Top Players in Conference
Nick Calathes, Florida
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
Marcus Thornton, LSU
Tyler Smith, Tennessee
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

Player of the Year
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

Player to Look Out For
Chandler Parsons, Florida

Projected SEC Finish - East
1. Florida 14-2
2. Tennessee 13-3
3. South Carolina 8-8
4. Kentucky 7-9
5. Vanderbilt 7-9
6. Georgia 5-11

Projected SEC Finish - West
1. Mississippi St. 11-5
2. Mississippi 9-7
3. Alabama 8-8
4. LSU 7-9
5. Auburn 4-12
6. Arkansas 3-13

Florida
Florida is my preseason pick to win the conference although most think it's Tennessee. Well, Florida returns way more than Tennessee does and this young group that made the NIT Final Four will be a lot more experienced this season. Nick Calathes had a superb freshman season and is one of the best players in the conference. Interior defense is the main concern with Speights gone to the NBA.

Tennessee
Freshman Scotty Hopson will make an immediate impact, but the Vols lost too much to repeat as SEC champions. When you lose players like Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith, as well as guys like Ramar Smith and Jordan Howell who logged some decent minutes you're just not going to be quite as good the following year. Pearl's silly press defense that he uses will always prevent them from being an elite team.

Mississippi St.
Don't overlook Mississippi St. because they're going to be a lot better than people expect. I realize they lost some quality players including Jamont Gordan and Charles Rhodes, however, they return their entire bench and their workhorse Barry Stewart. Stansbury has these guys playing great defense year in and year out and that's half the battle.

Mississippi
I thought Ole Miss was underrated for most of the season last year, and they proved to be a pretty solid squad winning 21 games including winning @ Virginia Tech in the NIT and making the Final Four. They return more than most of the teams in the conference, and from top to bottom they have pretty solid talent overall.

Alabama
I'm a little puzzled as to why everyone is on their bandwagon. Do people realize what they lost or are they just in love with incoming freshman JaMychal Green? After all, this is a team that only won 5 games in the SEC last year, and even had a home loss to (gulp) Belmont. Now they're without their two best players from last year in Mykal Riley and Richard Hendrix.

South Carolina
Most people have them as about the 9th best team in the conference, but I think they'll be much better than that. After all, they return more than any team in the SEC, and they just always seem to go under the radar. Devan Downey runs the point pretty well, and most of the contributors are upperclassmen. Keep your eye on them.

Kentucky
I'm not really too high on Kentucky...I think they'll be okay but nothing special. After all, they weren't nearly as good as their 12-4 conference record showed last year, and they lost two seniors in Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford who led the team in minutes. Patrick Patterson is one of the best players in the conference, but he'll be about the only threat they have on offense.

Vanderbilt
This seems to be the common spot for Vandy after losing three senior starters including another one off the bench. That leaves this team without any senior leadership this year and very young overall. Their bench wasn't very strong last year and they are always weak defensively. A.J. Ogilvy is a superb talent but he can't do it all himself.

LSU
I think LSU is the most overrated team in the conference. Pretty much everyone has them in their top 4, so apparently I'm missing something. Yes, they return most of their team. However, is it really a good thing to return a ton from a team that only won 13 games last year? They lack much talent, especially off the bench and Anthony Randolph went one and done.

Georgia
Georgia's shocking run in the SEC tournament got them a spot in the Big Dance last year. They did it through playing great defense, which is usually a strength of the Bulldogs. However, they lost a couple of seniors and don't have a lot of talent. Senior Billy Humphrey will probably have to move to the point, and he'll probably be their lone bright spot this year.

Auburn
Auburn only lost a couple of seniors from last year's squad, but that could be critical since they only went 8 deep. That team last year wasn't very good anyways, and they might not have even won double digit games had they played a halfway decent non-con schedule. The loss of Quan Prowell might hurt more than some might think because he was underrated.

Arkansas
It shouldn't be any surprise to see Arkansas fall off a cliff this year going from NCAA Tourney team a year ago to dead last in the SEC. They lost more than any other team in the conference, including all five starters plus a couple of seniors off the bench. It's going to be a rough year for Razorback fans.