The SEC held the summer edition of its basketball coaches teleconference last week, with the media fielding questions for coaches from all 14 schools.
There were plenty of topics of conversation for each coach, but a common theme was the current strength of the league as a whole.
The conference sent a record eight teams to the NCAA Tournament last season, and with expectations higher than ever, there’s a good chance that it could match or exceed that number next season.
Kentucky is being widely projected as a potential preseason No. 1 team, while Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, LSU, and Florida have all shown up in various way-too-early top 25 polls.
Here’s a list of the coaches that took part in the teleconference in the order that they appeared:
- Bryce Drew (Vanderbilt)
- Mike White (Florida)
- Frank Martin (South Carolina)
- Tom Crean (Georgia)
- Will Wade (LSU)
- John Calipari (Kentucky)
- Rob Lanier (Tennessee)
- Mike Anderson (Arkansas)
- Avery Johnson (Alabama)
- Bruce Pearl (Auburn)
- Kermit Davis (Ole Miss)
- Ben Howland (Mississippi State)
- Cornell Mann (Missouri)
- Billy Kennedy (Texas A&M)
You can also read several companion pieces that have already posted on Southeast Hoops:
- Vanderbilt embracing high expectations due to talented freshman class
- Depth should land Gators in SEC title hunt
- Crean focused on building foundation in first summer in Athens
The 2018-19 regular season gets underway on November 6.