Ranking the 2014-15 SEC Back Courts: An SEC roundtable

It's basketball season, even in the SEC!  So we thought it would be a good idea to get everyone on the record with their thoughts going into non-conference play as to how they would rank each team's outfits.  Instead of making this position focused (PG, SG, etc) we decided to separate these polls out into back court and front court, let's be honest, the days of each team having a lineup on the floor with a traditional PG, SG, SF, PF and C up are rare.

With that in mind we polled all of the SEC SB Nation Sites to see how they ranked all 14 team's back courts and to provide a little commentary on each team.  So without further ado, here's how each team fared from first to not first.

SEC Back Courts Ranked

Team	Ranking	Points	Highest Ranking	Lowest Ranking
Kentucky	1st	180	1st	2nd
Florida	2nd	163	1st	2nd
Georgia	3rd	141	2nd	7th
Arkansas	4th	139	2nd	10th
Ole Miss	5th	119	4th	9th
Auburn	6th	106	2nd	12th
South Carolina	7th	99	5th	13th
Alabama	8th	89	3rd	13th
Mississippi State	9th	74	2nd	14th
Texas A&M	10th	69	8th	12th
LSU	11th	58	4th	14th
Mizzou	12th	53	6th	14th
Tennessee	13th	47	9th	14th
Vanderbilt	14th	28	8th	14th

Points were distributed 1st = 14, 2nd = 13, 3rd = 12, 4th = 11, 5th = 10, 6th = 9, 7th = 8,
8th = 7, 9th = 6, 10th = 5, 11th = 4, 12th = 3, 13th = 2, and 14th = 1

Rationale and Thoughts behind the Rankings

A general thought that seems to be shared by many of our writers, "Wow, there's some really ugly backcourts in this league."

Replacing Trevor Releford is hard. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Levi Randolph is a solid player with a ton of experience, Retin Obasohan is one of the best defenders in the SEC, and Ricky Tarrant will do a fine job at the point. (Roll Bama Roll)

Have a ton of experience and good athletes who have been inconsistent but when they play well are as good as any after UK and UF. (Rock M Nation)

A solid group at a critical need for Mike Anderson's system. (Dawg Sports)

Bring back a lot of experience and good shooting, and a pair of talented newcomers. (Arkansas Fight)

Rashad Madden and Michael Qualls are a quality duo of guards and will help make Arkansas one of the best teams in the SEC. (For Whom the Cowbell Tolls)

Bruce Pearl should prop these guys up sooner rather than later, but it's hard to get too excited just yet.(And the Valley Shook)

KT Harrell and Tahj Shamsid-Deen were two of the bright spots for the anemic Tigers last year and Antoine Mason (transfer from Niagara) is the leading returning scorer in all of America. (College and Magnolia)

Lacks talent, SEC expereince. (A Sea of Blue)

SG Michael Frazier can rain threes and will be the staple of Florida's backcourt; Kasey Hill will start at point and is talented but it will be difficult to replace the spark this team got from Scottie Wilbekin last year. (For Whom the Cowbell Tolls)

With one of the best shooters in the country in Michael Frazier, a play-making PG in Kasey Hill, and a solid mix of experience and young guys with potential, Billy Donovan's squad just keeps reloading. (Roll Bama Roll)

I'm probably undervaluing the Gators here, only because they don't have the experience that the teams ahead of them do. They'll still be really good, so it doesn't matter. (Red Cup Rebellion)

Mann & Gaines give them reason to hope for another good season. (Arkansas Fight)

Mann and Gaines are emerging as stars, with solid backups. If they can replace Brandon Morris at SF (which is more a backcourt role in today's game), they'll be able to carry this team. (Dawg Sports)

Returning two juniors who averaged just over 13 points per game apiece is pretty good, no matter where you play. (Red Cup Rebellion)

Could be 1a, but the Harrison twins need to show consistency like they did late in the year, plus there is not a lot of depth behind them, Ullis and Booker. (Rock M Nation)

Overwhelming talent and size, and now some experience to go with it. (A Sea of Blue)

The Harrison Twins + another influx of talent = experience AND talent in the backcourt for the first time at UK since 2011-12. (And the Valley Shook)

I feel like Kentucky is just the default number one for everything. (Rocky Top Talk)

The Bayou Bengals have a really good frontcourt, but the backcourt is lacking. Anthony Hickey's departure hurts here big time, but Josh Gray and Keith Hornsby could end up playing at high levels. (Roll Bama Roll)

JuCo transfer Josh Gray and freshman Jalyn Patterson should pick up the slack after the erratic Anthony Hickey transferred out. (And the Valley Shook)

Despite the great frontcourt, there's no reason to think that Josh Gray or Keith Hornsby can step in and replace Anthony Hickey's production. (Garnet and Black Attack)

This is the Craig Sword's team now, and while nobody else on their roster is worth much (for real, they're bad), Sword is deceptively dangerous. (Red Cup Rebellion)

MSU has a talented backcourt if they can stay healthy, problem is, their leading scorer last year, Craig Sword is already injured and may miss State's first few games. (For Whom the Cowbell Tolls)

Craig Sword may be the most underrated player in the SEC. (College and Magnolia)

There is still talent but a good bit of rebuilding from Haith's poor coaching. (Dawg Sports)

Mizzou has good young depth, I think Wes Clark is close to a breakout year which could boost the overall strength of the backcourt, and Shamburger brings the experience they need. (Rock M Nation)

Where'd everybody go? (Arkansas Fight)

May deserve to be higher. Love Jarvis Summers, LaDarius White, and Martavious Newby. Not that deep, though. (A Sea of Blue)

It's the Jarvis Summers show unless transfer Stefan Moody can live up to his hype. Snoop White could be a valuable asset in this backcourt as well if he can be a more consistent shooter. (Red Cup Rebellion)

Jarvis Summers is one of the best in the SEC, and with a strong bevy of talented transfers and solid returners, the Rebels should look to make some noise. (Roll Bama Roll)

Sindarius Thornwell, Tyrone Johnson, and Duane Notice all averaged over 25 minutes a game last year - plenty of quality experience. (College and Magnolia)

Sindarius Thornwell joins with senior Ty Johnson. If Duane Notice grows up, South Carolina could vault into the top 3. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Surprisingly talented group that can shoot. If they can only get a front court ...(A Sea of Blue)

No, really, where'd everybody go? (Arkansas Fight)

Robert Hubbs III was a five star recruit when he came in in 2013 but he was injured most last season and he's the only guard at Tennessee with any credentials at all; it may be a rough year in Knoxville. (For Whom the Cowbell Tolls)

They look horrible. (Dawg Sports)

So they're gonna give Alex Robinson the keys to this thing on day one, right? Because they probably should. (Red Cup Rebellion)

Just trying to get through this year and bring in those recruits next year. (Arkansas Fight)

Alex Caruso may develop into one of the better pure point guards in the SEC. (College and Magnolia)

Vandy is just way too young. Mitchell can be good, so can the other 3 freshmen, but counting on four freshmen is a lot to ask. (Rock M Nation)

The 'Dores have two juniors with very little experience running their offense but it's hard to go anywhere but up after the season Vanderbilt had last year. (For Whom the Cowbell Tolls)

Five freshman guards after a hugely down year for the Dores? Sounds like a rough go of it again. (And the Valley Shook)

Thanks to all the authors for providing their rankings and thanks to you the reader for stopping by, you've now been exposed to #SECBASKETBALLFEVER of which there is no known cure.

Look for another ranking of the SEC Front Courts, Coaches and Home Courts coming in the next couple weeks, followed by a Pre Season Power Poll and a weekly Power Poll every week thereafter.