Offseason news and notes from the SEC.
Alabama
With the loss of its top two scorers and Nos. 1 and 3 rebounders, Alabama has a lot of work ahead coming off its worst SEC mark in 10 years under coach Mark Gottfried and fewest conference victories since 1970.
After averaging a double-double, Richard Hendrix opted to pass up his senior season to enter the NBA Draft. Mykal Riley, the No. 2 scorer and third-leading rebounder, was a senior last season. A third key loss is Rico Pickett, who started 20 games as a freshman.
But there is good news, too.
Alonzo Gee, the No. 3 scorer and second-leading rebounder, withdrew his name from the NBA Draft and will return for his senior year. Ronald Steele, who was one of the top point guards in the league before sitting out last season to recuperate from knee surgery, also withdrew from the draft. If he is anywhere near as effective as he was before the injury problems, he could be a big factor in the Tide's recovering from last season's 5-11 SEC finish.
In addition to Gee, the Tide also bring back junior Demetrius Jemison, who started 32 of 33 games at forward, and senior Brandon Hollinger, who started 10 games at guard. Hollinger likely will start with Steele in the backcourt but not without challenges from sophomore Senario Hillman and junior Mikhail Torrance.
Junior Yamene Coleman and sophomore Justin Knox are experienced returnees up front.
Three newcomers look to vie for time.
Junior college transfer Anthony Brock is a prolific scorer who shot better than 47 percent from behind the 3-point line at Itawamba (Miss.) Community College.
JaMychal Green, a 6-9 forward, is a McDonald's All-America who had consecutive double-doubles in leading the U.S. team to a runner-up finish in the FIBA Americas U18 championships.
And you have to like the bloodlines of freshman Andrew Steele. He is the younger brother of senior Ronald Steele and, like his sibling, also plays guard.
Complete Crimson Tide team report
Arkansas
A terse, two-paragraph announcement released in early August will have a profound effect on the upcoming season at Arkansas.
In two sentences, the school's news release said that junior guard Patrick Beverley would not play for the Razorbacks and that school officials would have no further comment. But the timing of the announcement -- on the day a summer school session ended -- led to reports the move was related to academics.
Just three weeks earlier coach John Pelphrey had talked about how important Beverley was to the Razorbacks' future.
Now the Hogs will have only two players -- junior guard Stefan Welsh and junior forward Michael Washington -- with significant starting experience. Welsh has 22 career starts (21 last season) and Washington 11 (10 in 2007-08). Sophomore guard Marcus Britt had one start his freshman season. Michael Sanchez, a 6-8 forward who redshirted his freshman year, and walkon guard Stephen Cox are the only other returnees on the roster.
With the loss of leaders like Sonny Weems, the team's top scorer last season, forward Darian Townes, point guard Gary Ervin, forward Charles Thomas, and shot-blocker Steven Hill, the Hogs have a lot of rebuilding to do.
They are bringing in six newcomers with junior college transfer Montrell McDonald and freshman Jason Henry the leading candidates to take over the load Weems carried last season. McDonald was a spring signee who replaced Daniel Payne, who signed in the fall but wasn't going to be eligible academically.
The recruiting class -- which also includes 6-10 Andre Clark, 6-1 Rotnei Clark, 5-11 Courtney Fortson, and 6-9 Brandon Moore -- is rated highly, but freshmen always carry question marks. By necessity, however, point guards Rotnei Clark and Fortson may have to assume a big role.
Complete Razorbacks team report
Auburn
Auburn's march back to respectability in the SEC took a step backward last season when the Tigers, who were one win away from a share of the SEC Western Division title in 2007, fell back into last place. Injuries and illness played a big part in that stumble.
The Tigers never had Josh Dollard, who led them in scoring and rebounding in 2007, because of a medical condition never really identified. Then they lost Korvotney Barber, who gave them a legitimate threat inside, when he broke his hand in the 10th game. And they had Boubacar Sylla for only three games when the 7-foot-1 freshman sustained a stress fracture in his ankle.
Without that trio, the Tigers became a perimeter-oriented team that relied on its 3-point shooting. When they were on, they were able to win on the road at places like LSU, and they swept the season series against Ole Miss. When they weren't hitting, they had nothing to fall back on and usually lost -- 12 times in conference play alone.
Auburn will have Barber back this season to go along with returning veterans Quantez Robertson, DeWayne Reed and Rasheem Barrett. But Dollard was dismissed from the team during the summer, and Sylla transferred to Wyoming.
Other losses from last season included top scorer Quan Prowell, forced to play out of position inside, and Frank Tolbert, a versatile performer who could play inside or outside. Matt Heramb, a 6-9 center who would have been a junior, also was granted a release from his scholarship.
Junior Lucas Hargrove looks to step into a starting role after his play on the summer touring team SCORE, but the Tigers have little in the way of experienced depth. They will have to find it from two junior college transfers, 6-8 Johnnie Lett and 6-9 Francis Aihe, and incoming freshman 6-8 Kenny Gabriel.
Three players on the 17-man roster are walk-ons, and two are transfers who won't be eligible until the 2009-10 season.
Florida
Florida faced a major rebuilding task after winning back-to-back national championships in 2006 and '07, and the Gators seemed to have come up with the right answers when they won 15 of their first 17 games last season.
But a friendly schedule early in the season and their inexperience -- they had no seniors and only one junior on the roster -- eventually caught up the Gators, who went 8-8 in SEC play and settled for an NIT appearance, where they lost to Massachusetts in the semifinals.
The outlook for the upcoming season got a jolt when 6-10 Marreese Speights, their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, opted to enter the NBA Draft after just two years. Speights' departure leaves the Gators with a big hole in the middle.
Dan Werner, a 6-7 junior capable of playing power or small forward, is a returning starter and has played the most minutes up front among the returnees. Sophomore Adam Allen also can play either forward spot, but another potential candidate, Jonathan Mitchell, a 6-7 forward who had one start, transferred after the season.
Florida does bring in a recruiting class that is considered by some as the best in the SEC. It's headed by Eloy Vargas, a 6-10 forward/center, and Kenny Kadji, a 6-10 center, two guys who look to become Florida's 1-2 punch of the future, possibly the immediate future. Allan Chaney, a 6-8 power forward, also could work his way into the picture.
The Gators are pretty much set on the perimeter, where they return starters Nick Calathes, Jai Lucas, and Walter Hodge. Calathes, the team's top scorer, and Lucas both had outstanding freshmen seasons, and Hodge became a dangerous spot-up three-point shooter.
Chandler Parsons, Alex Tyus, and Allen also had solid contributions as freshmen off the bench.
Georgia
Few coaches have gone through the transformation Georgia coach Dennis Felton did last season, at least not in as short a time.
Felton's future with the Bulldogs was being questioned as the SEC tournament began in March and most doubted he'd be invited to stay. Four days later, the question was whether Felton would be lured away.
That's because the Bulldogs shocked the league by winning the tournament title after finishing in last place in the Eastern Division. The Bulldogs won as many games in the tournament (four) as they did in the entire 16-game regular-season conference schedule.
But their chances of building on that momentum look "iffy" at best.
Sundiata Gaines, who led the Bulldogs in scoring, rebounding and assists, and Dave Bliss, a plugger in the middle who hit the game-winner with a bank shot in the tournament opener against Ole Miss, were seniors. Billy Humphrey, the No. 2 scorer and an effective 3-point shooter, was dismissed during the summer. And promising forward Jeremy Jacob, who played only six games before going out with a stress fracture in his foot, also left the team in July.
That's going to throw a lot of the heavy lifting this season to swingman Terrance Woodbury, who started all 34 games last season, and power forward Jeremy Price, who started 15 games as a freshman.
Zac Swansey, who backed up Gaines as a freshman last season, is the leading candidate to take over point guard, but the question will be if he can handle the responsibility over the long haul. The other candidate for that job is incoming freshman Dustin Ware.
Other veterans returning are senior guard Corey Butler (four starts last season), center Albert Jackson (nine starts), forward Chris Barnes and guard Troy Brewer. Of those four, Jackson looks to have the best chance of making a big move up.
Among new faces, Ricky McPhee, a transfer from Gardner-Webb who sat out last season, adds some much-needed firepower in the backcourt. Freshman Howard Thompkins, a 6-8 power forward, very likely will find himself in the starting lineup in his first season.
Kentucky
Kentucky fans went on a roller-coaster ride last season as their Wildcats lost at home to the likes of Gardner-Webb and San Diego and by a record 41 points on the road at Vanderbilt, but beat such teams as Tennessee and Florida, ending a long losing streak to the Gators in the process.
More of the same could be forthcoming.
With the loss of team leaders Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley, Kentucky will be without their Nos. 1 and 3 scorers and with their top returnees, forward Patrick Patterson and Jody Meeks, both coming off injuries that limited their time last season.
Derrick Jasper, who also battled through injuries last season, also is gone after transferring to UNLV. Mark Coury, a walk-on who started 29 games, was shopping around opportunities for a scholarship elsewhere after being given his release in the summer, though coach Billy Gillispie said Coury, a 6-8 junior, would be welcome back.
Questions about their academic status also linger regarding junior college transfer Kevin Galloway and incoming freshman DeAndre Liggins.
Those are all troubling issues, but if Kentucky proved anything in its first year under Gillispie, it showed how resilient it can be. The Wildcats finished second in the SEC Eastern Division and extended its string of NCAA appearances to 17 despite the season's sputtering start.
And both Patterson and Meeks look to be healthy.
Patterson was a double-figurer scorer and led the Wildcats in rebounding before he went out. If Perry Stevenson, a 6-9 junior, can continue to play as he did at the end of last season, the Wildcats will have a solid tandem up front. Newcomer Josh Harrelson provides muscle and depth. Incoming freshman Darius Miller, Kentucky's Mr. Basketball as a high school senior, could be a big plus at small forward.
The question is in the backcourt, where someone needs to fill the role Bradley did at point guard. Meeks could get a look there and likely will if Liggins and Galloway aren't eligible. Junior Michael Porter also has starting experience (nine games) at guard.
LSU
Despite the loss of Anthony Randolph, the 14th pick in the NBA Draft, LSU has enough talent returning to be a contender in want looks to be a weakened SEC Western Division.
The Tigers return five players who had at least 14 starts last season, and that doesn't figure in junior Tasmin Mitchell, an all-SEC candidate at forward who played only three games before going down with a stress fracture in his leg. Mitchell has averaged in double figures throughout his career and is only 101 points short of 1,000 for his career.
It should make for a rosy debut for Trent Johnson, who came from Stanford as a bit of a surprise choice for the job over interim coach Butch Pierre. Pierre's brief tenure accounted for five of LSU's six SEC victories after he took over for John Brady.
Last season's top scorer, guard Marcus Thornton, and team leader and defensive specialist Garrett Temple return in the backcourt along with Terry Martin, who had 16 starts. Joining Mitchell up front will be Chris Johnson, who had injury problems himself before putting together a strong finish.
Johnson and Mitchell give the Tigers a big upside on the boards. Senior Quinton Thornton, who played only 17 games after tearing a pectoral muscle in the preseason, gives the Tigers another banger up front.
The Tigers lost one recruit in the coaching change when 6-10 J'Mison "Bobo" Morgan was given his release in May but have another top prospect coming in. Storm Warren, a 6-7 forward out of Monroe, La., could push the veterans for playing time.
Mississippi
Ole Miss welcomes back six of nine players who carried the Rebels to the semifinals of the NIT last season, but the problem for coach Andy Kennedy is that five of those six are stacked up in the backcourt.
Chris Warren, who emerged as a freshman to lead the team in scoring while running the offense at point guard, and juniors Eniel Polynice and David Huertas form one of the stronger guard combos in the league. Add sophomore Trevor Gaskins and Zach Graham and you also have arguably the deepest.
Warren and Huertas can both shoot 3s, and Polynice is one of the league's better defenders and is a good rebounder. Gaskins and Graham also can hit the three.
But the departure of Dwayne Curtis, Kenny Williams and Jermey Parnell leaves a void up front. Curtis had 34 double-doubles in his three-year career after transferring from Auburn. The only returning veteran up front is 6-9 sophomore Malcolm White, who played in 26 games last season with no starts.
Kennedy picked up a junior college transfer, 6-9 DeAundre Cranston, during the spring signing period for potential immediate help at the position, but freshmen are going to have to carry the biggest share of the load.
They include 6-10 Kevin Cantinol, who redshirted last season, and a pair of highly touted newcomers in 6-9 Terrance Henry and 6-7 Murphy Holloway. Henry and Holloway can both score and pound the boards, and it wouldn't be a reach to see one if not both starting by the time conference play begins.
Mississippi State
Mississippi State has some rebuilding to do after losing three starters from last season's Western Division champions, but the Bulldogs have been in such a situation before and things have turned out well. In fact, they have won at least 20 games in six of the last seven years, an unprecedented run of success in the school's history.
Gone from the Bulldogs are all-everything guard Jamont Gordon, who skipped his senior season to enter the NBA Draft (he went undrafted), and Charles Rhodes, a senior who led the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding. A third starter, guard Ben Hansbrough -- the younger brother of North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough -- transferred after the season to Notre Dame.
That leaves junior Jarvis Varnado, who led the NCAA in blocked shots at almost five a game, and junior guard Barry Stewart as the only returning starters. Stewart saw his three-point shooting fall off from his freshman season in 2007 but still averaged in double figures. Among other returnees, sophomore guard Phil Turner had 11 starts and was a key figure off the bench and will see his time increase.
The leading candidate for the point guard spot is an incoming freshman, 6-1 Dee Bost. Bost was one of three highly rated recruits who look to play key roles. The others are 6-5 guard Antiquawn Beckham and 6-8 forward Romero Osby. In addition, Jacquiese Holcombe, a 6-6 junior college all-American forward, signed in the spring and could provide immediate help inside.
Among other returnees, sophomores Ravern Johnson, a 6-7 swingman, and Elgin Bailey, a 6-8 center/forward, were impressive playing for the SCORE team on its tour of the Dominican Republic and their court time will increase from their limited roles last season.
Much also is expected of Kodi Augustus, a 6-8 sophomore who played only 11 games as a freshman. Brian Johnson, a 6-9 senior, lends experience but could lose out to the younger players if he doesn't step up his game.
South Carolina
First-year South Carolina coach Darrin Horn got an early look at his new team when the Gamecocks played four games on an August tour in Eastern Europe.
He had to like what he saw.
The Gamecocks won all four games handily and his returning veterans -- guards Devan Downey, Zam Fredrick, and Brandis Raley-Ross and forwards Dominique Archie and Mike Holmes -- all performed well. That combination started three of the four games.
Sam Muldrow, who had 10 starts last season as a freshman, started one game in place of Holmes, who had tweaked an ankle.
Those six players -- along with forward Evaldas Baniulis (13 starts last season), forward Austin Steed, and guard Branden Conrad -- will carry Carolina's fortunes this season.
If the names are familiar, they should be. They are all carryovers from the 2007 team that struggled in close games before finishing out Dave Odom's coaching career with a losing record.
Downey had a spectacular debut after transferring from Cincinnati and led the Gamecocks in scoring and assists. Fredrick, a transfer from Georgia Tech, was right behind him in both categories.
The only player lost was Dwayne Day (19 starts). Horn, hired from Western Kentucky, brought in no signees. In fact, he released the one recruit Odom had brought in in the fall signing period, 6-8 power forward Darius Morrow.
That could have an effect down the line, though Fredrick and Conrad are the only seniors on the roster. Downey, last season's top scorer, Raley-Ross, Archie and Baniulis are juniors and Holmes, Muldrow, and Steed are sophomores.
Complete Gamecocks team report
Tennessee
Only two starters return to Tennessee from a club that set a school record for number of victories (31) and reached a No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history (albeit for only one week) last season, but the Volunteers don't look to fall too far.
Junior forward Tyler Smith, who toyed with the idea of entering the NBA Draft before declaring his intention to return to campus and Wayne Chism give the Vols a solid tandem at forward. Chism is a shot-blocker and a banger on the boards. Smith is an athletic guy who can score and rebound.
Those two and J.P. Prince, who started in the backcourt in two of the Vols' three NCAA games, will provide coach Bruce Pearl with a solid nucleus to build around. They look to account for three of the starting spots.
A couple of veterans also return up front. Brian Williams, a 6-10 sophomore, had one start as a freshman and could be a key contributor, but 6-9 senior Ryan Childress had knee surgery in June after being injured in a pickup game and could be behind at the start of practice.
Freshman Renaldo Woolridge and Cameron Tatum, who battled knee injuries last season and played in only seven games, will provide depth at forward.
The big losses are in the backcourt, where 3-point specialist Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith and Jordan Howell all completed their careers. In addition, Ramar Smith, who was inconsistent as a point guard but a starter in 17 games, and Duke Crews, a 6-7 forward, were dismissed for violation of team policy.
Along with Prince, veteran Josh Tabb is a candidate for a place in the backcourt. But the Vols also have three newcomers who could grab starting spots.
They hope Bobby Maze, a junior college transfer, will be the answer at point guard. If not Maze, freshman Daniel West will get a look. The fallback position at point guard is Prince, who would be more effective as a shooting guard. Perhaps remembering the luck they had with Lofton, out of Maysville, Ky., the Vols picked up a top shooting guard prospect out of Kentucky in 6-7 Scotty Hopson from Hopkinsville.
Complete Volunteers team report
Vanderbilt
As familiar as he was with his team of veterans this time a year ago, his current team is somewhat of a mystery to Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings.
Only two starters -- junior point guard Jermaine Beal and sophomore center A.J. Ogilvy -- return from the club that made its third trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last five years.
Beal doesn't score a lot but is a solid ballhandler. He had a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio last season. Ogilvy got off to a strong start as a freshman, faltered when SEC play began because of an illness and then finished strong.
But gone are top scorer Shan Foster and starters Alex Gordon and Ross Neltner along with Alan Metcalfe, who provided valuable minutes off the bench up front. Guard Keegan Bell, who played in all 34 games as a freshman last season, also left the program, ending up at UT-Chattanooga.
Vandy returns sophomores Darshawn McClellan and Andre Walker up front. McClellan had two starts, and they both appeared in all 34 games for the Commodores. They look to be frontrunners for starting spots.
Newcomers, however, likely will be thrust into prominent roles.
They include two freshmen who sat out last season as redshirts. Festus Ezell is a 6-foot-11 center who can spell Ogilvy, and Charles Hinkle is a 6-6 wingman who is considered a solid defender.
A pair of forwards, 6-7 Lance Goulbourne and 6-8 Steve Tchiengang, look to have the opportunity to compete for playing time right away as freshmen. If Goulbourne can do the job at power forward, that will take care of one problem right away.
