against Jackson were eventually
dropped.
Smith averages 26.8 minutes per game - the most of those
arrested - and is averaging 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
He leads the team with 44 assists this season.
Tatum has started six games this season and averages 8.7
points in 19.6 minutes of play per game. Goins averages 6.1 points
and 2.2 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game, while Williams averages
5.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game.
The Vols (10-2) won at Memphis 66-59 on Thursday afternoon
and face Charlotte in Knoxville on Wednesday.
