Photo. University of Alabama

Last year (Dime #28) we debuted the “Player’s Ball” college hoops preview, where we went to some of the NCAA’s best players and had them preview their own conferences. This year we did it again (Dime #37), but since we didn’t have room in the mag for some of the mid-majors, we’re dropping them on DimeMag.com along with the big boys. Today, Alabama point guard Ronald Steele breaks down the SEC:

THE EXPERT: Ronald Steele, Alabama, Sr., PG
One year ago, Alabama was everyone’s dark horse Final Four pick, and Ronald Steele was a preseason All-American being touted as arguably the best point guard in the country. But partly due to injuries that slowed down Steele (8.6 ppg, 4 apg), the Crimson Tide fell short of expectations. While they still posted a 20-win season, Alabama’s 7-9 record in the SEC saw them relegated to the NIT. After having double knee surgery in the offseason, Steele is back and ready to bring his team back into SEC title contention.**

EXPERT OPINION: “You can look at every team in the SEC and make a case for them to win it, from the West to the East. You got Tennessee, with the way they play and the depth they have. They pretty much full-court press the whole game – it’s a style of play you can’t really simulate because you don’t see it often. Chris Lofton (20.8 ppg) is probably the best shooting guard in the country, Coach (Bruce) Pearl is a great coach, and with their depth they can rotate guys in and out. I think Florida is gonna be good despite what people think. They have some good recruits coming in, and they have a lot of guys who didn’t have a chance to play before but you know they’re good players. Kentucky’s always gonna be solid. Ramel Bradley (PG, 13.4 ppg) showed how good he really is last year, and Derrick Jasper (PG, So.) got better over the year. They’re gonna miss Bobby Perry, though; I thought he was the heart and soul of their team. Their new coach, Billy Gillespie, he’s a good coach. I saw Texas A&M play a couple times last year and they were always well-coached. Jamont Gordon (PG, 16 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 5.3 apg) at Mississippi State is one of the most underrated players in the country – he’s big and can handle the ball – and Charles Rhodes (PF, 13.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg) is one of the better big men in the SEC. Georgia has some really good guards, three or four legitimate scorers on the perimeter who can get 30 night in and night out. Vanderbilt uses those Princeton backdoor cuts; it’s hard to guard because they’re the only team in the league that plays like that. Shan Foster (SG/SF, 15.6 ppg) always gives us matchup problems; when he puts the ball on the floor he’s almost impossible to guard. LSU is obviously gonna miss Glen Davis, but they have Tasmin Mitchell (F, 14.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) coming back and Garrett Temple (G, 8.6 ppg, 4.3 apg, 1.6 spg) gets better each year. Arkansas is one of the toughest teams we played last year with how athletic they are. They play an up-tempo style; or at least they did last year – I don’t know much about their new coach. Gary Ervin (PG, 9.9 ppg, 4.8 apg), he’s tough to guard, and they have Patrick Beverley (SG, 13.9 ppg).

“I feel like we’re one of the best teams in the conference. We have a lot of guys returning. Losing Jermareo Davidson is a big loss, but we have some good guards coming back and our freshmen are doing really well. We got Richard Hendrix (PF, 14.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg), he’s gonna be one of the best big men in the country. He showed last year he can carry the load. I think Alonzo Gee (SF, 12.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg) is a pro; after this year he’s gonna have a decision to make. Mykal Riley (12.6 ppg) is a good wing for us who can shoot really well.

“A lot of people think the SEC plays low-scoring games because the teams don’t really run, but I think it’s because the defenses are so good. The coaches in the league have all been here for a long time and they know each other’s plays so well. Just the overall athleticism in the SEC sets us apart. We have a lot of great players and every team on the schedule is good. There aren’t any easy wins or soft teams – everybody is good. Playing against that competition every year, that’s tough.”

**Just as Issue #37 went to press, Steele decided to redshirt this season. He plans to be back in ’08-09.**

Player’s Ball archive
11/7 – Missouri Valley (Daniel Ruffin & Jeremy Crouch, Bradley)
11/6 – ACC (DeMarcus Nelson, Duke)
11/5 – Mountain West (Brandon Ewing, Wyoming)
11/2 – Big 12 (A.J. Abrams, Texas)