Each season, daily basketball beat writers from throughout the Southeastern Conference are asked for their predictions for the SEC preseason media awards.
I submitted by ballot Friday. Here were my picks.
SEC East
1. Tennessee
2. Florida
3. Kentucky
4. Vanderbilt
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
SEC West
1. Ole Miss
2. Alabama
3. LSU
4. Auburn
5. Mississippi State
6. Arkansas
All-SEC Team
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt ” C
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky ” F
Tyler Smith, Tennessee ” F
Nick Calathes, Florida ” G
Devan Downey, South Carolina ” G
SEC Champion
Tennessee
Player of the year
Tyler Smith, Tennessee
I still have my doubts about the East, because I could see either Kentucky, Tennessee or Florida winning it. I took the Vols because I still think Tyler Smith is the best player in the league, and incoming UT freshman guard Scotty Hopson will be one of the top newcomers. In the West, I think this is the year at Ole Miss turns the corner. Much of the Rebels fortunes will be riding on sophomore big-man Malcolm White. Ex-Gator David Huertas started playing with more confidence late last season for Ole Miss, and I think that will carry over into this season.
The league will release the preseason awards Monday. We’ll see how close my ballot compares to the final findings.
