SEC 2003-04 Season Recap
Mississippi State and Kentucky were in a two way battle for SEC supremacy
throughout the season. After a last second victory in Starkville, it looked
like UK had the upper hand. In the end, Mississippi State was a game better
and claimed the title, while Kentucky still claimed the SEC East.
Matt Freije proved to be the most all around solid player, leading the
conference in scoring with 18.4 points per game and, more importantly,
leading the Vanderbilt Commodores back to respectability, no small feat.
Fresh faces brought a new dimension and look to the conference. Newcomers
like Brandon Bass, a true freshman, and Scooter McFadgon, a transfer from
Memphis proved to be strong in leading LSU and Tennessee, respectively to
post season appearances. The most impressive newcomer was MSU’s Lawrence
Roberts who was the main man for the best team in the SEC.
Coaches emerged strong in the regular season. Reigning National Coach of
the Year Tubby Smith steadily lead Kentucky to another tournament title and
again breezed through the SEC schedule. Mississippi State’s Rick Stansbury
has begun to rival Smith in terms of SEC dominance and 2003-2004 was no
different. Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings, Alabama’s Mark Gottfried and even
Billy Donovan in a down year proved that SEC coaches are among the tops in
the country. The young coaches look to make their mark this year and step
into this upper echelon.
SEC Conference Tournament
After Kentucky ran away with yet another SEC tournament title (their 25th
overall) in a championship game blowout of Florida, rumor was that the SEC
tournament title was just going to be flown to Lexington each year and save
the other schools the travel expenses.
Regular season champion Mississippi State earned the top seed but fell to
Vanderbilt in the second round. Florida then knocked off the Commodores to
set up a championship match up with Kentucky. Once again, the Wildcats
pummeled the Gators, this time by an 82-62 score, and claimed the SEC crown.
Postseason Tournament
Kentucky was named the NCAA’s tournament’s number one overall seed, and
promptly choked against UAB in the second round. Mississippi State, the
regular season champs, were given a two seed and were knocked off by
tournament surprise Xavier in the second round, as well. With these two
teams out, the SEC appeared to be down for the count. Don’t tell that to
Vanderbilt and Alabama, who both made deep runs in the tourney.
The No. 6 seeded Commodores, led by do-everything senior Matt Freije stormed
into the Sweet Sixteen with inspired, passionate play before falling to
eventual champ Connecticut 73-53. The No. 8 seeded Crimson Tide, who squeaked
into the tourney with an 8-8 conference record one-upped Vandy by advancing
to the Elite Eight before losing to Connecticut.
No. 5 Florida capped a disappointing year with another disappointing
tournament exit in a first round blow-out loss to No. 12 Manhattan. No. 10
seeded South Carolina, the conferences sixth team, also exited in the first
round with a loss to Memphis.
Tennessee, LSU and Georgia represented the conference in the NIT, but all
bowed out in the opening round. Tennessee fell to George Mason by three,
while LSU and Georgia lost to Oklahoma and Iowa State, respectively.
Hoopville Team All-SEC
Matt Freije – F Vanderbilt
Lawrence Roberts – F Mississippi State
Justin Reed – F Mississippi
Timmy Bowers – G Mississippi State
Anthony Roberson – G Florida
2nd Team
Jaime Lloreda-F LSU
Chuck Hayes – F Kentucky
Kennedy Winston – F Alabama
Scooter McFadgon – G Tennessee
Gerald Fitch – Kentucky
3rd Team
David Lee – F Florida
Carlos Powell – F South Carolina
Brandon Bass – F LSU
Matt Walsh – G Florida
Rashad Wright – G Georgia
Player of the Year
Matt Freije, Senior Vanderbilt
No one in the conference was more important to his team at any point in this
season than Matt Freije. Some might argue that Lawrence Roberts was the
best player on the conference’s best team but Freije willed his team to win
on several occasions. The 6-10 Freije could go inside and use his 250
pounds or step outside and hit the jumper (39% on threes). 18.5 ppg and 5.5
rpg only tell half the story.
Coach of the Year
Mark Gottfried, Alabama
This might sound like a shocker but Gottfried took the Alabama deeper into
the tournament than any other coach (that is the point right?) and did so
despite the continual premature departure of star players. It’s scary to
think how far Gottfried’s teams would have gone had Gerald Wallace and Rod
Grizzard had stayed around to realize their potential. He is a big time
coach.
Defensive Player of the Year
Cliff Hawkins, Senior PG, Kentucky
The under appreciated Hawkins was the main catalyst for the Kentucky defense
that stifled opponents for the past two seasons. His quick feet and even
quicker hands helped him make up for a lack of size and initiated key UK
runs that lead to victories. Hawkins lead the SEC in steals with 2.3 per
game.
Newcomer of the Year
Lawrence Roberts, Mississippi State (Baylor transfer)
Roberts transferred from Baylor and never looked like a newcomer for the
Bulldogs. Arguably, the MVP for the entire conference, Roberts carried the
Bulldogs to the regular season title and a two seed in the NCAA tournament.
Far and away the best newcomer.
Alabama Crimson Tide 20-13 (8-8)
Team MVP: Kennedy Winston (17.1 ppg 5.5 rpg 1.9 apg)
Scoring Leader: Winston
Rebounding Leader: Chuck Davis (5.9 rpg)
Assist Leader: Antoine Pettway (3.5 apg)
There will be two tough tasks for the Crimson Tide this year. The first is
filling the shoes of Antoine Pettway, who provided solid leadership last
year and steadily commanded the ship into the Elite Eight. The second major
task at Alabama is finding a way to keep Mark Gottfried in town after this
year. Gottfried is going to start receiving phone calls from big schools
after another solid year. This year’s team should have a much better
conference record, thanks to the all-around play of Kennedy Winston, a
Pre-Season Wooden Award candidate. They could be the Mississippi State of
this season.
Arkansas Razorbacks 12-16 (4-12)
Team MVP: Ronnie Brewer (12.2 ppg 5.5rpg 3.4 apg 2.0 spg)
Scoring Leader: Jonathon Modica (16.5 ppg)
Rebounding Leader: Brewer
Assist Leader: Brewer
Arkansas fans endured a miserably long season marred with losing basketball
and Nolan Richardson lawsuits. Stan Heath, the man who replaced Nolan
Richardson, has been the real loser in this whole situation. He has not had
a chance to show his coaching skills due to a lack of talent and Nolan
Richardson still dominating the news. Unfortunately for Heath, his team
again will only go as far as talented youngsters Ronnie Brewer and Jonathon
Modica will take it. In this conference, that will not be too far. Was it
really that long ago that Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman led the Hogs
to a title? Another tough year for proud Razorback fans.
Auburn Tigers 14-14 (5-11)
Team MVP: Marco Killingsworth ( 13.7 ppg 6.9 rpg)
Scoring Leader: Killingsworth
Rebounding Leader: Killingsworth
Assist Leader: Lewis Monroe (3.6 apg)
New coach Jeff Lebo’s version of the Auburn Tigers will look drastically
different after two top players transferred to Indiana University. Lewis
Monroe announced last week that he would follow Marco Killingsworth to
Bloomington, making the 2004-2005 Tigers more likely to purr than roar. A
new team will produce about the same result. Don’t expect anything above a
cellar finish.
Florida Gators 20-11 (9-7)
Team MVP: Anthony Roberson (17.9 ppg 3.0 rpg 3.6 apg)
Scoring Leader: Roberson
Rebounding Leader: David Lee (6.9 rpg)
Assist Leader: Roberson*
*Christian Drejer averaged 4.0 apg before leaving team
With its top three players returning in Lee, Roberson and Walsh, big things
will be expected in Gainesville, not to say it hasn’t in the past. If the
Gators experience another early round flameout in the NCAA tournament, Billy
Donovan and his slick recruiting skills could be given his walking papers.
Georgia Bulldogs 16-14 (7-9)
Team MVP: Coach Dennis Felton
Scoring Leader: Rashad Wright (14.4 ppg)
Rebounding Leader: Chris Daniels (8.1 rpg)
Assist Leader: Wright
Year two of the Dennis Felton salvaging program begins this year with a
fairly inexperienced cast of players. Sophomore guard Levi Stukes should
carry most of the load but the Bulldogs talent is not near the top tier of
the conference like it has been the past few years. With that being said,
it might be another year or so until the Bulldogs can compete with teams
using their basketball skills. Look for the thuggery to continue for one
more year. At least there aren’t any more Harricks around to mess things
up.
Kentucky Wildcats 27-5 (13-3)
Team MVP: Erik Daniels (14.5 ppg 6.1 rpg 2.8 apg)
Scoring Leader: Gerald Fitch (16.2 ppg)
Rebounding Leader: Chuck Hayes (8.1 rpg)
Assist Leader: Cliff Hawkins (5.2 apg)
The Wildcats lose 5 seniors off the SEC tournament championship teams and
have only one senior on the 2004-2005 roster. That should not be a problem,
thanks to Tubby Smith and Chuck Hayes. Hayes, an undersized center will
move to forward as he plays with a center for the first time in his UK
career. 6-11 freshman Randolph Morris, the gem of UK’s number 1 recruiting
class, will be UK’s first legitimate inside player since Jamal Magloire.
Fitch’s scoring should be replaced by Junior Kelenna Azubuike while Hawkins’
position will be filled by committee. Freshman Rajon Rondo and Ramel
Bradley will compete with Western Kentucky transfer Patrick Sparks for the
point guard job.
LSU Tigers 18-11 (8-8)
Team MVP: Jaime Lloreda (16.9 ppg 11.6 rpg 1.3 bpg)
Scoring Leader: Lloreda
Rebounding Leader: Lloreda
Assist Leader: Xavier Whipple (3.0 apg)
The Tigers will once again rely on inside presence and muscle to keep them
in games. Although they lost MVP Jaime Lloreda to graduation, Brandon Bass
will return a year older and a year stronger. He will team inside with
McDonald’s All-American Glen Davis whose 6’9″ 310 pound body will bang with
anyone in the country. NBA included. LSU’s improvement will continue and
an NCAA bid is a definite possibility.
Mississippi Rebels 13-15 (5-11)
Team MVP: Justin Reed (18.5 ppg 7.5 rpg 1.5 apg)
Scoring Leader: Reed
Rebounding Leader: Reed
Assist Leader: Aaron Harper (3.3 apg)
There will be two enormous pairs of shoes to fill in Oxford this fall when
the basketball season starts. Justin Reed and Aaron Harper were the
emotional and statistical leaders of Ole Miss last year and both are gone.
Ole Miss’ team this year will be one with a lot of questions and holes to
fill but one thing is for sure. Rod Barnes will have his players coming out
every night to play, as they have in his previous six years at the school.
Mississippi State Bulldogs 26-4 (14-2)
Team MVP: Lawrence Roberts (16.9 ppg 10.1 rpg 1.2 apg 1.4 spg)
Scoring Leader: Roberts
Rebounding Leader: Roberts
Assist Leader: Timmy Bowers (4.8 apg)
Mississippi State will have enormous expectations this year after having
such a successful campaign a year ago. Coach Rick Stansbury has begun to
emerge as one of the top coaches in the country with 48 wins over the past
two years. This is the year they hope that their tournament dreams come to
reality. These hopes will rest squarely on the broad shoulders of Lawrence
Roberts, who withdrew from the NBA draft this summer. Roberts, a pre-season
Wooden Award candidate, should carry the Bulldogs far, but unless someone
else steps up, mainly sophomore guard Gary Ervin, another NCAA flameout is
likely.
South Carolina Gamecocks 23-11 (8-8)
Team MVP: Carlos Powell (12.2 ppg 6.2 rpg)
Scoring Leader: Powell
Rebounding Leader: Powell
Assist Leader: Michael Boynton (3.4 apg)
Dave Odom’s 2004-2005 South Carolina Gamecocks should be very similar to the
previous version. Despite the loss of Relando Howell, the Gamecocks should
remain a threat every night out on the court with the return of Carlos
Powell and the growth of Tre Kelley and Brandon Wallace, who have spent the
summer playing on an All-Star team. A NCAA bid might not be out of the
question, but the NIT is a more likely destination.
Tennessee Volunteers 15-14 (7-9)
Team MVP: C.J. Watson (11.5 ppg 4.2 rpg 5.0 apg 1.6 spg)
Scoring Leader: Scooter McFadgon (17.6 ppg)
Rebounding Leader: Brandon Crump (6.8)
Assist Leader: Watson
With all five starters returning from an NIT team, this could be the year
that Buzz Peterson gets recognized for his coaching skills and not just for
being Michael Jordan’s college roommate. Scooter McFadgon will again carry
the scoring load with Brandon Crump providing the inside muscle. C.J.
Watson will team up with McFadgon to form arguably the SEC’s best backcourt.
Add freshman Chris Lofton, 2004 Mr. Kentucky basketball, to the mix and
this is a very formidable team. Look for big things from this year’s squad,
including a NCAA bid, and maybe even a deep run in the tournament.
Vanderbilt Commodores 23-10 (8-8)
Team MVP: Matt Freije (18.4 ppg 5.4rpg)
Scoring Leader: Freije
Rebounding Leader: Freije
Assist Leader: Lakey (3.9 apg)
OK Vandy fans, don’t throw in the towel just yet. Sure, Matt Freije is gone
and he was the heart and soul of the team for the past two years but Kevin
Stallings returns. Stallings, another up and coming coach in the SEC,
returns to Nashville after flirting with the Ohio State job. He has
steadily improved Vanderbilt every year, but they might step back a bit this
year. It shouldn’t be a big step though, thanks to the Chef. Dawid
Przybyszewski (pronounced Shiv-uh-chef-ski), a 7-2 center proved late in the
year last year that he was a dependable offensive option. The Chef is the
most underrated player in the SEC and should garner All-Conference honors.
2004-05 Season Outlook
Look for Mississippi State and Kentucky to again battle it out for
conference supremacy but nothing will be guaranteed with up-and-coming
Tennessee, LSU, and Alabama nipping at their heels. If Donovan can motivate
his players, Florida could contend for league titles as well.
