It’s time to grab your tuxedo and prepare to wear it for a few days.
Why? Because it’s time to start handing out awards from what was yet another wild season of SEC basketball.
We start with the SEC Coach of the Year.
And the award goes to:
Mike White, Florida
This was a pretty easy choice.
The Gators didn’t surprise anyone this season by finishing second (which is where they were picked in the preseason), but White did an outstanding job developing this team in only his second year on the job.
And keep in mind that Florida’s seven losses this season weren’t exactly bad losses.
Here are the KenPom rankings for teams that beat the Gators:
- Gonzaga (#1)
- Kentucky (#7)
- Duke (#15)
- Florida State (#18)
- South Carolina (#30)
- Vanderbilt (#40, twice)
Considering that Florida played the six toughest schedule in the country, it’s impressive that this team managed to go 24-7 against the level of competition that it played.
Let’s also remember the situation that White stepped into. Billy Donovan won two national championships in Gainesville. Being the man that follows “the man” is always a challenge.
But White was able to take a solid season last year and turn it into a great season this year.
This is White’s six full season as a head coach, and at only 40 years old, he’s a future star in the business. He’s already proving that he knows how to win, and he’s done excellent job instilling that mindset and toughness into his Florida players.
The Gators’ NCAA tournament ceiling could be limited due to John Egbunu’s injury, but it’s hard to count out a team that plays defense as well as Florida.
White deserves a tremendous amount of credit for putting this team in a great spot heading into postseason play, and that’s why he’s my SEC Coach of the Year.
Honorable Mention:
John Calipari, Kentucky
Because he gets all the top talent, people assume that Calipari’s job is easy. It’s not.
Building team chemistry with players going in and out every season isn’t all the simple, and Calipari once again found a way to keep everyone on the same page.
For as much as we talked about the Wildcats’ struggling at times this season, the team’s 26-5 record speaks for itself, and Calipari’s ability to navigate them there shouldn’t be overlooked.
Bryce Drew, Vanderbilt
The Commodores were not good early in the season.
They lost by 24 to Marquette in the season opener. They lost at home to Bucknell. They got destroyed at MTSU. Things were simply going south in a hurry.
And then Drew did what all great coaches do: he made adjustments to fit his personnel.
Once he saw that a complete system overhaul wasn’t going to work with the current roster, he changed the approach.
And considering that Vandy is playing its best basketball of the season and went 9-4 to wrap up SEC play (while playing one of the toughest schedules in the country), it definitely worked.