It’s another mailbag Friday, with several great SEC basketball questions to answer.
As always, submit your questions each week on Twitter or Facebook.
Let’s dive into the mailbag.
Reminder to everyone that there are eight selections on the All-Freshman team, so here we go.
The obvious place to start is with Kentucky’s big three: De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo.
Next, I’d go with Alabama’s Braxton Key (11.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG). He’s been the go-to scoring threat for the Crimson Tide for most of the season, and his career-high 26 points in the 20-point win at Georgia showed just how dominant he can be. When I asked Avery Johnson about him before the season, it was clear that he knew had a special player.
Tennessee forward Grant Williams would also be on there, as would Texas A&M’s Robert Williams. That latter’s athleticism is just scary.
For the last two spots, both Auburn and Mississippi State have multiple players that would be in consideration.
For now, I’ll take one of each, with Auburn’s Mustapha Heron and Mississippi State’s Lamar Peters getting the nod.
If you ask me tomorrow, the answer may change. But right now, it’s either Arkansas or Alabama.
The Razorbacks have the better NCAA tournament resume at this point, but the Crimson Tide have the best SEC win with that victory in Athens (although winning at Tennessee is looking better and better for Arkansas).
The good news is that these two teams play next Wednesday in Fayetteville. That’ll give us a better idea of who may take the reins of that No. 4 spot.
I also wouldn’t overlook Tennessee being in the discussion by season’s end if the Vols can ever find consistency.
Great question and a tough one to answer since there are many ways you could go here.
I’d probably start with Moses Kingsley. His ability to alter shots and just do so many things well on the defensive end of the floor makes him an easy choice.
Sindarius Thornwell belongs in the discussion as well. He’s the leader on the court for one of the best defensive teams in the country, so that can’t be overlooked.
And Fox and Isaiah Briscoe also come to mind, as does Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet.
There are players I’m forgetting, but there are definitely plenty of excellent defensive players in this conference.
This goes back to the earlier question of Alabama possibly being the fourth best team in the league right now.
It’s not far-fetched to think that Alabama and Arkansas might wind up with the same SEC record when you look at the remaining schedule for both teams. Of course, there’s still a long way to go in the season, and as we’ve learned from the crazy action thus far, there are no guarantees in this conference.
The fourth best team today could be the 10th best team in two weeks.
But no matter how things shake out for the four spot, the biggest positive for the Crimson Tide is that they’re further along than I thought they’d be at this point.
Avery Johnson has done a tremendous job, and given the incredible talent on the way in next season, we might be getting closer and closer to Alabama becoming a mainstay in the SEC’s top five.
Blake Lovell has worked in sports media for over 10 years. He currently covers SEC football and basketball for various publications.