NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Former Vanderbilt basketball great Derrick Byars will be honored as the Commodores’ Allstate SEC Basketball Legend selection at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament (March 13-17) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Byars, from Memphis, Tennessee, was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year by the league’s coaches in 2007 and was a unanimous first team All-SEC selection and a first-team honoree by the Associated Press. He was also named a 2007 Associated Press All-America honorable mention.
He ranked second in the SEC in scoring in 2007 after averaging 19.1 points during league play, and led Vanderbilt in scoring 17 times during the season as a senior in 2007, including 14 of the last 20 games. He also led the Commodores in scoring in seven of their 10 games against ranked opponents, averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from 3-point range. He tallied 19 of his game-high 27 points after halftime in Vanderbilt’s 78-74 double-overtime win against Washington State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007, which advanced the Commodores to the Sweet 16, and netted 24 points in Vanderbilt’s 83-70 over No. 1 Florida in Nashville earlier that season.
