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Tayshaun Prince's return will put Kentucky on top.
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Number of McDonald's All-Americans signed by Florida coach Billy Donovan since 1998, including two this year -- forward David Lee and guard James White.
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"Are they ashamed of what happened last year? There may be a little bit of that. They want to show people they're a good group of basketball players."
-- New Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson, on the underachieving bunch he inherited from Jerry Green.
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By Mark Schlabach, Special to CNNSI.com
Kentucky fans often refer to Atlanta as the Wildcats' second home because of the school's success in SEC tournaments played there. Kentucky has won three of the last four SEC tournaments played in Atlanta, with Arkansas winning the most recent in 2000.
"Big Blue" fans again have aspirations of returning to Atlanta in March, but this year for a much bigger prize -- the NCAA Final Four. Heading into
the 2001-02 season, only Maryland and Duke have as much returning talent as the Wildcats.
That puts even more pressure on Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, who can't seem to please his program's rabid fans. After winning a national
championship in his first season in 1998, Smith hasn't led the Wildcats back to the Final Four in the past three seasons.
"I've never thought anything less than [the high expectations]," Smith said. "Here at Kentucky, we expect to be one of the top teams."
The return of All-SEC forward Tayshaun Prince and guard Keith Bogans assures that the defending SEC champions will again be the cream of the
conference. Prince and Bogans both tested the NBA draft, before returning to school for another season. Kentucky lost promising center Jason Parker to
a season-ending knee injury this summer, but the Wildcats will have much, much more depth than they had the previous three seasons.
Florida figures to be the Wildcats' toughest competition in the SEC East, but the Gators lost gritty guard Teddy Dupay, who was suspended for his
involvement in a gambling ring. Guard Brett Nelson will stay at shooting guard, with the return of junior Justin Hamilton from a knee injury. Forward
Matt Bonner and center Udonis Haslem give the Gators perhaps the league's best frontcourt, which wil be bolstered by McDonald's All-American David Lee
and Adrian Moss.
Tennessee also could be a factor in the SEC East if the underachieving Vols learn to play together under first-year coach Buzz Peterson. Three
starters are gone, but forwards Vincent Yarbrough and Ron Slay give the Vols some scoring punch. Tennessee will be more athletic, which fits
Peterson's pressing style.
Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt all figure to miss the NCAA Tournament this season.
In the SEC West, Alabama figures to the top contender, even without talented forward Gerald Wallace, who jumped to the NBA after only one season.
Top scorer Rod Grizzard is back and so is forward Erwin Dudley, the league's most underrated player. The frontcourt is especially thin after
junior-college transfers Rodney Bias and Kei Madison failed to qualify academically.
In-state rival Auburn also could be a team to watch in the West. The Tigers were surprisingly competitive in a rebuilding year, and N.C. State
transfer Adam Harrington is a sharp shooter. Bulky forward Mac McGadney is back from a knee injury, but there are serious concerns at point guard,
after Jamison Brewer left for the NBA draft.
Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes faces a daunting task is maintaining the momentum his program gained in last season's surprising run to the NCAA Sweet
16. The Rebels lost three starters, including leading scorer and rebounder Rahim Lockhart. Talented forward Josh Reed and Barnes' defense-minded
approach figure to put Ole Miss back in the NCAAs.
Arkansas returns a lot of experience -- five seniors and five juniors -- but forward Joe Johnson isn't one of them. Johnson, the team's leading
rebounder and scorer, also left for the pros. The Hogs still figure to be too small to contend for their first SEC West title since 1995.
LSU will be deeper but still lacks enough talent to get to the NCAAs. Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury needs an NCAA bid to save his job, but it probably won't happen.
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How versatile is Auburn junior Marquis Daniels?
He led the Tigers in scoring (15.7 ppg), was second in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and led the SEC in
steals (2.2) last season, but may be asked to run the point this season after Brewer left.
Daniels, 6 feet 7, played point guard until his junior year
of high school, but Auburn coach Cliff Ellis wants to leave him on the wing for scoring.
"The only thing that has thrown us a curve is the point guard situation from the standpoint that it happened late and we didn't replace it," Ellis
said. "The big concern is going to be what is going to happen at the point guard position. That is reality."
Daniels led Auburn with 29 double-figure scoring games, nine 20-point scoring games and six double-doubles.
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HOT: Alabama F Erwin Dudley
He became the first Crimson Tide player to average double figures in both scoring and rebounding since Antonio McDyess in 1995.
NOT: Ex-Florida G Teddy Dupay
We're betting he double-downed on the Gators not making it to the Final Four without him.
HOT: Kentucky's defense
Only four of the Wildcats' opponents last season shot 50 percent or better, and 17 teams failed to shoot better than 40 percent.
NOT: Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury
Alabama coach Mark Gottfried calls the Bulldogs "the most talented team in the West." Why was State playing in the NIT last season?
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Georgia guard D.A. Layne could have returned to school for his senior season, earned his college degree and possibly led the Bulldogs back to the
NCAA tournament.
Instead, Layne inexplicably entered the NBA draft, where he didn't even get a look.
Layne, one of the league's best scorers and an improving defender, will spend this fall in Spain, where he's playing in the "B" League, that
country's equivalent of the CBA.
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 Kentucky coach Tubby Smith
We couldn't him out last season when the Wildcats were 4-4. We learned our lesson.
Florida C Udonis Haslem
Have you ever seen a big man do more with less height?
LSU coach John Brady
His team played hard last season, even when it didn't have any legs left.
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Florida's first game of the regular season -- against Temple in New York on Nov. 9 -- is one of the Gators' most compelling. The Owls upset Florida
75-54 in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, holding the Gators to only 36-percent shooting, including 8-for-29 on 3-pointers. The
Owls return top defender Lynn Greer and bulky center Kevin Lyde.
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Georgia coach Jim Harrick welcomes two transfers who sat out last season, forwards Jarvis and Jonas Hayes, identical twins from Atlanta. At Western
Carolina, Jarvis was the first freshman in 40 years to lead the Southern Conference in scoring. ... Former N.C. State forward Damien Wilkins has
enrolled at Georgia, but will probably have to sit out this season, pending an appeal to the NCAA. Wilkins is the nephew of former Bulldogs star
Dominique Wilkins. ... Auburn center Mac McGadney returned from a team suspension after missing the first four practices. ... Donovan didn't need
much help when it comes to recruiting, but he got in a new $11 million practice facility. ... Kentucky lost center Parker for the entire
season when he reinjured his surgically repaired right knee in the locker room moments before Midnight Madness festivities on Oct. 13. ... Guard
Billy Richmond, the first high school basketball player from Memphis to sign with Vanderbilt in 17 years, was dismissed for a violation of team rules. Richmond started 18 games last season and averaged 8.8 points.
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