The SEC coaching carousel’s dust appears to have settled with Avery Johnson, Rick Barnes and Ben Howland having moved into their new offices at Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi State, respectively. Kentucky’s John Calipari is making the recruiting rounds with a new pitch after seven more of his players declared for this summer’s NBA Draft. Anthony Grant is getting re-acclimated to the assistant’s chair next to Billy Donovan at Florida that has worked out so well for both of them in the past. There’s still more to be determined about how the SEC will look heading into next season, but here are some way too early predictions on the season to come.
Coach of the Year
- John Calipari, Kentucky
Player of the Year
- Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
Freshman/Newcomer of the Year
- Ben Simmons, LSU
All-SEC First Team
- Tyler Ulis, PG, Kentucky
- Stefan Moody, SG, Ole Miss
- Danuel House, SF, Texas A&M
- Ben Simmons, SF, LSU
- Skal Labissiere, C, Kentucky
All-SEC Second Team
- Charles Mann, PG, Georgia
- Riley LaChance, SG, Vanderbilt
- Michael Qualls, SF, Arkansas
- Dorian Finney-Smith, PF, Florida
- Damian Jones, PF, Vanderbilt
Power Rankings
- Kentucky. Seven players may be leaving Lexington but John Calipari already has blue-chip prospects Skal Labissiere (who could be the first pick in the 2016 draft) and Isaiah Briscoe in the fold, and will likely nab a couple more elite talents before the signing period ends. Tyler Ulis’ steady hand at the point should help the team come together and Marcus Lee will at long last have a steady stream of minutes coming his way. Alex Poythress should also be hungry to prove himself as an all-SEC performer after missing the bulk of last season to injury. The three Wildcats’ returnees aren’t necessarily go-to scorers, so they will probably need to lean on freshmen (what else is new?) to put the ball in the basket. It’s a system that works for Coach Cal so it’s tough to choose any team other than Kentucky as the favorite in the SEC.
- Texas A&M. Take away the Aggies’ star-studded incoming recruiting class and the Aggies still might have been in this spot because of returnees Danuel House, Alex Caruso and Jalen Jones. These veterans will take the immediate pressure off of five-star power forward Elijah Thomas and the trio of four-star prospects who make up A&M’s incoming class. The Aggies should have a balanced, deep team with a clear cut go-to scorer in House, but here’s the rub: Kennedy hasn’t led a team to an NCAA Tournament during his four seasons in College Station and he presided over a late season collapse that cost the Aggies what looked like a certain a bid this year. There have been a lot of wins on the recruiting trail, but those need to translate into victories on the court next season.
- Florida. Putting the Gators this high may be an example of falling into the same trap as last year. But Billy Donovan — assuming the longtime Florida coach stays in Gainesville — will have a team loaded with talent that managed to put together the 11th-best defense in the country last season. Chris Chiozza may be the key to next season’s team. If the sophomore can reliably run the point guard position, it will take pressure off of Kasey Hill and allow the junior to concentrate on scoring. Michael Frazier’s unexpected declaration for the NBA Draft hurts, but Dorian Finney-Smith and Devin Robinson should be fine as the team’s go-to scorers.
- Vanderbilt. Damian Jones’ decision to return to Nashville puts the Commodores in position as a dark horse contender to win the league. Five freshmen and two sophomores averaged at least 19.3 minutes per game for Kevin Stallings last season, so Vanderbilt should have an efficient offense with an even higher ceiling next year. Stallings may need to toy with a four-guard lineup if none of his three incoming freshmen big men can contribute immediately.
- LSU. Ben Simmons tore up the Nike Hoops Summit and you’d figure a team with he and another blue-chip prospect in Antonio Blakeney would be higher on this list. Call the Tigers’ position here a combination of the league’s improving depth and Johnny Jones, who has done an impressive job of amassing talent in Baton Rouge but has not yet been able to cash in on it. Tim Quarterman will yet again be overshadowed but he is looking to build upon a breakout season that included a triple-double. He should help take some pressure off Simmons, who will likely be the most difficult SEC matchup next year. The talent is there for another NCAA bid and possibly even more, but can Jones make it happen?
- Georgia. Mark Fox has quietly put together solid back-to-back seasons in Athens. The backcourt is in place to return to the NCAA Tournament, with Charles Mann, Kenny Gaines and J.J. Frazier all back in the fold. But the Bulldogs lose the bulk of their frontcourt production with Marcus Thornton and Nemanja Djurisic leaving the program. Yante Maten showed glimpses of big-time potential during his freshman season, especially with the 21 points and 16 rebounds he racked up over two games against Kentucky. Fox will need him to take a major step forward for a team that figures to have a thin frontcourt rotation.
- Mississippi State. Gavin Ware, Fred Thomas and Craig Sword will finally be seniors and give Ben Howland plenty of experience to build around in his inaugural season in Starkville. I.J. Ready could the overall key, as he’ll likely be trusted with the lion’s share of minutes at point guard. If he can develop into a consistent playmaker the Bulldogs could have an effective offense with Sword and Thomas on the wing and Ware in the post. An incoming class that includes Malik Newman, shot Mississippi State up this list.
- Arkansas. So much depended on Bobby Portis. If the reigning SEC Player of the Year had returned to Fayetteville there would’ve been no reason why the Razorbacks couldn’t lay claim their first regular season conference title since 1994. But he instead elected to go pro and that decision thrusts Arkansas into something of a rebuilding year. Michael Qualls becomes the incumbent star and he will be relied on heavily on the offensive end. Replacing Rashad Madden and Alandise Harris won’t be easy since the senior role players both played over 51.6 percent of Arkansas’ minutes last year. Anderson seemed to trust freshman guard Anton Beard more frequently as the season wore on, and he’ll be counted on to replace Madden as the team’s lead guard. Four-star prospects Jimmy Whitt and Ted Kapita need to hit the ground running.
- South Carolina. Frank Martin didn’t forget how to get results when he left Kansas State. His first three years in Columbia have been a struggle, though, and last year’s SEC record was a big disappointment considering how much momentum the team had heading into conference play. But 2015-16 could finally be the year South Carolina gets into the mix for an NCAA Tournament bid. Duane Notice and Sindarius Thornwell will be joined by blue chip prospect P.J. Dozier to anchor the offense, and the Gamecocks also return all of their major frontcourt contributors that helped post the 26th-best adjusted defensive efficiency rating in the nation.
- Auburn. The Tigers lose a lot of production to graduation with the departures of the SEC’s leading scorer K.T. Harrell, Antoine Mason and K.C. Ross-Miller. But don’t count on a Bruce Pearl team wallowing at the bottom of the league standings for long. Tahj Shamsid-Deen was hampered by injuries all season long and, if healthy, forms a nice inside-outside duo with double-double machine Cinmeon Bowers. Pearl also brings in a deep recruiting class that features two four-star forwards in Horace Spencer and Danjel Purifoy. Look for Auburn to begin its inevitable rise under Pearl next season.
- Ole Miss. The Rebels have won an NCAA Tournament game in two of the last three seasons and have won at least 19 games every year since 2008-09. Andy Kennedy has spent a lot of time on the bubble during his time in Oxford, but overall he’s built a consistently competitive program at a place without a rich basketball tradition. The point is that the Rebels would be wise to cut him slack next season. Stefan Moody should contend for all-SEC honors and there is potential with a frontline of Anthony Perez, Sebastian Saiz and Dwight Coleby. But Ole Miss is losing a lot in the backcourt and Kennedy will need immediate production from the four guards he’s bringing in to be in the running for another NCAA Tournament bid.
- Tennessee. You have to feel for the Tennessee players that have had three coaches over the past 12 months. Tariq Owens was the first to transfer out and you wonder how much additional turnover there will be. You’d figure seniors-to-be Armani Moore, Kevin Punter and Derek Reese will all stay, and if they do Rick Barnes will have an experienced, scrappy core to work with. Josh Richardson’s departure could be the single most impactful blow in the conference because of what he meant to last year’s team. But with the trio mentioned above and Robert Hubbs the Vols should remain competitive, with the possibility of grabbing an NIT bid if a lot goes right.
- Alabama. It’ll be hard to get a read on the Tide until the dust settles on their roster turnover. Avery Johnson caught a big blow when Ricky Tarrant decided to leave after just one season in Tuscaloosa. This was always going to be a step-back year with the losses of Levi Randolph and Rodney Cooper, so Johnson will need to find a solid recruiting class in a short amount of time. Retaining assistant Antoine Pettway seemed to be a step towards holding on to the current commitments, but the Tide are battling Kentucky (uh oh) to keep point guard Dazon Ingram. Johnson does have some pieces to work with and none is more intriguing than undersized point guard Justin Coleman, since the head coach did alright himself as an undersized point guard.
- Missouri. The Tigers won just nine games and will lose their top scorer and rebounder because of Jonathan Williams’ decision to transfer, so it’s hard to put them anywhere but last. Other than Williams, however, it appears the mass exodus of players that some predicted will not take place, giving Kim Anderson some returning pieces to work with. Teki Gill-Caesar and Namon Wright showed enough scoring potential in their freshmen seasons to provide room for hope, and Wes Clark could develop as the veteran leader the team lacked last year. The two keys will be bolstering a tepid offense and finding frontcourt depth without Williams. The latter concern could be addressed by Jakeenan Gant, who showed glimpses of immense athleticism last year. A lot has to go right for Anderson since his new boss (AD Mack Rhoades) is not the guy who hired him.