Christian D’Andrea is an SEC microsite contributor. He can be reached on Twitter @anchorofgold.

The SEC has always been home to some of the NCAA’s most talented newcomers. Much of that has to do with Kentucky’s one-and-done superstars, but Lexington’s five-star recruits aren’t the only players making an impact for Southeastern Conference teams. Several under-the-radar prospects – and some of them big names – are starting to get the feel for the NCAA game and bringing value to their programs early in their careers. As a result, teams like South Carolina and Auburn can put a little extra confidence behind their rebuilding efforts.

Nerlens Noel (Ken), Michael Carrera (SC) and Negus Webster-Chan (Missou) are just three of many freshmen making an impact this season in the SEC East

So who should SEC basketball fans be looking out for with conference play looming? Every week, we’ll look at how the best freshmen in the SEC have performed in their inaugural seasons. We’ll break the league down football-style into East and West divisions to provide an in-depth look at the young guns that may end up dotting all-SEC teams for years to come. This week, we’ll start with the East by introducing you to the most talented first-year players that the conference has to offer. While a team led by newcomers has carried Kentucky through an up-and-down first two months, teams like South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Missouri are also leaning on rookies to carry them to the postseason. Here’s a breakdown on those fresh faces in the (former) SEC East and how they’ve impacted their teams so far.

SEC East

Kentucky: Kentucky, a team replacing all of its starters in 2012-13, has easily gotten the strongest return from its freshman play-makers this winter. Nerlens Noel has been as good as advertised, and Willie Cauley-Stein has shown a combination of size and skill that suggests that he’d be a starter for almost any other team in the SEC this winter. The two have combined for 18 points, 14 rebounds, and nearly six blocks per game as the Wildcats’ primary big men. Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress have carried the ‘Cats offensively. Both have shown well-rounded offensive play, while Poythress in particular has shown some defensive chops that could make him a nightmare matchup (a 7’1” wingspan and the size and strength to cover both forward positions) as the season wears on. However, both have struggled with turnovers early in the year, and their talent hasn’t been enough to cover up UK’s relative inexperience in three early losses. Kentucky may have gotten off to an unexpected start thanks to those losses, but they’re also playing on a steeper learning curve than most teams in the SEC. The development of their freshman class will be one of the conference’s biggest stories to watch once league play unfolds.

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Every week, the SEC microsite will post a composite power ranking list for the league’s performances coupled with a short commentary justifying each team’s specific ranking. Here are Week Four’s SEC Power Rankings (all statistics via TeamRankings).

The Gators Are the Class of the SEC (Photo via John Raoux / AP)

1. Florida– There’s not a lot missing from the Gators’ resume. They’ve beaten every opponent by double figures, while playing the nation’s 13th toughest schedule. As of the release of last week’s rankings, however, they hadn’t had the chance to prove their mettle in a true road game, a situation in which they struggled last season (losing their first four). After their trip to Tallahassee last week, consider that mettle proven. The Gators embarrassed rival Florida State in a 72-47 win, holding the Seminoles to only 15 first-half points. Florida’s ability to win away from the O-Dome will be crucial over the rest of the season. In addition to this Saturday’s trip to Arizona, the Gators will have road games at Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, all among the more hostile environments in the SEC.
2. Missouri– Do I have to put a team here? There’s a massive gap between Florida and the rest of the conference, but the Tigers are the choice at #2. Missouri hasn’t been tested against quality competition since they left the Bahamas, but their performances against smaller conference foes have been far from convincing. A nasty little habit of starting slow has been their biggest problem. The Tigers trailed Southeast Missouri State by 10 at the half, and only held a three-point advantage over Tennessee State after 20 minutes. In fact, Mizzou ranks 101st nationally in first half scoring margin, at only +3.1 points. Big second half scoring outputs have saved Frank Haith’s team, but with Brandon Paul and the Fighting Illini looming next week, another slow start may be too much to overcome.
3. Kentucky– After consecutive losses to Notre Dame and Baylor, the Wildcats made history when they dropped out of the rankings from the #8 spot, receiving only 186 votes, the largest single-week drop in AP poll history. Kentucky proceeded to easily handle its next two opponents in Samford and Portland, but somehow fell even further in the next AP poll, garnering only 44 votes. I’m not claiming that the Wildcats deserve to be ranked, but why would they lose ground after two convincing victories? It appears that quite a few voters realized a week too late that they were allowed to leave Kentucky off their ballots. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Florida added another impressive win to its resume Wednesday night, crushing Florida State 72-47 in Tallahassee. The Gators utilized a balanced offensive attack (five players with nine or more points) and shot almost 50% from the field. However, their defensive performance was the real story, especially in the first half. The Seminoles were only able to muster 15 points on five made field goals, going into the break already facing a 20-point deficit. Just to rub a little salt in the wound for the hosts, top 2013 recruit Andrew Wiggins was in attendance to see the ‘Noles get run off the court (though the love he allegedly got from some FSU coeds may be the trump card).
2. In the wake of Kentucky’s poor start to the season, coach John Calipari has no intention of riding it out. After Tuesday’s game, the Wildcats officially entered “Camp Cal,” a three-week period in which practices will skew heavily toward conditioning. Calipari hopes the strategy will work to improve his team’s mental toughness. “I think we all got intoxicated, including me, about everything that was written and said about this team,” he told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “I kept telling you, ‘We’re not that good.'” Kentucky’s home stand continues for three more games, but a late December trip to Louisville looms large, undoubtedly the target Calipari has in mind for his players’ improvement.
3. There isn’t much of a winning culture supporting South Carolina basketball, but new coach Frank Martin isn’t willing to quietly let it continue. His most recent problem with his team is with its inability to take care of the ball. “It’s embarrassing,” said Martin. “I wish I could use another word. We’ve lost three games, and all three games have basically been lost with our inability to play offense. We play with such an individual frame of mind on offense, and we don’t pass the ball. We don’t screen. We don’t know the concepts that we need to play with.” The Gamecocks have turned the ball over on a staggering 27.4% of their possessions this season (according to TeamRankings), ranking 338th in the nation in that statistic. Martin succeeded at a non-traditional basketball school in Kansas State, and while there hasn’t been much early success with the Gamecocks this year, there is a new sense of urgency about the program.
4. Tennessee will honor the late Ray Mears on December 13 when the Vols host Wichita State in Knoxville. “(He) was such an admired and respected man and I think Tennessee fans view him as much more than a basketball coach,” UT coach Cuonzo Martin said in a press release. “I want to ensure that we never overlook his contributions.” Mears is the Volunteers’ all-time wins leader, as he coached Tennessee legends such as Bernard King and Ernie Grunfeld. If honoring Mears isn’t enough to get you out to Thomspson-Boling Arena, the UT athletic department will be offering discounted popcorn and soda (which this writer assumes is an apology for the Vols’ offensive showings against Georgetown and Virginia).
5. Is getting relegated to a non-BCS bowl enough for LSU fans to eschew football for some basketball? Probably not, but they may be pleasantly surprised if they do. Ex-player and new coach Johnny Jones has his team off to its best start in four seasons. The young Tigers rallied to beat Seton Hall over the weekend to move to 5-0, and even earned a vote in the AP Top 25 poll. Though they’ve taken care of business so far, LSU will have to prove themselves against better competition to be considered a true player in the SEC. After a home date next week with Chattanooga, Jones’ team will get their chance as they leave Baton Rouge for the first time, traveling to play quality opponents in Boise State and Marquette.

1. Florida may be without break-out forward Erik Murphy this Wednesday when the Gators travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida State. Murphy suffered a “bad hip pointer” against Marquette in the SEC/Big East Challenge, and hasn’t yet fully recovered. The senior forward made national headlines after a 10-10 shooting performance against Wisconsin earlier this season, and while he’s slowed down since, he still serves as the Gators primary frontcourt scoring option. In the event of his absence, Patric Young should be handed some greater offensive responsibility. The available minutes from Scottie Wilbekin’s early-season suspension seem to have provided Mike Rosario with invaluable confidence in his second season in Gainesville, and maybe Murphy’s brief absence can do the same for Young.
2. In another in-state, out-of-conference SEC showdown this week, Georgia takes on rival Georgia Tech tonight, with the visiting Bulldogs desperate for a win. Mark Fox’s crew has only tallied victories against Jacksonville and East Tennessee State so far this season, doing very little to cool the coach’s hot seat. “It’s easy to be frustrated, in any endeavor that you have,” Fox said. “It’s your reaction to frustration that’s really critical. I think we are improving, I think we’re getting better in certain areas. I want it to be faster than it has, but we are where we are. We’ve gotta keep focusing on it and get better.” An inept offense is the primary culprit for Georgia’s struggles. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the only legitimate scorer on the roster, but he’s shooting the ball at well under 40% from the field. No other player averages more than nine points per game, and until a reliable second option emerges, Caldwell-Pope will continue to be forced into taking bad shots.
3. On Monday, LSU’s Shavon Coleman was named SEC Player of the Week. Coleman put on a second-half show when the Tigers hosted Seton Hall this past Thursday, scoring 14 of his 18 points as LSU overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the Pirates. The JuCo transfer also added six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks on the night. The undersized forward has combined with Johnny O’Bryant III to form a lethal rebounding tandem, a big reason why the Tigers are ranked 15th in the nation in rebounding rate.
4. Frank Martin’s career at South Carolina hasn’t gotten off to the smoothest of starts, but NBC Sports’ Vin Parise warns against impatience. Martin took over a shaky program at Kansas State and had the Wildcats playing in the Elite Eight within three seasons. Jacob Pullen, a middling recruit, blossomed into a superstar under the tutelage of the fiery coach. His coaching style is certainly abrasive, but his track record of success in Manhattan, Kansas, is tough to ignore. An early season loss to Elon is never a good sign for an SEC team, though it’s far from the worst loss that the conference has endured. Big success isn’t in the cards for Martin in his first season, but a repeat finish at the bottom of the SEC seems unlikely as they’ll face stiff competition from a number of other teams in the conference.
5. Monday’s new AP poll featured a little bit of history. Kentucky, ranked #8 last week, can no longer be found in the Top 25, the largest single-week drop in the history of the rankings. It also marked the first time that the Wildcats aren’t represented in the poll since John Calipari took over in Lexington. How much has the college basketball landscape changed since the last time Kentucky wasn’t in the AP poll? At the end of the 2008-09 season, LSU was the SEC’s lone representative in the Top 25, while current ACC doormat Wake Forest was ranked #8.

1. The SEC/Big East Challenge got off to a competitive start last night with the conferences splitting four matchups and each conference scoring a decisive and impressive victory. St. John’s and Notre Dame each scored easy victories for the Big East while Marquette was blown out by Florida and Seton Hall lost a competitive tilt with LSU. The game of the evening was Notre Dame’s thorough dismantling of No. 8 Kentucky, 64-50. It was billed as a battle between youth and experience, athleticism and discipline, and after the Wildcats got off to a quick start, it quickly became apparent which traits would prevail. The young Wildcats struggled to find a rhythm in their first true road test and really look nothing like last season’s juggernaut, at least in the early part of the season. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish rebounded from a slow start and finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field and 53 percent from behind the arc. The low point for the Fighting Irish may have been when their fans RTC’d as the final buzzer sounded. The Fighting Irish are an experienced and talented team, so beating a bunch of freshmen still figuring out how to play together doesn’t count as a true upset, especially when they won so handily. Even guard Jerian Grant lamented the post-game celebrations telling reporters that the team expected to win the game. The fans should have expected that too.
2. On the flip side, after Notre Dame handled Kentucky easily, Marquette had a chance to really put the Big East in the driver’s seat as they squared off against No. 7 Florida, and unfortunately, they ended up falling flat on their face. Coach Buzz Williams, ever the candid quote, called the 82-49 drubbing the worst loss of his career and said his team was “really bad in every way.” Williams knows his team better than anyone else, but some credit should go to the Gators, who look like one of the best teams in the country in the early part of the season. Yes, the Golden Eagles, with the exception of junior guard Vander Blue (20 points and four rebounds), were dreadful on both ends of the floor. But Billy Donovan’s club has experienced talent and depth up-and-down the roster, and Marquette is still trying to adjust to life without stars Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom. It is clear Marquette is not as good as it was last year, and I think if the two teams played again in February the Gators would still win, but I would also bet that if that were to happen, we would see a different MU team than the uninspired club we saw last night.
3. The other statement win for the conference came when the Red Storm stomped coach Frank Martin and South Carolina, 89-65 in New York. The Gamecocks’ lackluster defense allowed D’Angelo Harrison (26 points on 8-of-13 shooting) and his teammates to shoot nearly 57 percent from the floor for the game as the Johnnies controlled the game from the opening tip and overwhelmed the undermanned South Carolina squad. Steve Lavin‘s club is making noise like it could be a really good team as the season progresses, especially if Jakarr Sampson continues to blossom into a star and talented forward Orlando Sanchez gains his eligibility. The team’s two losses (to Murray State and Baylor) are respectable ones, especially for a team full of underclassmen just starting to play together, and the talent and upside of the roster is tremendous. They are deep and athletic across the board, even more so if Sanchez comes back, and they will only get better as the season goes on. Maybe the Lavin rebuilding project is further along than some think.
4. The national contender that no one is talking about amidst this conference realignment hullabaloo is Georgetown. It makes sense since the Hoyas fields an FCS football program, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that while the Big East is crumbling, one of the most storied programs in all of college basketball remains. Coach John Thompson III didn’t seem too worried when he was asked about the changes, saying that change was inevitable in this day and age and that he didn’t want to get too caught up especially with Tennessee coming to town tonight. He also deflected questions about whether Georgetown would consider breaking off from the conference with other basketball-first programs like Marquette and Villanova to form their own conference built around basketball supremacy. It’s perfectly fine for Thompson III to focus on basketball since he will have very little influence on the direction the school takes, but school administrators and decision-makers should be very concerned about what the next step for their program is. They have a compelling product on the basketball court and multiple excellent athletic programs — albeit ones that don’t make as much money — and riding out the storm in a show of loyalty to the Big East sounds nice and all, but it could leave Georgetown in an unenviable situation should other programs like Connecticut and Cincinnati defect as they so desperately want to.
5. DePaul appears to be on its way to another NCAA Tournament-less season, something that has become all too common in the last two decades for the Blue Demons, and to make matters worse, they still play in an outdated Allstate Arena that apparently is a real hassle for students and city-dwelling fans to get to. This piece is an excellent look at not only DePaul’s options when it comes to switching arenas when the lease with the Allstate Arena runs out after 2015, but also whether that will make any difference in the program’s long road back to respectability. One option being championed by the likes of Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf is a rent-free stay at the United Center, which seems nice until you start imagining what the United Center would look like for an early season thriller between DePaul and Austin Peay. The other, more tantalizing option is a new arena closer to campus that has the backing of none other than city mayor Rahm Emmanuel. The idea is the definition of preliminary and as the article pointed out, the new arena doesn’t solve the on-court woes, but it opens the door for improvement in student and fan turnout at the very least.

1. In the constant juggling of priorities for South Carolina’s Bruce Ellington as a dual-sport athlete, basketball finally is on his mind, at least for now. Ellington, a wide receiver for Steve Spurrier’s gridiron Gamecocks, closed out the regular season last weekend in a win over in-state rival Clemson and is now available to practice with his basketball teammates. Coach Frank Martin spoke to Spurrier on Tuesday regarding Ellington’s situation of practice and travel until football practice begins for bowl preparation. “I’m pretty sure Bruce is going to travel with us,” said Martin. “Whether he’ll play or not, I don’t know.”
2. We have witnessed over the last two seasons the games-on-battleships idea grow but only with marginal success. While the opportunity to honor our troops and the excitement to play in more exotic locations has far exceeded our expectations, the execution of games has been subpar, to say the least. The idea has resulted in two games called off so far in its career — one of those, the Florida-Georgetown game stopped at halftime due to excessive moisture on the court on November 9 — will not be rescheduled. The two schools could not agree on a future date this season to resume the game due to too many pre-existing scheduling issues. Florida offered a few dates around the New Year’s holiday when both schools were free, but Georgetown did not want to play another high-profile game before opening Big East play versus Marquette on January 5.
3. Let’s get caught up on the mess that is conference realignment. Last week’s news featured both Maryland and Rutgers leaving the ACC and Big East, respectively, for the Big Ten. This week, Louisville has already joined the ACC, and there are still moves that could be made. One scenario suggests that if Florida State and Clemson both eventually decide to join the Big 12, the SEC could target league cornerstones North Carolina and Duke to complete its 16-team conference. An ACC source said both UNC and Duke have been chased “by the SEC for the past three years” and would then decide between them and the Big Ten. If chosen, those two possible additions would catapult the SEC to the premiere basketball conference in the country.
4. As Kentucky’s Ryan Harrow returns to the court after his bout with a mysterious illness and a trip back home, head coach John Calipari isn’t ready to give him the reins at point guard spot quite yet. On Wednesday, Calipari stated that Archie Goodwin will continue to command the point guard duties until otherwise stated because “Archie has earned it.” Calipari, while challenging Harrow to compete and earn his starting position back, is still excited for the opportunity to play both guards on the court at the same time and stated “that is a good thing.”
5. While Florida is facing a brutal three-game stretch ahead (vs. Marquette, at Florida State, at #9 Arizona), most of their medical and emotional attention is focused on forward Casey Prather,  who suffered two concussions in a nine-day span last week. After a complete diagnosis of the injuries, Prather has been forced by the Gators’ medical staff to wear a padded sparring-like helmet as a preventive measure in practices. Coach Billy Donovan and the head athletic trainer are unsure if the helmet will be worn by Prather for the remainder of the season but they will continue to monitor Prather’s prognosis throughout the year.

1. After a disastrous showing in the Maui Invitational, Mississippi State head coach Rick Ray has spent the last few days reflecting on his team’s performance in Hawaii. Ray, who also battled a stomach virus while on the trip, discussed several reasons why the Bulldogs underperformed in the tournament. Ray said that his squad, while losing by an average of 29 points per game, “played harder than the other teams for the most part” and a lot of the second-chance opportunities for opponents came from MSU’s rebounding woes. He also noted that the team’s assist-to-turnover ratio (1:2) “needs to be rectified before beating anybody that’s a quality opponent.”
2. Tennessee got into the Cyber Monday/holiday spirit yesterday by offering $7 tickets to any men’s or women’s basketball home game other than those versus Kentucky for the rest of the season. The promotion, while ending at 7 pm on Monday (sorry), was good for any seat in the 300-level section of Thompson-Boling Arena. There is no official word on whether the online deal resulted in an increase in ticket sales, but such a promotion on Cyber Monday surely could not have hurt the Vols’ chances of packing the arena for their remaining games — especially with great games ahead including Wichita State, Memphis, Xavier, Alabama, Florida, and Missouri all coming to Knoxville this season.
3. How has Alabama grown this season? The work of veterans Trevor Releford, Andrew Steele, and Trevor Lacey have combined for 37.8 points per game (54% of the team’s scoring) along with an outstanding 2.57 assist-to-turnover ratio this season. With Rodney Cooper (15 PPG/4 RPG) currently out due to shoulder tendinitis, heralded freshman Devonta Pollard emerged as a fourth contributor in keeping the Crimson Tide undefeated, and was listed as one of Al.com‘s three points of the game regarding Alabama’s win over Charleston Southern last weekend. Pollard, who came into that game averaging only four points per outing, was able to control the game to the point where he “could take advantage of his God-given talents”, as stated by coach Anthony Grant. With a healthy Cooper expected back in the lineup as well as a star freshman quickly learning the college game through ample playing time, the Tide could become another legitimate contender for the SEC title.
4. It seems to be exact opposites in the state of Mississippi this year: Ole Miss has the advantage over in-state rival Mississippi State in basketball while the Bulldogs hold the upper hand on the gridiron. Ole Miss already has five wins in its first five games this season on the hardwood compared to the Bulldogs’ single victory. Of course, Ole Miss has the advantage of not enduring the change of leadership and player exodus that has occurred in Starkville over the last few seasons. The Rebels’ Murphy Holloway was named SEC Player of the Week on Monday, and even while winning versus low-quality opponents, Ole Miss still has a projected higher season win total (22-7, 12-6) than Mississippi State (9-21, 3-15), according to KenPom.com. Regardless of the quality of opponents and game results, the momentum on the hardwood is clearly in Oxford this season.
5. The learning curve in the SEC might come quicker than imagined for South Carolina‘s Frank Martin.  The Gamecocks concluded their holiday festivities by winning the Hoops for Hope Classic over Arkansas-Little Rock in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, last weekend. Martin’s squad, now 5-1 on the season, is quickly gaining confidence with each win they accrue in the non-conference schedule. A win over St. John’s this week in the SEC/Big East Challenge could give the Gamecocks the momentum they need as they face rival Clemson next week. Wins over both teams could serve to propel South Carolina to an outstanding 12-1 non-conference record before playing Mississippi State in its first SEC game in early January. As the games will become more difficult in the waning months of the season, more wins now could help ease the pain later on for Martin and his young, inexperienced squad.

1. The Gators continue to roll, but something else rolled on Tuesday in Florida’s 58 -40 win over Savannah State — Kenny Boynton’s ankle. Boynton turned his ankle in the second half, tried to return to play, and eventually had to be helped off the court after just five points in 24 minutes. According to coach Billy Donovan, Boynton “was capable of going back into the game. We held him out.” Donovan added that he didn’t anticipate his senior guard would miss any additional time. That’s positive news for the Gators, as Boynton has increased his shooting percentages (he currently has an effective field goal percentage of 58.1%) and offensive efficiency rating (127.3, but be sure to read the small sample size oath).
2. In quite a change of events from recent years and even earlier this year in its first exhibition game, Florida is relying on its defense to win games. “We’re getting better,” Donovan said. “I think the one thing I tried to do in the offseason was really show and display what and how teams scored against us and what we were going to try to do to try to correct those things. It’s an everyday process, but I think those guys are committed and I think those guys are working hard.” Florida’s adjusted defensive efficiency ranks fourth in the nation and its effective field goal defense ranks second. And the Gators’ defense might have won them the game against Savannah State. “Our defense saved us because we were not very good at all on offense,” Donovan said. Right now, Florida appears more balanced than it has been in many years.
3. Kentucky point guard Ryan Harrow appears to be feeling better, but now will be out one more game, this time with a family issue. Prior to UK’s victory over Morehead State, Calipari said Harrow “called (Tuesday) and said, ‘Coach, I got an issue that I’ve got to deal with, and my mom’s here. I’m going to go deal with it.’ ” Harrow has struggled this year, only amassing 10 minutes of play this season. When asked whether or not he thought Harrow was having difficulty adjusting to the high pressures of being the starting point guard, “I don’t think so,” Calipari said. “I don’t think it’s that. It might be some of it, but I don’t believe that. He was getting better. That’s the sad thing about it.” Kentucky would certainly like to see its starting point guard back. Harrow’s first game back could be next Thursday against Notre Dame.
4. Vanderbilt went into its game with Davidson on Thursday with a laundry list of items to work on. “We just have to get better at everything,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “Our post play in the game the other night was really bad. I mean, just from top to bottom — offensively, defensively, we fouled too much, we didn’t get picked up in transition, we made careless turnovers, we took bad shots. We just did a lot of things you do when you play poorly. It’s a process. These guys are young and eager and they want to do well, but sometimes they don’t know what to do or they don’t do the right thing.” The Commodores’ 48 points last Friday at Oregon was the fewest point total for the squad in more than nine years. Despite the loss to Davidson on Thursday, the ‘Dores limited turnovers to 12 but shot just 44.6 percent from the field.
5. And finally we end with Frank Martin doing what Frank Martin does best. We are a little late on this, but it’s never too late to circle back around to one of Martin’s temper tantrums. Just wait until South Carolina jumps into conference play. We haven’t seen Martin mad yet.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the SEC Microsite.

Happy Thanksgiving

Rush The Court is back with another edition of One on One: An Interview Series, which we will bring you periodically throughout the year. If you have any specific interview requests or want us to interview you, shoot us an email at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

This time our interview subject is Clark Kellogg. Most of you probably just know Clark from his work at CBS first as a studio analyst, but eventually as their lead college basketball analyst during March Madness. While that is impressive by itself, just saying that would be selling Clark’s on-court accomplishments short. Clark was a McDonald’s All-American, All-Big Ten, and was the #8 overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft. In his rookie year, he averaged a ridiculous 20.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while being named All-Rookie First Team, but his career was cut short due to knee injuries. Clark joined us to talk about the new season of college basketball and his association with the Capital One Cup.

Once known for his skills on the court, Kellogg has now become one of the more recognizable faces in the sports broadcast industry (OhioDominican)

Kevin Doyle: How long have you been with the Capital One Cup and, in your opinion, what does the Cup stand for?

Clark Kellogg: This is year three for the Capital One Cup and my involvement as an advisory board member. To me, when you look at what the Capital One Cup represents—recognizing the top Division I athletic program on the men’s and women’s side over 39 total sports for cumulative on-field performance—the recognition not only comes in the reward of a Capital One Cup trophy, but also in $400,000 in total scholarship money for student-athletes. This combines the best of both worlds. Recognition for on-field and on-court performance, as well as supporting academic pursuits and achievement; I don’t know if you can get any better than that. The way the sports are recognized and the point system is tallied, there is a premium for winning national championships, but a school gains points for finishing in the top 10 in the end of season polls for the respective sports. So, there is yearlong involvement and opportunity to earn those points from the fall sports season through the spring sports season. When you are able to combine recognizing excellence for on-field and on-court performance with supporting and fueling academic pursuits and scholarship, that speaks volumes.

KD: The Capital One Cup is so unique because it doesn’t place a premium on one sport versus another. We see in the national media football and basketball primarily takes precedence, but the Cup doesn’t favor any sports. How much does a school’s success in the Capital One Cup standings speak to the strength of their programs across the board?

CK: The points you just made are good ones because all sports are involved, and men’s and women’s sports are of complete equal value to each other.  The fact that you separate and have recognition for a winner on the men’s side in Division I athletics over multiple sports, and one on the women’s side is fantastic because all of those student-athletes get a chance to contribute to their program and school. This is what makes it so unique and comprehensive in its approach. I love the fact that student-athletes who sometimes don’t get the same recognition that high-profile and revenue-generating sports do have a chance to feel like they’re contributing to something that’s bigger than themselves.

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