Gym rat Byars leads Vandy to Sweet 16

By Tom Canavan - Associated Press Sports Writer     Mar 23, 2007

Vanderbilt's Derrick Byars shoots during practice. The Commodores tuned up Thursday for their regional semifinal against Georgetown tonight in East Rutherford, N.J.

? After three somewhat disappointing seasons, Vanderbilt’s Derrick Byars set his alarm clock for 5:30 a.m. in the offseason and went to work.

Putting aside two frustrating seasons at Virginia and a so-so first year back home with the Commodores, the relatively unknown swingman took 20,000 shots, added 15 pounds of muscles and increased his bench press by 50 pounds.

Byars is the coaches’ pick as the Southeastern Conference player of the year and the major reason why sixth-seeded Vanderbilt (22-11) is playing second-seeded Georgetown (28-6) in the semifinals of the East Regional at the Continental Airlines Arena tonight.

“After last year, I said: ‘You can’t do this again, in two or three months it’s going to be over with, so try to get this thing right and go out the way you want to,”‘ Byars said Thursday.

Byars would arrive at the gym by 7 a.m. and stay for 12 hours. Some nights he would come back around 11 p.m. or midnight to continue working on his game.

“He’s our best defender. He’s our best offensive player, he does it inside and outside,” Vanderbilt guard Dan Cage said about the 6-foot-7 Byars. “He does things on the court that none of the rest of us can do. Creates his own shots. He rebounds well. He passes well. He does it all.”

A Memphis native who returned to his home state after leaving Virginia, Byars also has developed a flair for stepping up big situations.

In the 78-74 double-overtime victory over No. 3 seed Washington State last weekend, Byars scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, hitting five three-pointers. He also had 24 in a victory over then No. 1 and defending champion Florida on Feb. 17, and 26 in a win over Kentucky eight days later.

Doing it against Georgetown will be a challenge.

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