Alabama: A ton of talent made its way through Tuscaloosa during Mark Gottfried's time with the Crimson Tide, but his tenure was marked by chronic underachieving and a lack of player development. With Gottfried having been shown the door, former UAB coach and current Mizzou skipper Mike Anderson should be Bama's top priority. With the right coach, the explosive Senario Hillman and the (thus far) unimpressive JaMychal Green could thrive.
Arkansas: It's been a Jekyll and Hyde season for the Razorbacks. John Pelphrey lost a lot of talent to graduation after his first season in Fayetteville, and, so, his inexperienced squad began the season with extremely low expectations. Then, Arkansas opened up the season with a 12-1 record. During that span, the Razorbacks picked up wins over both Oklahoma and Texas. That same team has managed only two wins in conference play en route to quite possibly the most dramatic collapse in college basketball. Fortunately, brighter days appear to be on the horizon for this program. Freshman Courtney Fortson is a stat-stuffing floor general. Junior post player Michael Washington is one of the nation's most improved players, having almost quadrupled his scoring average from his sophomore campaign. Stefan Welsh is a crafty scorer, and freshman Rotnei Clarke (to my surprise) is more than a sniper from long-range. And while the other Baby Backs get more attention, Michael Sanchez may be my favorite. An active post player with a great motor, Sanchez is the homeless man's Tyler Hansbrough. Feel free to make a "I thought the homeless man's Tyler Hansbrough was [insert reference to slow-witted pop culture icon of your choice]" joke.
Auburn: Jeff Lebo's squad is one of the most underrated teams in the country. While I don't think the Tigers are tourney-worthy just yet, it's time to give them some bubble consideration. Auburn is three games over .500 in the not-as-bad-as-you-may-think SEC. If the Tigers can knock off LSU in their regular season finale, they would finish with a 10-6 conference record and would have a pretty good case for an at-large bid.
Georgia: By all accounts, former Bulldogs coach Dennis Felton is a class act. I do not take pleasure in his firing. But what exactly were the Dawgs doing in practice during Felton's tenure? Playing Guitar Hero? Having a booger-picking contest? If you know what was going on in Athens during the last couple years, please feel free to let me know in the comments section. And while I'm not sure what this program should do to right the ship, hiring Bob Knight is not the answer.
Florida: With Nick Calathes, Alex Tyus, Chandler Parsons, Kenny Kadji, and Eloy Vargas, Billy Donovan's roster is overflowing with young talent. Still, things just haven't clicked in Gainesville for the last two seasons. And while the majority of Donovan's young guns have failed to live up to the hype, Calathes has developed into one of the country's finest players. His importance to his team cannot be overstated. The Gators wouldn't even be close to the bubble without him. A second straight trip to the NIT is a definite possibility, but, if the Gators can beat Kentucky in their regular season finale and win a game in the SEC tourney, look for the Gators to pick up an at-large bid.
Kentucky: For a fanbase that is desperate to show the rest of the country that running Tubby Smith out of town was the right decision, season two of the Billy Gillispie era has been a debacle. It's still early, but Billy Clyde's refusal to adapt his coaching philosophy to his personnel and his increasingly hostile relationship with the media seem to corroborate speculation that he is in over his head on perhaps the brightest stage in college basketball. When the Wildcats are hitting on all cylinders, they can be a very good defensive team. Unfortunately, there's not much offensive firepower in Lexington beyond Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson. High-profile recruits DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller have been disappointing. Neither freshman averages even six points per game – this despite the fact that Gillispie is dying for anything resembling a third scorer. The Cats need to beat Florida in Gainesville and then win at least one SEC tourney game to have a chance at an at-large bid. Ultimately, I think we're going to be filling out our tourney brackets
sans the all-time winningest program in college basketball history.
LSU: Last year's LSU Tigers finished 13-17 and 6-10 in conference play. Enter former Stanford coach Trent Johnson, and the Bayou Bengals have a real chance at a 30-win season and have already wrapped up the SEC regular season title. Simply put, this looks like a totally different team, despite the fact that it's pretty much the exact same team that looked completely undermanned just one year ago. While Johnson will lose a lot of talent to graduation, making a repeat of his first-year success unlikely next season, the rest of the SEC should be very afraid. Trent Johnson plus Deep South talent equals the possibility of a Baton Rouge juggernaut.
Mississippi: Despite head coach Andy Kennedy's legal troubles and season-ending injuries to two of the Rebels' top four players (Chris Warren and Eniel Polynice), Ole Miss has somehow put together a decent season. After Warren and Polynice went down, Kennedy's squad had every reason to throw in the towel. However, the Rebels bounced back, are going to finish with a respectable record, and will have the chance to enter next season with one of the most talented foursomes in the country – Warren, Polynice, David Huertas, and freshman stud Terrico White.
Mississippi State: I'm not really a big Rick Stansbury fan, but his teams always seem to be in the mix at the end of the season. While the Bulldogs will likely miss the tourney, this is a solid team that can play with anyone. Stansbury's squad basically consists of human fly-swatter Jarvis Varnado and four streak-shooting guards. As usual, the Bulldogs play scrappy on the defensive end, but Varnado's ability to alter shots has given Stansbury's squad an added wrinkle. This team is one versatile scorer away from picking up an at-large bid.
South Carolina: Devan Downey and Zam Fredrick are terrific college guards and two of the best ballhandlers in the country. And while Downey and Fredrick get most of the ink, the Gamecocks are far from a two-man show. Dominique Archie is a long, versatile defender. Mike Holmes and Sam Muldrow provide Darrin Horn with a two-headed beast in the paint. Expect the underrated Gamecocks to pick up between an eight and ten seed (which will be too low). However, with their guard play and deep bench, don't be surprised if this team makes some noise in March.
Tennessee: Before the season started, I thought Rocky Top was a Top 10 team. (I also thought this was going to be junior J.P. Prince's breakout season.) Despite their disappointing play, I still think the Vols have Top 25 talent. Unfortunately, Team Headband doesn't put forth enough effort on defense and shows little to no discipline on the offensive end. Bruce Pearl has been a savior to this long-underachieving program, but this has not been his best performance. Look for Tennessee to pick up between a six and seven seed. However, if the Vols can find a shooter (and, no, emerging freshman Scotty Hopson is not a shooter), a deep tourney run isn't out of the question.
Vanderbilt: Not a whole lot was expected from Kevin Stallings' extremely young Commodores this year, but it's still a little disappointing that Vandy couldn't make a run in a thin SEC. That being said, have you seen the athletes that are filing into Nashville? Put simply, while not as successful as some of Stallings' past squads, this group is athletically superior to anything Vandy has ever put on the floor. Oh, and junior point guard Jermaine Beal is quite possibly my favorite player in college basketball. His numbers aren't tremendous (12.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game), but he's a complete player with great basketball instincts. Like former Villanova Wildcat Alvin Williams and former Florida Gator Justin Hamilton, the wiry Beal fits the mold of the floor general that is both athletic enough to be a scorer but disciplined enough to play within himself. He uses his body well, plays lockdown perimeter defense, and makes everyone around him better. With Beal manning the point, A.J. Ogilvy patrolling the paint, and a number of young, athletic wings slashing to the bucket and hitting the glass, this group could be special next year.
Player of the Year: Jodie Meeks, Kentucky
Runner-up: Nick Calathes, Florida
When Meeks is hot (and he often is), he's the most deadly scorer in the country. He's also active on the defensive end – especially for someone that is counted on to provide so much scoring. He'd be a lock for this honor if not for the fact that it's looking more and more like UK may miss the Dance. Then again, Calathes' Gators may be headed to the NIT as well. Calathes, Billy Donovan's do-it-all sophomore has almost singlehandedly kept his team in the postseason discussion. If both Meeks and Calathes fail to get their teams into the Dance, it's quite possible that Marcus Thornton, LSU's senior two-guard would be most deserving of the honor. Thornton averages 20.9 points and 5.5 rebounds for the first place Tigers. Kentucky's Patrick Patterson and South Carolina's Devan Downey also deserve consideration.
Coach of the Year: Trent Johnson, LSU
Runner-up: Darrin Horn, South Carolina
Johnson and Horn, both in their first year at their respective schools, have taken teams with extremely low expectations to the SEC's penthouse. Johnson has orchestrated an incredible turnaround in Baton Rouge and, to his credit, has adapted to his team's strengths. Specifically, he's altered his offensive approach to accommodate the Tigers lack of post scoring. Johnson is notorious for demanding that his bigs get touches on the offensive end. While LSU patiently works the ball around on offense, he's given Marcus Thornton and Tasmin Mitchell a great deal of freedom in light of his post players' lack of offensive skills. Horn, who led Western Kentucky to the Sweet Sixteen last March, brought new life to a South Carolina program that only made it to the NCAA tourney once during Dave Odom's seven-year tenure. Because the SEC was so weak this year (and Tennessee didn't live up to its advanced billing), I truly believe every team in this conference with the exception of Ole Miss (due to injury) and Georgia (due to being horrible) had enough talent to compete for the league crown. Johnson and Horn deserve credit for navigating their teams through a balanced SEC and extracting the maximum from their rosters.
Freshman of the Year: Terrico White, Mississippi
Runner-up: Courtney Fortson, Arkansas
During the first half of the season, Fortson looked like he would win this one in a landslide. Then, Arkansas experienced a collapse of epic proportions (and may very well end up finishing in last place in the conference). Fortson was also suspended for a single game for disciplinary reasons. Still, despite Fortson's maturity issues, it's hard to ignore a guy putting up 14.8 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per contest. The honor, however, goes to Ole Miss frosh Terrico White. White only averages 12.6 points per game on the season, but his SEC play has been off the charts. In non-conference play, White scored in double-digits three times. In conference play, he's hit double-digits 13 times. In seven of those games, he went for twenty. All told, the 6-5 freshman is averaging just over 18 points per contest in SEC play. He also brings a ton of intangibles to the table, hits the boards, and has a high basketball IQ. Vanderbilt's Jeffery Taylor, a lockdown defender with a ton of upside, and Georgia's Howard Thompkins, a bright spot in an otherwise dreary season for the Bulldogs, also merit consideration.
Defensive Player of the Year: Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
Runner-up: Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
Believe it or not, Varnado actually averages more blocks per game – 4.8 to be exact – than UConn's Hasheem Thabeet. He has impeccable timing and an albatross-like wingspan. For every shot he blocks, there are countless others that he alters. Varnado is one of the few players in the country that offenses have to gameplan around. Varnado doesn't always play the best position defense, and he sometimes shies away from physical contact, but his presence on the defensive end cannot be denied. Patterson is tremendous on the boards and is a talented shot-blocker in his own right. He's technically sound, and he's the lynchpin in Kentucky's man-to-man defense. Patterson just edges out South Carolina's Devan Downey for runner-up.
1st Team All-SEC
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Nick Calathes, Florida
Jodie Meeks, Kentucky
Marcus Thornton, LSU
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
The 5-9 Downey is the SEC's version of Allen Iverson. Averaging 20.2 points per contest, he can score off the bounce, in transition, and with his jump shot. He's also great on the defensive end. His quickness and anticipation mean he's always in the passing lanes. He's fifth in the country in steals at 3.1 thefts per contest.
2nd Team All-SEC
David Huertas, Mississippi
Tasmin Mitchell, LSU
Tyler Smith, Tennessee
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt
Clearly, there's quite a bit of
individual talent in a conference without a lot of
team talent. Smith and Varnado would be on the first team in a lot of conferences. Mitchell, who may finally be reaching his potential under Trent Johnson, has scored double digits in every conference game and dropped 41 against Mississippi State. Ole Miss freshman Terrico White just misses the cut. If his non-conference body of work matched his conference play, he'd be a no-brainer. No Auburn Tigers make the cut, but DeWayne Reed and Korvotney Barber deserve consideraton. A number of analysts have praised Arkansas' Michael Washington. The junior power forward is averaging close to a double-double and is arguably the nation's most improved player. Still, I'm not overly impressed. He gets his numbers, but he seems to be playing in slow motion, and his defense is lacking.
All-SEC Defensive Team
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Garrett Temple, LSU
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
Chris Johnson, LSU
Temple is the Bruce Bowen of the SEC. I would imagine that his SEC foes will not be sad that he (and his pointy elbows) will be graduating in the spring. Johnson is LSU's enforcer in the paint (2.8 blocks per game) and allows the Tigers to be aggressive on the perimeter. South Carolina's Dominique Archie and Vanderbilt's Jeffery Taylor just miss the cut.
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