Tennessee forward Tyler Smith has entered his name into the NBA Draft, but by not hiring an agent he has left the door open for a return to school, the Associated Press is reporting.

"Playing in the NBA has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember, and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to come to Tennessee and grow as a basketball player and as a man," Smith said in a statement Wednesday. "Two seasons with coach [Bruce] Pearl and his staff have helped me move closer to my goal of playing professional basketball at the highest level."

During the 2008-09 season, Smith led the team with an average 17.4 points and 3.4 assists per game. He also grabbed an average 5.8 rebounds per game and led the team with 76 percent free-throw shooting.

"Tyler has earned this opportunity to test the waters," Pearl said. "This is absolutely the right thing to do. Tyler did not choose to work out last season because you can only take advantage of this opportunity one time. He did not feel he was close enough to being a first-rounder a year ago.