As promised yesterday, here are my picks for the the SEC West:
1. Mississippi State (AP ranked 18th): The Bulldogs are the only team from the SEC that return all 5 starters from an NCAA tournament team a year ago. They return Jarvis Vanardo, one of the best shot blockers in the nation. They also landed one of the nation's top recruits in Freshman Forward Renaldo Sydney, who is facing similar eligibility problems as John Wall but has yet to be cleared by the NCAA. As long as Sydney becomes eligible before their February 16th matchup at home against Kentucky, the tandem of Vanardo and Sydney will give Patrick Patterson, Demarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and Perry Stevenson their toughest fight of the season. No team in the SEC, nor the country, has the depth down low that the Cats do but Mississippi State has enough talent down low to make Kentucky depend on the guard play of John Wall and Eric Bledsoe to win this one. (3 Seed, NCAA)
2. LSU: The Tigers lose Marcus Thornton but return Tasmin Mitchell from last year's SEC regular season champion. A lot of people are picking LSU to finish as low as 5th in the division, but the Tigers were the class of the SEC a year ago, winning 27 games and giving North Carolina their toughest game and biggest scare in the NCAA Tournament. They lose a lot, but they return enough talent to finish 2nd in the weaker side of the SEC and squeak into the NCAA Tournament as one of the last teams in. (13 Seed, NCAA)
3. Arkansas: In John Pelphrey's second season at Arkansas, they entered SEC play undefeated with wins over two top 5 teams, Texas and Oklahoma, but the Razorbacks were the best example of why the conference wasn't as bad as people thought it was a year ago. After going through a tough non-conference schedule undefeated, the young Hogs team fell apart and went 2-14 in SEC play. A year older and more experienced and in their third year under Pelphrey, expect the Hogs to play a lot better in SEC play this season and finish in the top 3 of the West. The talent is there to make the NCAA Tournament, but I'm not ready to put them there after only winning 2 conference games a year ago. They'll make strides this season and earn a trip to the NIT. (NIT)
4. Alabama: The rest of the SEC West is a crap shoot and really the only team that stands out is Mississippi State. The rest of the Western Division could finish in any order but I pick Alabama fourth because they return their leading scorer and also because of the impact that new head coach Anthony Grant will have. Grant is a disciple of Billy Donovan, comes from VCU, and is one of the highest rising young coaches in the game. He will at least take the Crimson Tide to some form of postseason play. (NIT or CBI)
5. Ole Miss: A 16-15 record a year ago was a huge step back for Andy Kennedy's program, but the Rebels did have a lot of injuries and could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th in the West. Their season depends on how they are able to recover from those season ending injuries from last season and if super sophomore, Terrico White, can continue to develop into a future NBA shooting guard. (CBI)
6. Auburn: The Tigers were a pleasant surprise last year and barely missed the NCAA Tournament, but they lose nearly all key players from that team and it should be a rebuilding year for Auburn. (SEC Tourney, 1st round loss)
And now, here is the Wildcat Wrap All-SEC Team:
PG: John Wall (UK)
SG: Tyler Smith (UT)
SF: Tasmin Mitchell (LSU)
PF: Jarvis Vanardo (MSU)
C: Demarcus Cousins (UK)
Honorable Mention: PG Devan Downey (USC), PF Patrick Patterson (UK), PF Renaldo Sydney (MSU), C A.J. Ogilvy (Vandy), C Wayne Chism (UT)
Yeah, I gave the nod to Vanardo on the 1st team simply because he will put up better numbers with Miss. State than Patterson will on a team loaded full of NBA lottery picks. No disrespect meant at all towards Patrick, he will still have a great year and improve in the Dribble Drive Offense. Patterson and Devan Downey would be 1st team picks in any other conference and could both definately prove me wrong with not only SEC honors, but even All-American honors when it's all said and done.
Also, be sure to check out our preview of our lil brother 65 miles to the West. That's right, we will have a UofL preview coming up in the next couple of days by an actual UofL fan, Neal Thompson (the same guy who created a facebook group trying to ban me and my "biased and ridiculous opinions" from facebook. Let's see what he has to say about his Cards...
1. Mississippi State (AP ranked 18th): The Bulldogs are the only team from the SEC that return all 5 starters from an NCAA tournament team a year ago. They return Jarvis Vanardo, one of the best shot blockers in the nation. They also landed one of the nation's top recruits in Freshman Forward Renaldo Sydney, who is facing similar eligibility problems as John Wall but has yet to be cleared by the NCAA. As long as Sydney becomes eligible before their February 16th matchup at home against Kentucky, the tandem of Vanardo and Sydney will give Patrick Patterson, Demarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and Perry Stevenson their toughest fight of the season. No team in the SEC, nor the country, has the depth down low that the Cats do but Mississippi State has enough talent down low to make Kentucky depend on the guard play of John Wall and Eric Bledsoe to win this one. (3 Seed, NCAA)
2. LSU: The Tigers lose Marcus Thornton but return Tasmin Mitchell from last year's SEC regular season champion. A lot of people are picking LSU to finish as low as 5th in the division, but the Tigers were the class of the SEC a year ago, winning 27 games and giving North Carolina their toughest game and biggest scare in the NCAA Tournament. They lose a lot, but they return enough talent to finish 2nd in the weaker side of the SEC and squeak into the NCAA Tournament as one of the last teams in. (13 Seed, NCAA)
3. Arkansas: In John Pelphrey's second season at Arkansas, they entered SEC play undefeated with wins over two top 5 teams, Texas and Oklahoma, but the Razorbacks were the best example of why the conference wasn't as bad as people thought it was a year ago. After going through a tough non-conference schedule undefeated, the young Hogs team fell apart and went 2-14 in SEC play. A year older and more experienced and in their third year under Pelphrey, expect the Hogs to play a lot better in SEC play this season and finish in the top 3 of the West. The talent is there to make the NCAA Tournament, but I'm not ready to put them there after only winning 2 conference games a year ago. They'll make strides this season and earn a trip to the NIT. (NIT)
4. Alabama: The rest of the SEC West is a crap shoot and really the only team that stands out is Mississippi State. The rest of the Western Division could finish in any order but I pick Alabama fourth because they return their leading scorer and also because of the impact that new head coach Anthony Grant will have. Grant is a disciple of Billy Donovan, comes from VCU, and is one of the highest rising young coaches in the game. He will at least take the Crimson Tide to some form of postseason play. (NIT or CBI)
5. Ole Miss: A 16-15 record a year ago was a huge step back for Andy Kennedy's program, but the Rebels did have a lot of injuries and could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th in the West. Their season depends on how they are able to recover from those season ending injuries from last season and if super sophomore, Terrico White, can continue to develop into a future NBA shooting guard. (CBI)
6. Auburn: The Tigers were a pleasant surprise last year and barely missed the NCAA Tournament, but they lose nearly all key players from that team and it should be a rebuilding year for Auburn. (SEC Tourney, 1st round loss)
And now, here is the Wildcat Wrap All-SEC Team:
PG: John Wall (UK)
SG: Tyler Smith (UT)
SF: Tasmin Mitchell (LSU)
PF: Jarvis Vanardo (MSU)
C: Demarcus Cousins (UK)
Honorable Mention: PG Devan Downey (USC), PF Patrick Patterson (UK), PF Renaldo Sydney (MSU), C A.J. Ogilvy (Vandy), C Wayne Chism (UT)
Yeah, I gave the nod to Vanardo on the 1st team simply because he will put up better numbers with Miss. State than Patterson will on a team loaded full of NBA lottery picks. No disrespect meant at all towards Patrick, he will still have a great year and improve in the Dribble Drive Offense. Patterson and Devan Downey would be 1st team picks in any other conference and could both definately prove me wrong with not only SEC honors, but even All-American honors when it's all said and done.
Also, be sure to check out our preview of our lil brother 65 miles to the West. That's right, we will have a UofL preview coming up in the next couple of days by an actual UofL fan, Neal Thompson (the same guy who created a facebook group trying to ban me and my "biased and ridiculous opinions" from facebook. Let's see what he has to say about his Cards...
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