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ESPN ranks SEC basketball jobs 1-14 in 5 tiers with input from group of coaches in league
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:45 pm
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:45 pm
Tier 1
1. Kentucky
Tier 2
2. Florida
3. Arkansas
4. Tennessee
5. Alabama
Tier 3
6. LSU
7. Auburn
Tier 4
8. Missouri
9. Georgia
10. Texas A&M
Tier 5
11. Vanderbilt
12. Ole Miss
13. South Carolina
14. Mississippi State
LINK
1. Kentucky
quote:
"The biggest thing with kids now is how can I get to the NBA," one SEC coach said. "And Cal has shown he is able to create a path for a lot of his guys to get to the NBA. Even some of his 'lower-level' guys still get looked at, because when you play at a program like Kentucky, they're pro-ready. People look at you differently when you consistently develop pros -- and it's tenfold for Kentucky. The tradition of Kentucky basketball. You walk into that arena, it's different. The way they travel. It's all at a different level than everyone else."
Tier 2
2. Florida
quote:
Some coaches in the league voiced a perception that Donovan made the program seem better than it was, as UF has hardly any history beyond Donovan, Lon Kruger and Mike White's recent modest success.
"The fan support isn't what it is at Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, even Auburn," one coach said. "Unless they're winning national championships, that place [the O'Connell Center] isn't full. And they play in an older facility, although they've renovated it."
3. Arkansas
quote:
Arkansas has really solidified its standing in the league over the last few years. The Razorbacks have plenty of tradition from the Nolan Richardson era, and Eric Musselman has rejuvenated the program since taking over for Mike Anderson, guiding the team to the Elite Eight this past season. Even during the lean times between Richardson and Musselman, though, the Razorbacks still recruited at a high level -- and that's mainly due to the abundant in-state talent.
4. Tennessee
quote:
"They have the best arena in college basketball [Thompson-Boling Arena]. It's an amazing gym. The outside looks like s---, but the inside is beautiful," one coach said. "As far as the best college basketball atmosphere goes, it's not. But the fans are amazing. Crazy, maybe delusional, but they're great. They show up. They have unbelievable facilities all over campus, the athletic department pours a ton of money into their program, their facilities. They had recent success under Coach Pearl, and Coach Barnes has kept that level of success going.”
“Knoxville is such a better town than the other places in this tier," one coach said. "And Tennessee has everything that blue bloods have except for the history.”
5. Alabama
quote:
"I think Alabama football has a lot to do with it," one coach said. "That stuff is important on weekends and on visits. The fan base is there. Nate has done a good job. They might be Tier 3, but as far as resources go, in terms of being a state school, I think it's always had the potential to be really, really good. Time will tell. But all kids in the state of Alabama want to go to Alabama."
Tier 3
6. LSU
quote:
"A lot of it has to do with the coaching staffs they have had," one coach said. "They're really good recruiters with really good relationships that can convince guys to come down there and play at a place that's done it in the past. It's also one of those schools that have been helped by football. And regionally, they've had really good players in Louisiana."
7. Auburn
quote:
"The only reason they'd be in Tier 3 is Bruce Pearl," one coach said. "The excitement he's brought, his ability to do really well in Georgia has maybe put them in that tier. Before him, it was clearly a Tier 4 school. It's a really hard job. You're not getting kids out of the state of Alabama because they're all going to Alabama. Basketball hasn't been a huge priority there. I will say their fan base does really love their basketball. They have the best atmosphere in the league. And their proximity to Georgia helps. They've taken some really, really good players out of there."
Tier 4
8. Missouri
quote:
"You think of guys in that part of the country, all their friends, all their teammates, they're going to Big 12 schools and they want to play with them or against them. That's tough," one coach said. "Missouri is going to have trouble recruiting Georgia, Alabama and Florida. It's just easier to play for someone closer to home. It's a disadvantage. But Cuonzo [Martin] has done a really good job keeping them competitive."
9. Georgia
10. Texas A&M
Tier 5
11. Vanderbilt
12. Ole Miss
13. South Carolina
14. Mississippi State
quote:
”It's the worst city in the league," one coach said. "Their arena hasn't been updated in years and they haven't produced a ton of pros before the last couple years. They're a distant second in their own state to Ole Miss, they've been to one NCAA tournament in the last 12 years."
LINK
This post was edited on 6/28/21 at 1:47 pm
34
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:47 pm to volfan30
Bama has one good season and already ahead of LSU
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:47 pm to volfan30
Lulz. AU has never recruited AL basketball being 1 hour from southern ATL. This fool doesn't know what he is talking about.
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:49 pm to volfan30
quote:
14. Mississippi State
quote:
”It's the worst city in the league," one coach said. "Their arena hasn't been updated in years and they haven't produced a ton of pros before the last couple years. They're a distant second in their own state to Ole Miss, they've been to one NCAA tournament in the last 12 years."
This just makes me sad knowing that State can have a good team and a good program. The lack of investment in the program has really caught up to them.
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:51 pm to BluegrassBelle
We have a great team this year too. Once Howland is gone put a fork in us.
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:51 pm to BluegrassBelle
Tier 2 is probably only really Arkansas and Tennessee
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:54 pm to volfan30
Georgia too high.
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:55 pm to S
quote:
Tier 2 is probably only really Arkansas and Tennessee
I think you're remiss to not put Florida in there. They've underperformed with Mike White but the potential is still there. Alabama has shown in the past that they can have a good program, Oats has shown it can be revived so I think that's fair.
You could split it into 2a/2b.
Posted on 6/28/21 at 1:58 pm to BluegrassBelle
The talent level in LA has not been high caliber for awhile now
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:04 pm to BluegrassBelle
I think Florida would be hard to keep out of tier 2 even with their issues with facilities and fan engagement. It’s still a huge name brand with recent success in a great location. Where they have it is fair imo.
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:08 pm to Murph4HOF
quote:
Despite the fact that Georgia has been to just three NCAA tournaments since 2002, some coaches in the league still view it as a sleeping giant sort of job. "It should be an easier job than this," one SEC coach said. "But it's a tough job because most Georgia kids don't want to go to Georgia. That's historically been their problem. Florida, Auburn and Kentucky are coming into that state and plucking their best players. It's going to have to be the right coach that has incredible ties in the state. That's the only way you're going to get kids to go there. You look at football, they've gotten it going, can that help basketball?"
"It's an awesome city. And you're 50 minutes from Atlanta," another coach added. "But it's another job where there's a lot of in-state talent. You just have to get kids to stay at home and then pull kids regionally."
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:10 pm to njimbo39
REC
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:11 pm to volfan30
quote:
But Cuonzo [Martin] has done a really good job keeping them competitive.
Lol this is how I know the list has zero credibility
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:15 pm to njimbo39
Alabama has a great history from the early ‘70s under C.M. Newton through the early ‘90s under Wimp Sanderson. Bama just needs to get back to consistently winning and Oats has it rockin’ good right now.
The Mississippi State paragraph is brutal. Starkvegas getting trashed.
The Mississippi State paragraph is brutal. Starkvegas getting trashed.
This post was edited on 6/28/21 at 2:17 pm
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:16 pm to nicholastiger
National champion Baylor had two starters from Louisiana.
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:20 pm to KCM0Tiger
I feel a bit bad for Mizzou. They had some badass teams and solid tradition
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:21 pm to S
quote:
Tier 2 is probably only really Arkansas and Tennessee
This (+ UF probably), Alabama being in the same tier as Arkansas alone is pretty
This post was edited on 6/28/21 at 2:22 pm
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:30 pm to Trojan1998
quote:
Alabama has a great history from the early ‘70s under C.M. Newton through the early ‘90s under Wimp Sanderson.
I guess it's due to a lack of recent success, but it's amazing that more people don't know this.
Alabama has arguably been one of the better basketball teams in the conference, historically. (Although way below Kentucky, of course.)
It makes sense for them to be in a higher tier for potential coaching spots.
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:31 pm to volfan30
Should be 1-13. Pretty sure the Aggys dropped their basketball program last season.
Posted on 6/28/21 at 2:40 pm to volfan30
Look, the fact is, it does not matter the sport, these guys always pick MSU last in everything because they do little work and just regurgitate whatever they’ve heard in the past.
There was an article pertaining to women’s basketball like a year before we played for our first natty and we were dead last. Also: Some of you can remember the ridiculous article few years back listing Sec baseball programs potential. We were picked second to last lol.
There was an article pertaining to women’s basketball like a year before we played for our first natty and we were dead last. Also: Some of you can remember the ridiculous article few years back listing Sec baseball programs potential. We were picked second to last lol.
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