As promised, here is the third part of our college programs by conference. The standard of our review can be found here. Today, we look at the SEC, another large two-part conference. Who is number one here? In the ACC and Big East, the big names were clear. Here I don’t really have much of a guess, except possibly LSU (thank you, Shaq) and Kentucky or maybe a surprise team. So, let’s take a look and see:
12. Ole Miss: PG: Elston Turner, SG: Carlos Clark, SF: Gerald Glass, PF: Ansu Sesay, C: Justin Reed
11. Vanderbilt: PG: Charles Davis, SG: Jan Van Breda Kolff, SF: Jeff Turner, PF: Dan Langhi, C: Will Perdue
10. Mississippi State: PG: Derrick Zimmerman, SG: Jeff Malone, SF: Wiley Peck, PF: Lawrence Roberts, C: Erick Dampier
9. South Carolina: PG: Mike Dunleavy, SG: Brian Winters, SF: Alex English, PF: Renaldo Balkman, C: Tom Owens
8. Georgia: PG: Vern Fleming, SG: Willie Anderson, SF: Dominique Wilkins, PF: Jumaine Jones, C: Alec Kessler
7. Tennessee: PG: Allan Houston, SG: Dale Ellis, SF: Bernard King, PF: Reggie Johnson, C: Steve Hamer
6. Auburn: PG: Eddie Johnson, SG: Wesley Person, SF: Chuck Person, PF: Charles Barkley, C: Pat Burke
5. Arkansas: PG: Alvin Robertson, SG: Sidney Moncrief, SF: Joe Johnson, PF: Corliss Williamson, C: Andrew Lang
4. Florida: PG: Jason Williams, SG: Vernon Maxwell, SF: Mike Miller, PF: David Lee, C: Al Horford
3. LSU: PG: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, SG: Marcus Thornton, SF: Jerry Reynolds, PF: Brandon Bass, C: Shaquille O’Neal
2. Kentucky: PG: John Wall, SG: Derek Anderson SF: Tayshaun Prince, PF: Antoine Walker, C: Sam Bowie
1. Alabama: PG: Mo Williams, SG: Latrell Sprewell, SF: Gerald Wallace, PF: Derrick McKey, C: Antonio McDyess
-Ole Miss is by far the weakest team, without a single NBA player who lasted long as even a role player.
-Vandy…so boring. Will the Thrill is the best player.
-Some colleges teams have one good NBA scorer and little else (Alex English, Dominique Wilkins).
-Auburn and Tennessee also rely on one star (King and Barkley) but have a bit more substance in the rest of the line up. Alas, they both have fringers at center, which keeps them out of the top of the heap.
-Arkansas might be the most balanced squad in the SEC. The lack of a superstar, though, I think lowers their rank.
-Florida is also deep without a star but more talent up front than Arkansas. I vacillated on Lee versus Joakim Noah but figure Lee’s longer career is the difference at this point.
-With even decent shooting guards or small forwards, LSU would be number one. Thornton may improve over time but for now LSU has enough holes to keep them from number one.
-Kentucky is by far the deepest program for producing pros but are missing superstar. Wall could change that. As for the rest of roster, Antoine made it over Jamal Mashburn just barely. The main reason was that Walker could play power forward while Mash was a pure small forward.
-Alabama is a surprise number one because they are so good at every position. No Hall of Famers but they are above average everywhere and are overall better than Kentucky. Robert Horry could’ve made the squad over McKey but I felt McKey was really the better players, playoff shots be damned.
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