The SEC held its annual media day on Wednesday, going to the home of the SEC Network in Charlotte for the first time. Along with the usual glass-half-full comments from each team’s coach, the media selected its all-conference teams and predicted the order of finish in the league. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Kentucky was not only picked to win the league, but it also dominated the 10-player preseason all-SEC team. While shooting guard Aaron Harrison was the only Wildcat selected on the first team, the second team included four more Wildcats: Willie Cauley-Stein, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Harrison, and Alex Poythress. Aaron Harrison, whose late-game heroics sent the Wildcats past Michigan in the Elite Eight and Wisconsin in the Final Four, was chosen as the Player of the Year. Towns, the only freshman to make the first or second team, is a 6’11” center who most expect to be the best of Kentucky’s latest All-America-filled recruiting class. He was ranked fifth in that class by Rivals.com. Florida, which lost a lot of talent from last season’s Final Four squad, put guard Michael Frazier II on the team, and he was joined by Ole Miss’ Jarvis Summers, LSU’s Jordan Mickey, and Arkansas’ Bobby Portis. The only non-Wildcat on the second team was Georgia guard Charles Mann. 

Preseason SEC Rankings (first-place votes in parentheses)

1. Kentucky (20) 280
2. Florida 258
3. Arkansas 226
4. LSU 223
5. Georgia 204
6. Mississippi 168
7. Missouri 123
8. Auburn 113
9. Texas A&M 111
10. Alabama 109
11. Vanderbilt 89
12. South Carolina 86
13. Tennessee 75
14. Mississippi State 35

It goes without saying that preseason all-conference picks mean next to nothing, but, as always, there were a few surprises. Tennessee’s Josh Richardson, who came on strong during the NCAA Tournament, could have been selected, as he will clearly be the Vols’ best player. Likewise, enigmatic Florida forward Chris Walker, who has already been suspended for the first two regular season games, is primed for a breakout season now that he will be a bigger focus of the Gators’ offense. LSU’s Jarell Martin, who received at least one vote for SEC Player of the Year, was a surprising omission. Certainly coaches are glad to have high-quality players left off of the team, as their perceived snubs will serve to motivate them to prove the media wrong.

Kentucky was the unanimous choice to win the league, as the Wildcats received all 20 first-place votes. The Wildcats were followed by Florida, Arkansas and LSU, with Georgia rounding out the top five. The biggest surprise in the order of finish rankings is Auburn, which was picked to finish eighth. Given how little the Tigers have returning and entering the program this season, their selection was a clear testament to Bruce Pearl’s coaching ability. Auburn finished 12th in the league last year, winning only six conference games. Tennessee, which was one of three teams in the league to advance to the Sweet Sixteen last year, was picked to finish 13th, ahead of only Mississippi State. The Vols’ roster was turned over almost completely when Donnie Tyndall replaced Cuonzo Martin.

As with the all-conference teams, putting too much stock into the media’s preseason selections should be done at one’s peril. Last year, Georgia was picked to finish 11th in the league before running to a third-place finish and nearly getting its name into the conversation for an NCAA Tournament bid. Kentucky was also nearly a unanimous pick a year ago, but the Wildcats finished six games behind an undefeated Florida squad. And with a league that has so many new faces this season, beyond stating with confidence that Kentucky and Florida will be among the best teams at the end, the rest of the league remains largely a mystery and there will certainly be many surprises as the season unfolds.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2014 at 2:15 pm by David Changas and is filed under microsites, sec. Tagged: aaron harrison, Alex Poythress, all-sec, andrew harrison, bobby portis, Charles Mann, Chris Walker, jarell martin, jarvis summers, jordan mickey, josh richardson, karl-anthony towns, michael frazier II, preseason picks, Willie Cauley-Stein. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.