SEC Basketball Mailbag: Conference perception, Foul madness and more

This week’s SEC basketball mailbag is among the best we’ve ever had.

There are outstanding questions on Alabama’s potential to upset Kentucky, end of year award winners, and the continuing decline of basketball officiating.

Let’s dive in.

There’s definitely a chance of an upset.

Regular readers know that I temporarily jumped off the Alabama bandwagon after that loss to Auburn, but winning in four overtimes at South Carolina is no easy feat, especially after trailing by seven at one point in the overtime sessions.

And depending on your point of view, the Crimson Tide get John Calipari’s team either at the right time or the wrong time.

Kentucky simply has not been the same since losing that game to Tennessee on January 24, and its most recent seven-point home win over the worst team in the SEC (LSU) was another head-scratcher.

On the flip side, because the Wildcats desperately need to get back on track, they could bring their best on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

Figuring out which team is gonna show up has been the hardest part about predicting a lot of SEC teams this season. There have just been so many up and down teams. Little did we know that Kentucky would be thrown in that category.

I’ll have my full predictions for the game in my Saturday picks.

SEC Player of the Year should come down to Malik Monk (21.9 PPG) or Sindarius Thornwell (19.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG). Although I still think Yante Maten is one of the most underrated players in the country (19.7 PPG, 7.2 RPG), he’ll probably stay behind those two in the race.

As of today, I’d go Thornwell. While Monk is a prolific scorer that can change the game at a moment’s notice (and will be a great NBA player), Thornwell’s overall game has certainly been the key to South Carolina’s surprising success. Either way, both would be deserving choices.

Rick Barnes might not win SEC Coach of the Year if the season ended today (my guess would be Mike White or Frank Martin), but I’d have a hard time picking someone else.

Tennessee was ranked 13th in the preseason, and I thought there was a legitimate chance that the Vols could finish last if Missouri showed improvement. Instead, Barnes has kicked off arguably his best player (Detrick Mostella), played a plethora of underclassmen, and still managed to have Tennessee in the NCAA tournament picture.

So, my order would be: 1. Barnes, 2. Martin, 3. White.

For the unaware, Jordan Harper is the biggest Donta Hall fan in the history of civilization.

I’m sorry, Jordan, but my GIF making skills are not yet elite.

However, when I see Hall in person at the SEC tournament next month, I’m gonna work on getting something that you’ll love.

Just wait.

The national perception of a conference can always be off the mark due to most people not having a chance to see every SEC game.

But for those who cover and follow this conference on a regular basis, it’s easy to label the league with one word:

Improving.

SEC basketball has gotten better. We’ve seen flashes from young teams or teams with newer coaches this season, and it’s only a matter of time before programs take that step forward from good to great.

Just look at the current 24/7 recruiting rankings for 2017. Here are the list of SEC teams ranked in the Top 50 nationally:

• 1. Kentucky
• 5. Alabama
• 14. Texas A&M
• 24. Mississippi State
• 26. Florida
• 27. Arkansas
• 34. Auburn
• 41. Vanderbilt
• 42. Georgia
• 43. Ole Miss

10 of the league’s 14 teams are in there. Now, coaches have to turn those recruits into successful college players, but the talent is obviously there. Adding a great crop of 2017 players to the rising young players in the SEC will equal a nice step forward for the conference next season.

And the national perception should change as the league gets back to sending 5-7 teams to the tournament every season.

Outstanding questions here.

The first question ties back to Jaxon’s question about league perception. Teams are scheduling stronger out of conference, but the problem is that programs haven’t been rebuilt to the point to where they can actually win a majority of those games.

Just look at two teams who played difficult out of conference schedules this season: Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Both had among the toughest non-conference schedules in the entire country, however, they struggled to capitalize on opportunities against great teams because the programs aren’t there yet.

There’s no doubt that the SEC must continue to schedule strong out of conference, as it’s a big boost come March. And once we see these programs go from rebuild to built, we’ll see more teams win these difficult games against out of conference powers.

Now for the second question, which I could rant about for days.

I don’t know that SEC officiating is to blame for teams losing non-conference games/missing the tournament/etc. But, something must give when it comes to the way the game is called.

Let’s go back to this magnificent preseason video explaining the NCAA’s officiating focus for the season (it’s 23 minutes long, but it’s good for a laugh):

It’s safe to say that some leagues have taken a lot of the freedom of movement points to the extreme.

Away from the ball fouls have become way too prevalent in SEC play. Post play is almost non-existent due to the smallest bit of physicality in the paint being called a foul (which results in free throw after free throw after free throw). And don’t even get me started on rebounding.

Game to game, players have no idea what’s a foul and what isn’t.

For a league like the SEC that struggles with perception, a 55-foul and 70-free throw game only delivers more damage. But unfortunately, that’s become the norm.

Flow is important in basketball. More often than not, SEC basketball games lack flow due to numerous fouls, free throws, and monitor reviews.

Remember when contact was just a part of the game?

Yeah, those days are long gone.