By Kenneth Cross
The depth of the rosters in the SEC shows that this league has turned out to be as good as any in the nation. Auburn won the league outright with a 15-3 record as the Tigers were No. 1 in the nation at midseason for the first time in the history of the program.
Arkansas went to the Elite Eight and lost to Duke, but the Razorbacks had the ball and were down two with just around four minutes remaining in the game. This season could underline the league as once again six teams can battle for the top positions in the conference.
Coach Rick Barnes led Tennessee to its first SEC Tournament title since 1979 as the depth and defensive ability of the Vols allowed them to roll past Texas A&M, the Cinderella of last season’s tourney.
The following is the makeup of the conference’s preseason poll:
1) Arkansas – Coach Eric Musselman has done a stellar job in building the Hogs into a national player and with three four-star and three five-star recruits, Arkansas will potentially play past the Elite Eight of the past two seasons. Nick Smith, Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh (5-star talent) will be key players early on this roaster as they will be joined by Derrian Ford, Barry Dunning, and Joseph Pinion (4-Star players). The addition of Ricky Council, IV, of Wichita State and Makhel and Makhei Mitchell from Rhode Island will round this roster into potentially a huge winner. Trevon Brazile (Missouri) and Jalen Graham (Arizona State) are two more solid transfers in the making of this squad. 
2) Kentucky – Oscar Tshiebwe (17.4 ppg, 15.2 rpg) will be a matchup problem across the boards for the Wildcats’ opponents. He stayed at UK even though he was voted as a unanimous national player of the year by USBWA as well as five other media entities. Sahvir Wheeler returns on the point as well as he was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award. Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston are two five-star recruits that should be immediate contributors for coach John Calipari.
3) Tennessee – The Vols won their first SEC Tournament title since 1979 and while leading scorer Kennedy Chandler stayed only one season and is now a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, Coach Rick Barnes will welcome back his second and third leading scorers in Santiago Vescovi (13.3 ppg) and Josiah Jordan-James (10.3 ppg). Zakai Ziegler, a 5-9 point-guard, will once again play make as he started only one game but averaged 22.1 minutes with 8.8 points and 2.7 assists. ESPN had incoming 5-star freshman Julian Phillips as the No. 13 player in the nation. The Vols have won 17 home games in a row while Barnes returns 58.3 percent of last season’s scoring.
4) Auburn – The Tigers arguably will have the deepest guard position in the nation with KD Johnson, Wendell Green, Jr., Zep Jasper and Allen Flannigan as the veterans around the three-point circle. Coach Bruce Pearl brought in a pair of posts who will be immeasurable in their skills in Morehead State transfer Johni Broome and freshman Yohan Traore. This is a team with lots of depth and versatility as it can be effective on both ends of the flloor. The Tigers averaged 78.4 points (24th/CBB) as the
aggressiveness of their offense caused matchup problems which gave them a consistent group of trips to the free throw line (15/20).
5) Alabama – Jahvon Quinerly (13.8 ppg, 4.2 apg) is Alabama’s leading returning scorer in Coach Nate Oats’ lineup. Returning forward Noah Gurley (6.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and 7-0 center Charles Bediako (6.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) should give the Crimson TIde plenty of solidity in it’s post game. Bediako shot 69.2 percent from the field as the Tide shot 55.9 percent (18th/CBB) from two-point range. Strengthening the defense will be important as Alabama gave up 76.5 points while allowing opponents to consistently get to the free throw line.
6) Florida – Coach Todd Golden raised the bar on the San Francisco Dons as he pushed them into the NCAA Tournament in his third year at the helm. Now leading the Gators, he has a tough post in 7-0 senior Colin Castleton (16.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg) who will be joined by a returning Gator guard in Myreon Jones, who is the team’s second leading returning scorer. It could also be a break out season for Kowacie Reeves, who showed potential last year as a freshman.
Golden brought in some solid transfers to Florida:
- Three-point shooter Trey Bonham (VMI),
- Post C.J. Felder (Boston College),
- Alex Fudge (LSU) – Has a 7-foot wingspan
- Will Richard (Belmont) – Was Freshman of the year in OVC
- Shooter Kyle Lofton (St. Bonaventure) – scored 1,613 points in a Bonnies uniform
7) Texas A&M – Buzz Williams took the Aggies to the Finals of the SEC Tournament last March and the team had improved and played such solid basketball that it probably should have gotten an NCAA bid. Tyrece Radford and Henry Coleman are Williams’ top two returning scorers as Coleman shot 56.1 percent from the floor while Radford led Texas A&M with 47 three-point field goals. The Aggies were a tough defensive team who will look to rebound at a higher level this season.
8) LSU – The Tigers brought in Matt McMahon from Murray State to replace coach Will Wade as he led the Racers to occupy the top of the Ohio Valley Conference each season. McMahon was key in developing Ja Morant, who starred with the Racers. It was almost a revolving door with players as three excellent people followed him from Murray State, led by OVC Offensive Player of the Year K.J. WIlliams.
9) Ole Miss – The Rebels have a solid point guard in 5-9 Daeshun Ruffin, who averaged 12.6 points and 3.5 assists as he appeared in 14 games and started 10 as a freshman last season. Matthew Murrell returns to the post where he led Ole Miss by making 38.6 of his three-point shots as he made a team high of 59. Coach Kermit Davis is one of the best and he will work to get the Rebs back to being a more consistent offensive team.
10) Mississippi State – The Bulldogs brought in a new head coach in Chris Jans, who posted a 122-32 record at New Mexico State as he won four WAC regular season championships and took the Aggies into the NCAA Tournament three times after three WAC Tournament titles. MSU lost it’s two leading scorers in Iverson Molinar (14.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Garrison Brooks (10.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) while six players left the Bulldogs as transfers. Jans will welcome a pair of solid players in Tolu Smith on the interior and 6-7 D.J. Jeffries.
11) Missouri – Former Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates is the new head coach as he brought the Vikings back to the NCAA Tournament and turned them into a tough challenge in just three years. The Tigers return their leading scorer in Kobe Brown, but Coach Gates has worked to rebuild the roster and brought several transfers from the Horizon League. This includes Tre Gomillion, who played for him at Cleveland State and was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
12) South Carolina – Coach Frank Martin left for UMass and the Gamecocks named a solid replacement in Lamont Paris, who comes from Chattanooga, where he led the Moccasins back to the top of the Southern Conference. Being able to get the 6-9, 215-lb. GG Jackson who reclassified to the class of 2022 in late July was a huge endeavor as Jackson was considered the top player in the class of 2023.
13) Georgia – The Bulldogs showed coach Tom Crean the door and brought in former Florida head coach Mike White. Georgia returns some talented players in Kario Oquendo, Braelen Bridges and Jaylin Ingram, who all averaged double figures. The Bulldogs are interesting in having 10 players who are transfers on their roster and whether White can restructure a defense that gave up 78.5 points (346th/CBB) and 47.4 (345th/CBB) percent from the floor will be a major key.
14) Vanderbilt – Giving Coach Jerry Stackhouse problems is ridiculous since the Commodores have not come back to be competitive since Kevin Stallings left Nashville for what was a tough run at Pitt. Vandy lost Scotty Pippen (20.3 ppg), who was one of the top scorers in the league. Jordan Wright (12.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg) is the lone Commodore averaging double figures. Vanderbilt needs to be able to find a post player to give them consistency inside on offense.