Wednesday was Media Day for SEC basketball and the Cats Illustrated team discusses the upcoming 2016-17 season for the league.
Podcast: Previewing De'Aaron Fox's freshman season
Podcast: Dominique Hawkins should be a factor again as a senior
The widespread expectation is that Kentucky is the heavy favorite to win the SEC. If there were one other team that could challenge the Cats this year, who would it be and why?
Derek Terry, Staff Writer: Texas A&M. The Aggies had a share of the conference championship with Kentucky last season and both games the teams played in last season went into overtime.
While significant parts of the team are gone -- Alex Caruso, Anthony Collins, Jalen Jones and Danuel House all started last season but have now graduated -- the pieces are still there this season for Texas A&M to have a strong season. Tyler Davis and DJ Hogg return and will form one of the best front courts in the conference. Four-star freshman point guard J.J. Caldwell was ruled ineligible prior to the season, which could make the backcourt a little unsteady going into the season. Florida returns most of its team from a season ago and could challenge for the conference championship.
PREMIUM: Read T.J.'s Takes from Kentucky's basketball practice on Tuesday.
Josh Ellis, Staff Writer: Florida in my mind has a slight edge over Texas A&M. Texas A&M should be solid again this year, but losing four starters from last year's team will be a tough hill to climb. Florida, on the other hand, has a lot of key upperclassmen returning and Mike White will likely improve in year two. Kasey Hill, John Egbunu and Devin Robinson are all guys who've played against UK more than once and should have the best chance to challenge the Cats this year.
T.J. Walker, Basketball Recruiting Analyst: I'm going with Georgia, with Texas A&M not far behind. Georgia is going to have some serious question marks at several positions, but having J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten will be one of the better duos in the conference. Those two players combined to average over 33 points per game and that total will likely grow in 2016-2017. Mark Fox is one of the most underrated coaches in the conference and the Bulldogs will finish second in the league.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: Florida will be the trendy pick and with good reason. The Gators almost made the NCAA Tournament last season (and that near miss was an accomplishment by the league's standards in 2015-16). Canyon Barry arrives from the College of Charleston and he should give Florida some offensive punch and the Gators have several capable options in the front court that should give them advantage down low against most of their SEC opponents. There's no proven point guard on the roster and that's concerning, but on paper Florida is a team that should win a good number of SEC games this year. Can they challenge Kentucky? That I highly doubt.
What would be your first team Preseason All-SEC team?
Derek Terry, Staff Writer: G - J.J. Frazier, Georgia, G - Isaiah Briscoe, Kentucky, F- Bam Adebayo, Kentucky, F - Moses Kingsley, Arkansas, C - Tyler Davis.
Josh Ellis, Staff Writer: Freshman guard De'Aaron Fox (Kentucky), junior forward Devin Robinson (Florida), sophomore center Tyler Davis (Texas A&M), freshman forward Bam Adebayo (Kentucky) and senior forward Moses Kingsley (Arkansas). My only surprise pick is Devin Robinson from Florida who I think will become more involved in the offense and double his averages from last year.
T.J. Walker, Basketball Recruiting Analyst: Sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe (Kentucky), senior guard J.J. Frazier (Georgia), freshman guard Malik Monk (Kentucky), freshman forward Bam Adebayo (Kentucky) and sophomore center Tyler Davis (Texas A&M).
The SEC is never respected as a basketball conference, and it's easy to see why, but the league always produces a fair amount of NBA players and that won't change this year. Yes, most of those players will be from UK, but Davis and Frazier are the real deal and it was tough to keep Moses Kingsley from Arkansas off this list.
PREMIUM LINK: In-depth basketball report following Tuesday's practice.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: Senior forward Moses Kingsley (Arkansas), freshman forward Bam Adebayo (Kentucky), sophomore forward Tyler Davis (Texas A&M), senior guard J.J. Frazier (Georgia) and freshman guard Malik Monk (Kentucky).
Kingsley is going to be a double-double machine for the Razorbacks this year and Davis could be that for the Aggies after a strong freshman campaign in College Station. J.J. Frazier is one of the league's best scorers, and the two heralded Kentucky freshmen will play a lot of minutes and are certainly among the more talented players in the league.
During UK's recent practice, televised by ESPNU, Seth Greenberg said the SEC will be a 'six or seven bid league' down the road, due to a greater emphasis on basketball, hires and improved recruiting. Do you agree?
Derek Terry, Staff Writer: Half of the SEC making the NCAA Tournament isn't something I see happening anytime soon. The recruiting throughout the conference has been good in recent years and the coaching is improving, but expecting half of the teams to make the big dance is wishful thinking.
Improved coaching and recruiting at schools that don't typically make the tournament like Mississippi State, Auburn and Alabama could give the SEC a boost soon.
PREMIUM LINK: Q&A with the coach of five-star guard Quade Green.
Josh Ellis, Staff Writer: I'd agree with what Greenberg said simply because of the recent coaching hires around the league. The coaching level has elevated tremendously within the last few seasons (even if the numbers don't show it) and with that comes better recruits and then better teams. Down the road is the correct term here because it won't happen over night, but I do believe the SEC will become more of a basketball power than it used to be.
T.J. Walker, Basketball Recruiting Analyst: I don't think so. The SEC may have a year or two where there are six worthy NCAA tournament teams but I don't believe that will ever be the norm. When a job opens up in the SEC I'm generally impressed with the hire, sans Florida and Missouri, but even with solid coaches, SEC teams aren't moving forward. There's too much mediocre balance in the league allowing teams beat up on one another, and it seems that expectations are that teams have to have UK's success. That's an unrealistic standard. The SEC will never be a basketball conference and you will never see six or seven teams consistently make the NCAA Tournament.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: There may be a year or two down the road when that happens but I've just heard it too often and find myself in, "I'll believe it when I see it," territory. I'm beyond the point of trying to analyze all of the league's problems. I do think recruiting, top to bottom in the league, has clearly improved. I also think there have been some quality hires. But if I'm looking at the league program-for-program I see a league that consistently gets three, four and maybe five teams in most years. Not six or seven. Kentucky's future is obviously strong. Florida and Texas A&M should be tournament teams more often than not. After that there are a number of teams who need their heralded recruits to start panning out while also making their teams better.
How many NCAA Tournament bids will the SEC receive this year?
Derek Terry, Staff Writer: Three. Kentucky, Florida and Texas A&M will get bids this year. Georgia seems to always be on the bubble and Vanderbilt could also have enough to make a run this year, but more than three teams making the tournament would be surprising to me.
Josh Ellis, Staff Writer: This year the SEC will put four teams in the NCAA Tournament. The three locks are Kentucky, Florida and Texas A&M -- but I also wouldn't be surprised to see Bryce Drew sneak Vanderbilt in during his first season.
T.J. Walker, Basketball Recruiting Analyst: I would expect the SEC to put four teams in the NCAA Tournament this season. Kentucky is a lock, and I would expect Georgia, Florida and Texas A&M to sneak in the Big Dance. Also, don't sleep on Arkansas, Vandy or South Carolina. If those teams stay healthy they could be in the conversation.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: The SEC will land three postseason bids in 2016-17. The league is very weak right now and while you could make a case for this or that team to be a fourth, you could also make the case that the league won't even have three teams called out on Selection Sunday. I'm calling for Kentucky, Florida and Georgia to reach the NCAA Tournament.
What are the top five teams in the SEC, in order, going into the 2016-17 season?
Derek Terry, Staff Writer: Kentucky, Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, Vanderbilt.
Josh Ellis, Staff Writer: Kentucky, Florida, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Arkansas.
Kentucky shouldn't have much trouble in league-play this year, as the Cats are looking at a conference that doesn't pose any threats outside of Florida and A&M. I'm high on Vandy because of Bryce Drew -- I think he'll be able to out-coach some teams and work well with what he inherited. Arkansas and Georgia will fight over the fifth spot but ultimately I think the Razorbacks are the better team.
PREMIUM LINK: Trae Young's UK official visit - 'It couldn't have been any better'
T.J. Walker, Basketball Recruiting Analyst: Kentucky, Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida, South Carolina.
If you traded out South Carolina with Arkansas I would be OK with that, but I just love the way Frank Martin coaches and how his team always seems to be getting better during the course of a season. The top four are simple to me. You can change the order 2-4, but Kentucky is the best and Georgia, A&M and Florida follow behind.
Kentucky should win the conference rather easily. Every spot after that is really up for grabs. Vanderbilt had a lot of preseason hype a year ago and lost key pieces in Damian Jones and Wade Baldwin, but Luke Kornet, Matthew Fisher-Davis, Riley Lachance and Jeff Roberson are back this season. If Bryce Drew is able to get the team to come together than a top three finish in the conference isn't out of the realm of possibility.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss.
The Cats appear to be in a league of their own and Florida has the second best personnel in the league, even with the question at point guard. Georgia has a nice one-two scoring punch with Frazier and Yante Maten, and that should carry them to a winning record in the league. Billy Kennedy has a nice nucleus at Texas A&M and they should grit out more than they lose as well, and Andy Kennedy's Ole Miss team is completely unspectacular, but Kennedy's teams usually find a way to be better than at least half the team's in the conference (in other words, Ole Miss is a very safe No. 5 pick).
