re: Tide Hoops | Please Anchor

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To me the most likely starting 5 to begin the year is:

JQ
Shack
Ellis
Gary
Gurley

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SEC Men’s Basketball Preview: Kentucky Leads a Crowded Field at the Top

The big picture

The SEC has evolved into a reliably competitive league over the past several years—obviously, it’s not just Kentucky and everyone else anymore—and this is shaping up as a fascinating campaign, with five teams holding an ostensible shot at winning the conference. John Calipari and the reloaded Wildcats won’t go 9–16 again. Nate Oats has built a stable contender at Alabama. Arkansas and Tennessee have proved they can hang, and Auburn can’t be counted out. On paper, there’s just not a lot separating the upper tier of teams. And while LSU and Florida don’t quite have the same level of talent this year, those programs have been perennially relevant.

This isn’t a league with massive star power relative to seasons past—in that respect, it’s a slightly down year for a group of teams that have become a consistent feeder of NBA talent. A highly active transfer market has reshaped the conference and college hoops at large. But there should be six or seven tournament-caliber squads here when it’s all said and done, and potentially a couple of Final Four–caliber teams.

Conference Player of the Year: Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt

It admittedly feels weird picking a player from a bottom-half team to win this award, which probably says more about the state of the league than anything else. That’s not a knock on Pippen, who was excellent last season and has his work cut out for him in helping Vandy back to relevance. But the top teams in the league should all rely largely on multiple key contributors, making this a tough race to project until we get a sense of teams’ usage patterns. Pippen is the unquestioned focal point of his team and has a leg up in that respect. I just wouldn’t go to Vegas and place my bet here anytime soon.

Newcomer of the Year: JD Davison, Alabama

Davison is a remarkable athlete and gifted passer who will see big minutes for the Crimson Tide out of the gate. Alabama brings back two high-quality, experienced guards in Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Shackelford, and should deploy Davison alongside them, leaning on his ability to play in transition and find teammates to maximize their offensive output. The five-star recruit should be a big part of a balanced offense and should be among the top freshmen in the league, while drawing plenty of interest from NBA scouts.

Dark-horse team: Auburn

The SEC seems more wide-open than usual, and Auburn should be tangibly better than last season, with one of the biggest and most athletic rosters in the conference. Half-court scoring may be a concern, but the Tigers could be a stellar defensive team, with 7' 1" Walker Kessler transferring in from North Carolina and manning the middle. Freshman Jabari Smith—a projected top-10 draft pick—could be a difference-maker and won’t need to be a true offensive focal point to make an impact. The big question here is the backcourt play, with score-first guard K.D. Johnson joining up from Georgia, Eastern Kentucky transfer Wendell Green Jr. the projected starter and top passer on the roster and breakout candidate Allen Flanigan injured to start the season. But if this all breaks correctly, there’s enough talent for Auburn to hang with anyone.

First-team all-conference

Colin Castleton, Florida
Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama
Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt
Jaden Shackelford, Alabama
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky

SI’s predicted order of finish

1. Kentucky

2. Alabama

Nate Oats has turned the Tide into a nationally relevant program, and while they’ll be hard-pressed to go 16–2 in the conference again, the drop-off may not be wildly steep. There’s no replacing Herbert Jones, and it’ll be hard to repeat as a truly elite defensive team without him. Shackelford is back, but there’s less shooting on the roster sans Josh Primo and John Petty. The arrival of touted freshman Davison instantly makes Bama a more dynamic transition team, and his partnership with Quinerly—a breakout candidate in his own right—will likely determine how far this team goes. Expect Furman transfer Noah Gurley and returner Keon Ellis to make big contributions. There’s more than enough here to mount a serious challenge in the league and more personnel continuity than most.

3. Arkansas
4. Tennessee
5.Auburn
6. Florida
7. LSU
8. Mississippi State
9. Ole Miss
10. Texas A&M
11. Vanderbilt
12. Missouri
13. South Carolina
14. Georgia

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Schedule Breakdown:

Just how tough is Alabama's out of conference schedule? Well, all you've got to do is ask Nate Oats, who readily admitted a few weeks ago that it "might have been a little too much to bite off, to be honest with you."

When the coach says that, you know there are some big games on the docket, and that's certainly the case with Alabama, who might have the toughest schedule in the country when all is said and done.

It doesn't necessarily start out that way, with three games that should be wins at Coleman Coliseum to open the 2021-2022 slate. But then from there, well, it doesn't stop.

It starts Thanksgiving week, when Alabama goes to Orlando for the ESPN Events Invitational. There, they will open with an Iona squad that gave them fits in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year, before getting either Drake or Belmont in the second round. Drake you'll remember, went 26-5 last year and won an NCAA Tournament game, while Belmont returns all five starters off a squad that went 24-3 last year. Oh, and in the championship round, they could face Kansas, a preseason Top 5 team as well.

And here's the crazy thing, that's the easy part of the schedule.

A week later Alabama will fly 3,000 miles to Seattle to face Gonzaga in one of the most highly-anticipated out of conference games in school history, and a week later, get Houston at Coleman Coliseum. Yes, that is back-to-back teams that made the Final Four in a one-week span, and then after that, is Memphis - one of the most talented teams in college basketball - in a game at FedEx Forum. The Tigers are ranked No. 12 in the preseason polls.

Finally, there is a game against Mountain West favorite Colorado State - and that's all before SEC play starts. It also doesn't include a matchup with the... REIGNING NATIONAL CHAMPION!!! That's right, Baylor plays Bama in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.

So let's read that again: The out of conference schedule includes a game against Gonzaga in Spokane, Baylor, Houston, a visit to Memphis, a matchup with Colorado State on a neutral court, either Drake or Belmont (two of the best mid majors in the sport). Oh, and maybe a game with Kansas for you-know-what's and giggles.

Mercy!

All of that is of course before a loaded SEC slate, which will include home-and-homes with preseason Top 25 teams Kentucky and Auburn, as well as projected NCAA Tournament squad Mississippi State. I guess if there is a silver lining to this schedule, it's that they only have to play Arkansas and Tennessee (both ranked in the preseason Top 25) once, and they're both at home. Same as fringe Top 25 team LSU.

Still, if there is a tougher overall schedule in college basketball, we'd like to see it.

What to Expect in 2021-2022:

Expect another high-flying, exciting Alabama team with a great mix of perimeter and frontcourt players. Shackelford and Quinerly are already receiving some preseason love as potential SEC players of the year, while players like Davison and Bediako. Quinerly was recently suspended for breaking an unspecified team rule, but will be back to start the season and is one of the best point guards in college basketball.

This is another Top-25 team with incredible depth. While the losses of Jones, Primo, Petty, Bruner and Reese will be impactful, this team has an incredible collection of guards and wings, giving them no reason to regress. I would expect the loss of Jones to hurt their defensive production, but offense should be of no issue for this team.

A Sweet 16 appearance last year was the Crimson Tide’s first since making the Elite Eight way back in 2003-04, but this season the expectations are much higher.

A Sweet Sixteen appearance is expected once again, but this team has national championship aspirations.

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