Rush The Court

The SEC Men’s Basketball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Awards were released yesterday, and they demonstrate the ridiculousness of preseason awards by demeaning the entire process. In a season where there is more talent in the SEC than any year in recent memory, the inconsistencies among the coaches’ decisions is troubling. The 2011-12 SEC Coaches first and second teams are as follows:

First Team All-SEC

• G Dee Bost, Mississippi State
• G Kenny Boynton, Florida
• C Festus Ezeli, Vanderbilt
• F JaMychal Green, Alabama
• G John Jenkins, Vanderbilt
• F Terrence Jones, Kentucky
• G/F Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
• G Erving Walker, Florida

Second Team All-SEC

• F Reginald Buckner, Ole Miss
• G Doron Lamb, Kentucky
• G Darius Miller, Kentucky
• F Tony Mitchell, Alabama
• F Marshawn Powell, Arkansas
• G Trevor Releford, Alabama
• G Gerald Robinson, Georgia
• F Renardo Sidney, Miss. State
• F/C Patric Young, Florida

I have three major issues with this list:

1. An All-Conference award team should consist of five players. Not eight. Not nine. Five. This is not an environment where everyone receives a trophy, and we should honor as many players as possible. Placing eight players on the first team and nine on the second team devalues the prestige of receiving the honor in the first place.
2. There are no freshmen or transfers. I understand earning your place. I get it. However, Anthony Davis of Kentucky has made numerous First Team All America rosters, yet he doesn’t crack the Second Team All-SEC? The same can be said of Florida freshman Brad Beal. There are two players on the Second Team in Doron Lamb and Darius Miller who are fighting for a spot in the starting lineup at Kentucky because freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has already earned his spot ahead of them. Mississippi State big man Renardo Sidney isn’t even the best low post player on his team. That would be UTEP transfer Arnett Moultrie. But Moultrie didnt make this list. The list becomes somewhat laughable when everyone knows the players receiving the award aren’t the best players in the conference.
3. Finally, there wasn’t any consistency to the decisions. Ole Miss forward Reginald Buckner (6.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 23.5 MPG) was selected over teammate Terrance Henry (9.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 28.3 MPG) despite lower statistics and no other obvious reasons why. The coaches seemingly took the stance that a player needs to prove what he is capable of before making the list (see gripe #2), then they include players such as Patric Young who averaged 3.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game last year. Those numbers don’t exude proven success. There are dozens of players who averaged better numbers then that. If Young was chosen on potential, for which he obviously was, then why wasn’t that factored in for other players? If the coaches are strictly looking at numbers, then why not select Vanderbilt guard Brad Tinsley (10.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 4.6 APG)? His numbers are just as good as Trevor Releford (11.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.4 APG) of Alabama or Gerald Robinson (12.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 4.0 APG) of Georgia. Or why not make a tenth team member?

Preseason award lists are no reason to get riled up, but the inconsistencies from the SEC coaches on this one support the perception that very little stock should be put into them, if any at all.