The SEC tournament is held in Nashville, and most people are probably more concerned with spring football, except for Kentucky, who wonders if they can squeeze a national title run out of their one-and-done collection of alleged student-athletes before John Calipari leaves their program in shambles for an NBA job. Here are the top 14 returning scorers to this year's tournament...
#1: Wayne Chism (Tennessee forward; 94 previous points in the SEC tournament) - I really dig the Volunteers orange basketball uniforms, home and aways. Actually, mostly home uniforms are boring in the white motif, but the Vols look tight with the orange trim. I actually have a pair of bootleg shorts like that, and it makes me feel like a creamsicle. This is Chism's last year with the Vols, and he's been an integral part of a team that made it to the Sweet 16 in 2007 and 2008. They just missed out on a first round bye in the SEC tourney, so will have to stomp on LSU today and hopefully not tire themselves out for a game against Mississippi on Friday afternoon. Plus, the tourney is in Nashville, which gives them a great boost to make a run.
#2: Tasmin Mitchell (LSU forward; 92 previous points in the SEC tournament) - All-SEC player last year who has seen this team LSU team go from Final Four participant his freshman year to conference also-ran this year. They will be lucky to get past Tennessee this afternoon, but the game will feature Mitchell and Chism, two of the league's best exiting players.
#3: Barry Stewart (Mississippi State guard; 91 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Last year, Mississippi State came from the opening day to win four in a row and take the SEC title in shocking fashion. Stewart was a big part of that. This year they come in as the #1 seed out of the Western division, and await thewinner of Florida vs. Auburn tonight.
#4: Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State forward; 75 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Simply put, Jarvis Varnado is the man. He was tournament MVP last year, is a two-time All-SEC first team player, and this year's defensive player of the year. He can pour in the points, block shots (actually hold the NCAA record in that regard), and crash the boards. Along with Stewart, he is a Senior, and Mississippi State could be a tough draw in the NCAA tournament, considering they are unranked.
#5: Michael Washington (Arkansas forward/center; 53 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Senior year for the big man, and he's been battling injuries. Arkansas closes out the first night of action against Georgia, who is only two games behind them in conference play, and the imposing Vanderbilt team awaits the winner.
#6: Devan Downey (South Carolina guard; 49 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Downey made a name for himself this year by taking over a game against Kentucky and giving them their first loss of the year. Still, South Carolina is part of the clusterfuck in the middle of the SEC, and has a pretty even match-up against Alabama to kick off the whole tournament today. If they can survive that, they get a rematch with Kentucky tomorrow.
#7: A.J. Ogilvy (Vanderbilt center; 49 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Ogilvy is a big, goofy-looking Aussie junior with tons of international experience. He's a solid as fuck player though, and it would not be surprising to see a Vanderbilt/Kentucky title game on Sunday afternoon.
#8: Albert Jackson (Georgia forward/center; 49 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Jackson's most noteworthy performance this year was being benched for a game after getting arrested on an outstanding warrant last month. Of course, Division I centers are hard to come by, so he's back on the court. It is his Senior season after all. The Bulldogs are the lowest seed from the eastern division, but really the whole bottom two-thirds of the SEC (except for LSU) is a clusterfuck of equality, and somebody could get hot and make a run.
#9: J.P. Prince (Tennessee guard; 47 previous points in the SEC tournament) - It's J.P. Prince's last season as well, and with him and Chism together, not to mention Bruce Pearl's usual assortment of husky fellows who can ball interchangeably, it would not be surprising to see Tennessee cutting the nets down on Sunday afternoon.
#10: Stefan Welsh (Arkansas guard; 44 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Another senior on this Razorback team, part of a group that went to two straight SEC title games in 2007 and 2008. They'd need a miraculous run to do that again this year though.
#11: Dominique Archie (South Carolina forward; 42 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Archie, who is already in his fifth year, was injured early in the season and is actually applying with the NCAA to get medical redshirt status applied to this season so he can come back for a sixth year next year. So he will be in the suit at the far end of the bench of you are watching today.
#12: Ravern Johnson (Mississippi State guard; 40 previous points in the SEC tournament) - My favorite named dude in the SEC rosters I've looked up; sounds destined to own a barbecue joint, or at least drive an old ass lime green Lincoln.
#13: Kodi Augustus (Mississippi State forward; 39 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Another junior three-bomber to go along with Ravern Johnson, which means next year, after Varnado is gone, will probably be a run-and-gun year for the Bulldog.
#14: Alex Tyus (Florida forward; 35 previous points in the SEC tournament) - Only a junior, Tyus is the only real glimmer of superstardom potential the Gators have shown since the fab pack went pro on Billy Donovan. If only he could get himself four more Tyuses.
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