CBS Sports hands out preseason SEC basketball awards

College basketball is less than two months away, so it is definitely time to start preparing for the upcoming season from a media (and fan) standpoint. We are still a little unsure about what the schedule. may look like, but it seems as though we can count on conference play happening in the south. So who looks to be the best of the SEC this season? Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports released his predictions on Sunday.

Even though the Kentucky Wildcats are returning only one contributing player, Rothstein still lists the Wildcats at No. 2 in his power rankings. The Tennessee Volunteers are No. 1, and the rest of the list is as follows:

1. Tennessee

2. Kentucky

3. LSU

4. Florida

5. South Carolina

6. Arkansas

7. Alabama

8. Auburn

9. Missouri

10. Ole Miss

11. Texas A&M

12. Mississippi State

13. Georgia

14. Vanderbilt

BJ Boston is the only member of the Wildcats to make Rothstein’s All-SEC first team. He is joined by John Petty from Alabama, Trendon Watford from LSU, Florida’s Keyontae Johnson, and John Fulkerson of Tennessee.

Boston is also listed among the most impactful freshmen, and he is joined by Kentucky players Terrence Clarke, Devin Askew, Isaiah Jackson, and Lance Ware. Keion Brooks was listed with the top 10 breakout players, and Davion Mintz is listed as one of the 15 impact transfers.

Of course, everything mentioned here is subject to Olivier Sarr’s eligibility. I get the feeling that everything here is different if he is able to suit up for the Wildcats.

Read the rest of Rothstein’s SEC basketball predictions here.