#SECBASKETBALLFEVER, the Relapse

We're going to Win a Title...maybe.

This week Trent/Sam put together three wonderful pieces on how Mizzou's current roster make up could possibly lead to future success based on the previous histories of past NCAA winning schools.  If you have not read them, do so here:

Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Around the SEC since Last we were Inoculated:

Kentucky
Kentucky gave John Calipari a very, very large raise, making him the highest paid basketball coach not only in the SEC, but all of the SEC now pulling in more money than the unblinking Nick Saban.  Calipari will be making a static $8.05 million dollars by 2018, and $6.55 million with a 500K escalator every year until that time.  The raise and extension keeps Cal in Lexington until at least 2021, pretty much ensuring that on paper Kentucky should be the perennial favorite to win the SEC every year until many of the RMN children are hitting double digits in age.

To read more on the extension, check out A Sea of Blue's piece and know that all your 5 star recruits are belong to them,

What does this mean for Mizzou?  Well as we've pointed out the SEC is in a transition time where the top spots in the conference basketball hierarchy are in a fluid state.  The top two spots appear to be solid with Kentucky and Florida (so long as Billy Donovan doesn't get the itch for the NBA) which leaves the middle for pretty much everyone in the conference that's interested.  Auburn hiring Bruce Pearl are moving in the right direction, Arkansas seems to be trending upward, though they are off in the Mike Anderson reset program by a year now, Tennessee is always going to be involved in the race and then the emergence of Georgia this past season could be a sign of things to come.  And one should never forget that murder ball is just around the corner with human Volcano Frank Martin at South Carolina.  The next two years should tell us a good deal about who will be the SEC basketball contenders and who are the pretenders.

Auburn
In a little over two months on the job Bruce Pearl is already paying huge dividends for Auburn.  While he can not actively recruit Auburn has already secured the commitments of JUCO transfer Cinmeon Bowers, incoming freshman and Alabama native 3 star, TJ Lang (formerly pledged to VATech), and New Mexico State transfer KC Ross-Miller.  On top of that former potential Mizzou target Niagra transfer, Antoine Mason is currently in Auburn on a weekend visit considering the Tigers.

The lure of Pearl for young players is obvious and you can see why any school with an opening would have been silly not to consider hiring him.  For Auburn, the risk is worth the reward as kids are falling over themselves to get a chance to play for the coach with a magnetic personality that seems to attract everyone he touches to him.  It looks as if Pearl will have Auburn contending in the SEC sooner than later at which time the question becomes how long does he stay on the job?  Does he bolt after a successful run to the NCAAs at the first high major job in a power conference that opens up?  Does he stick around and establish Auburn as an SEC power and torment the rest of us as he appears to have the full support of the Auburn administration?  Time will tell, but this hiring could end up being the coup of the off season for Auburn, who come off a pretty good football season.

Tennessee
When Cuonzo Martin departed Tennessee for Cal, the Vols were rebuffed by their first choice, Michael White who received an informal offer and turned it down, for reasons known only to him.  In his place Tennessee hired Southern Miss Head Coach Donnie Tyndall (remember him?), a man with SEC ties and a history of recruiting the region.    While Tyndall will lose the services of Jarnell Stokes to the draft and Jeronne Maymon to graduation, he has been active in recruiting to restock the cupboard.

Tyndall has secured the commitments of Detrick Mostella, Jabari McGhee, Willie Carmichael, Devon Baulkman on time 24 hour Mizzou commit, Kevin Punter.  Most recently former Ohio University commit, Tariq Owens has committed to the Vols to help shore up some of the front court depth, with Stokes and Maymon both departing.

Rocky Top Talk has a nice piece breaking down how they think their team will look like and do under Tyndall and the breakdown of their roster as it sits today.

Florida
The Gators of Florida have quietly been doing what they do.  Securing 5 star commitments out of nowhere and grabbing players named Horford to join their squad.
In early May, Florida landed 5 star prospect KeVaughn Allen apparently out of nowhere and followed that up recently by receiving the services of Michigan transfer Jon Horford.  Horford is the younger brother of former Florida standout and NBA star, Al Horford.  This along with the transfer of Damontre of Harris out of Gainesville evens out the roster for the Gators going into the next season.

Alligator Army has a tidy piece on the roster situation and more on KeVaughn Allen here.

Vanderbilt
Vandy has not been sitting idly by staring at their hideous court, no, they've been, like Mizzou, pulling in every point guard or shooting guard they can.  When these two teams face off both teams will probably run out 4 guards a piece and we'll witness the most amusing rebounding battle ever.

Most recently the Commodores secured the commitment of one time Mizzou visitor Shelton MItchell.  The rumor was that Mitchell preferred Mizzou but his mother preferred Vanderbilt, and you should always listen to your mother. Anchor of Gold breaks down Vandy's roster for next season which should run more than 7 deep which can only be  a good thing for Kevin Stallings.

In Non SEC Basketball News but Mizzou related
The Utah Jazz hired former Mizzou Head Coach Quin Snyder last night, giving Snyder his first head coaching gig in the NBA after stints in the D League, Russia and on the benches of several NBA teams, most recently the Atlanta Hawks.

To read more about the hire check out the Utah Jazz's SB Nation site, SLC Dunk here.

As easy as it is to remember the bad times of Coach Q at Mizou (popcorn, Randy Pulley, Ricky Clemmons, Crackers and Shaking), let's not forget he did have some good times at Mizzou.  The elite 8 run, bringing the best out of Keyon Dooling and Clarence Gilbert and many, many over times with Okie State. At a time when Mizzou basketball needed a shot in the arm in Norm's last years, he provided a nice jolt of excitement to a program that needed it.

And he also liked to sing.

That's it for your recap of what's been going on in the world of SEC Basketball, feel free to share your thoughts on any of this below in the comments, and as always if there is something we haven't touched on that you'd like us to, just let us know.
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