SEC MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Auburn
- Missouri
- Ole Miss
- Texas
- Mississippi State
- Vanderbilt
- Oklahoma
- Texas A&M
- Georgia
- LSU
- South Carolina
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SEC 1ST TEAM:
-Alex Condon – Florida
-Josh Hubbard – Mississippi State
-Otega Oweh – Kentucky (Preseason Player of the Year)
-Tahaad Pettiford – Auburn
-Labaron Philon Jr. – Alabama
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SEC 2ND TEAM:
-Nate Ament – Tennessee
-Boogie Fland – Florida
-Ja’Kobi Gillespie – Tennessee
-Thomas Haugh – Florida
-Mark Mitchell – Missouri
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SEC 3RD TEAM:
-Malik Dia – Ole Miss
-Aden Holloway – Alabama
-Karter Knox – Arkansas
-Jaland Lowe – Kentucky
-DJ Wagner – Arkansas
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-This conference sent 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament, and while I did not really agree with the 13th and 14th teams, I do acknowledge that they at least had a case. The SEC has seemingly turned itself into the strongest basketball conference in history. I have noticed two things this league has collectively done since Garth Glissman took over as Associate Commissioner for Men’s Basketball in 2023. The first is how the league built out their conference schedules. If you go back and look at the OOC schedules, teams rarely played on Saturdays so as to not conflict with football. Also, on every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday night throughout November and December, the biggest game taking place in the country almost always involves an SEC team. This increased the exposure of the league, and it increased the overall quality of the OOC schedules, which put them in the position to get that many teams into the field. The other thing is that many schools started to put more resources in to basketball. For a league with more of a football history than a basketball one, last season the arenas were packed all year long for virtually everyone, and the interest level was through the roof. This is a conference that went nuts for basketball…and it likely will again this year! It is as if they collectively realized that they had the resources to make basketball extremely successful, extremely popular, and extremely profitable, so they did it.
-I guess you could say Florida had a semi-decent season last year. They won 36 games en route to winning a national championship and once again look like they can be national title contenders. Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland make up one of the best backcourts in the country, Thomas Haugh is a great shooter and rebounder at the #3 spot, and Alex Condon is a talented frontcourt player. The Gators are simply stacked with talent.
-Kentucky is having to rebuild their starting roster after last year’s Sweet Sixteen run, but they have seemingly been doing that every year for the past twenty years. Mark Pope enters his second year with the Wildcats, and for a fanbase with incredible (almost silly) expectations, they still seem to like him. Jaland Lowe will be handling the point guard duties, and he will be joined out on the perimeter by Otega Oweh, who is an NBA-caliber player. While they are reloading, they are reloading with guys who are clearly high-caliber D-1 players and will once again spend likely spend the entire season in the rankings.
-Tennessee is coming off a 30-win Elite Eight season. They lose a ton of talent off of that team, but they are simply replacing it with a ton of different talent. Ja’Kobi Gillesipe comes in from Maryland and will run the point, Amaree Abram was a solid player for Louisiana Tech last year, Jaylen Carey comes in from conference rival Vanderbilt, and Felix Okpara comes in from Ohio State. I do not know if the Vols will be quite as good as they were a year ago, but they will still be pretty damn good!
-Alabama had one of their best seasons in school history last year. They ultimately did not make the Final Four, but they reached the top of the polls a few times and won an amazing 28 games. They are having to replace a lot of that talent, but Coach Nate Oats knows his system and knows how to plug guys into it that fit it. Labaron Philon Jr. is one of the best guards in the conference, and he and Aden Holloway will make up a very solid backcourt. Holloway is also a very good outside shooter. All of Alabama’s players can hit from the outside, but even by Bama standards Holloway is an outstanding shooter. Never ever EVER underestimate this team while Nate Oats is coaching it!
-John Calipari and Arkansas did not feel like they were meeting expectations for much of the year last year, but they got into the NCAA Tournament as a 10 seed, made the Sweet Sixteen, and lost to Texas Tech in an overtime thriller. With three starters back from a team that finished so strong, I think this is a team that a lot of people are sort of overlooking. DJ Wagner and Karter Knox both received preseason honors, and Nick Pringle is a solid grad transfer coming in from South Carolina. Calipari teams tend to start at a moderate pace, and then once Christmas hits they start to really click. This is a team that can make a lot of noise in conference. In fact, I think they can win the league.
-Auburn had a historic season last year where they won 32 games and did so playing against one of the toughest schedules I have ever seen. They also made it to the Final Four. The problem is all five starters, along with the head coach, from that team are gone so Auburn is in a bit of a reset mode. Tahaad Pettiford put up some good numbers last year, Keyshawn Hall comes in from UCF, and they have got a few others coming in as either freshmen or JUCO transfers that show a lot of promise. Everyone on the team has big shoes to fill, and we may not see them be quite as good as they have been this year.
-I like this Missouri team this year. Dennis Gates has done an amazing job getting them turned around and they made the NCAA Tournament last year after winning just 8 games the year before. Three key starters are back from that team, and that experience should help them out. Mark Mitchell earned preseason honors and he has a pretty good supporting cast around him. Jayden Stone, who missed last season due to an upper-body injury, is also back, so the Tigers have some really good pieces.
-Chris Beard had a great year at Ole Miss last year as the Rebels made the Sweet Sixteen. This year they are tasked with having to replace several key players from that team. Just one starter is back in Malik Dia, who is a very solid player, but he’s going to need some help. Kezza Giffa transfers in from High Point, but much of the rest of the roster looks like it is made up of guys that have seen limited minutes at the D-1 level.
-I am pretty sure that Texas made history last year as the first-ever 14th-place team to make the NCAA Tournament. It was not a bad debut for Sean Miller, but they do look to be a little stronger this year. Jordan Pope had a nice year at Oregon State last year and is a solid get from the portal. Tramon Mark is a grad transfer who actually returns to Texas after playing at both Houston and Arkansas in the meantime., and Dailyn Swain averaged double-figures for Xavier a year ago, so the Longhorns should be back in the hunt to return to the NCAA Tournament this year. (Note from Stalica – I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings for Griggs, but Texas’ 14th place finish and subsequent loss to Xavier in the NCAA Tournament got Rodney Terry fired and opened the door for Miller to take his talents to Austin. He would have also taken the Texas job 2 years earlier had Texas not beaten Xavier in the Sweet 16 in 2023).
-Chris Jans may have his hands full at Mississippi State this year. They won 21 games last year and made the NCAA Tournament, but most of those key pieces are gone. The good news is that Josh Hubbard is back, who is one of the best guards in the conference. Jayden Epps (Georgetown), Quincy Ballard (Wichita State), and Ja’Borri McGhee (UAB), who were each double-digit scorers a year ago, all join the roster. I kind of like this team. I know the SEC is tough as nails, but I think they have some really solid pieces.
-Vanderbilt really turned the corner last year under first-year coach Mark Byington and made it to the NCAA Tournament after a 20-win season. This year will likely be a struggle. Replacing Jason Edwards will not be easy, and while they picked up a couple of very solid transfers in Frankie Collins (TCU) and Mike James (NC State), and that in and of itself would be enough to be solid contenders in most leagues…but the SEC is not most leagues.
-Oklahoma snuck into the NCAA Tournament a year ago, but they must start completely over this year. All five starters are gone, but they have a solid group of players transferring in, including Xzayvier Brown, Nijel Pack, and Tae Davis, all of whom were big-time scorers a year ago. You never can really tell about a transfer-heavy team, but I think they will do a little better than what many are predicting.
-Bucky Ball has arrived at Texas A&M!!! And BOY does he have some work to do!! All five starters are gone from last year’s team that made the Round of 32. Pop Isaacs, who was an outstanding player for Creighton, and Mackenzie Mgbako, who was a solid player for Indiana, both transfer in. Jacari Lane, who was a great UTR player at North Alabama, is also on the roster. The Aggies have some pieces and Bucky McMillan is a proven coach. I think they can be pretty good this year.
-Georgia is coming off an NCAA Tournament year, and is adding some high-caliber transfer players. Jeremiah Wilkinson put up big numbers at Cal, and Marcus Millender was a really solid player for UTSA. The SEC will be at a much higher level than what these guys are used to, but they should be able to contribute for the Bulldogs. Mike White is a solid coach and it would not shock me at all to see them back in the NCAA Tournament.
-LSU was one of the few teams from the SEC that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament a year ago, and it is looking like they are going to have a hard time getting there this year. They have turned to the portal and managed to bring in some very high-caliber players from Under the Radar teams. Marquel Sutton (Omaha), and Rashad King (Northeastern) were both prolific scorers. Pablo Tamba was also a strong player at UC Davis, so the Tigers may be a little better. It is just that everyone in this league is so tough. Well…ALMOST everyone…
-South Carolina won just two SEC games a year ago, and I think the chances of them winning more than that this year are very very small. They just don’t match up against anyone in this conference all that well.
