I just filed my SEC Basketball Preseason Media Awards ballot with the league office.
It looks like this:
-- SEC EASTERN DIVISION --
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Vanderbilt
- Georgia
- Mississippi State
- Ole Miss
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- LSU
- Auburn
-- ALL-SEC TEAM --
G: John Wall (Kentucky)
G: Devan Downey (South Carolina)
F: Tyler Smith (Tennessee)
F: Patrick Patterson (Kentucky)
F: Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State)
SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: John Wall
* Kentucky and Tennessee are clearly the top two teams in the Eastern Division, and Mississippi State and Ole Miss are obviously the top two in the Western Division (though a reasonable man could have the Mississippi schools switched). Where this thing became difficult was when I tried to separate South Carolina, Florida and Vanderbilt. Those three could be in any order from third to fifth and it would make sense to me. But what's most interesting, I think, is how five of the six teams in the Eastern Division (everybody except Georgia) will enter the season with a realistic hope of making the NCAA tournament. My guess is that four of them will -- UK, UT and some two-team combination of South Carolina, Florida and Vanderbilt -- and it really should be fun to watch unfold.
