SEC Projected Starting 5's

[Reggie Noble]

How do the Cats stack up on paper?

Team	Point guard	Shooting guard	Small forward	Power forward	Center
Alabama	Aden Holloway	Amari Allen	London Jemison	Drew Fielder	Brandon Garrison
Arkansas	Jeremiah Wilkinson	Jordan Smith Jr.	Billy Richmond III	Miikka Muurinen	Cooper Bowser
Auburn	Tahaad Pettiford	Kevin Overton	Mantas Rubštavičius	Thomas Dowd	Owen Freeman
Florida	Boogie Fland	Urban Klavzar	Thomas Haugh	Alex Condon	Rueben Chinyelu
Georgia	Marcus “Smurf” Millender	Blue Cain	Freddie Dilione V	Kanon Catchings	James Scott
Kentucky	Zoom Diallo	Alex Wilkins	Milan Momcilovic	Mark Mitchell	Malachi Moreno
LSU	Donovan Dent	Skyy Clark	Saliou Niang	Mouhamed Dioubate	Marcio Santos
Mississippi State	Josh Hubbard	Tajuan Simpkins	King Grace	Kendyl Sanders	ND Okafor
Missouri	Jason Crowe Jr.	Jamier Jones	Trent Pierce	Bryson Tiller	Shawn Phillips
Oklahoma	Xzayvier Brown	B.J. Edwards	Derrion Reid	Khani Rooths	Duke Brennan
Ole Miss	Adam “Budd” Clark	Ilias Kamardine	Patton Pinkins	Roman Siulepa	Santiago Trouet
South Carolina	Kory Mincy	Davion Hannah	Shane Blakeney	Camden Heide	Juan Fernández
Tennessee	Terrence Hill Jr.	Tyler Lundblade	Juke Harris	Jalen Haralson	Miles Rubin
Texas	Isaiah Johnson	Austin Goosby	Elyjah Freeman	David Punch	Matas Vokietaitis
Texas A&M	Jordan Pope	PJ Haggerty	Bryson Warren	Mackenzie Mgbako	Cade Phillips
Vanderbilt	Tyler Tanner	Ace Glass	T.O. Barrett	Bangot Dak	Berke Buyuktuncel

A few important caveats:

• Florida: Denzel Aberdeen would likely replace Klavzar if he becomes eligible.
• Kentucky: Mitchell’s spot depends on his court-ordered eligibility remaining in place.
• LSU: Its roster is especially unsettled. Dent and Clark are recent additions, and several projected players have eligibility or roster uncertainties.
• Oklahoma: Edwards and Brennan currently have separate court protections, although those situations remain subject to further proceedings.
• Alabama: Holloway’s availability depends on the resolution of his legal and team-status issues.
• Arkansas: Muurinen is awaiting NCAA clearance.
• Mississippi State and Texas A&M: These projections are less settled, and several starting spots could change.

 

[Wildcat_in_DC]

i actually think uk has the most balanced starting group across the board. and we probably have the best bench with proven guys like kam, frank and morton. big potential with hawthorne, ndiaye, and mason

 

[BookofMormon]

i actually think uk has the most balanced starting group across the board. and we probably have the best bench with proven guys like kam, frank and morton. big potential with hawthorne, ndiaye, and mason

Agree.

I think Florida is going to hit some roster exhaustion and Fland isn't great.

 

[BigBlueGuru]

i actually think uk has the most balanced starting group across the board. and we probably have the best bench with proven guys like kam, frank and morton. big potential with hawthorne, ndiaye, and mason

I disagree as Florida has been the best team in the SEC the last 2 years. Someone will have to show me they can beat them on the court instead of I think we can or random thoughts.

 

[megablue]

I'm surprised Garrison and Dioubate will be starters, especially Garrison.

 

[Catphright23]

florida is so good iowa beat them.... and they never blew us out...

 

[UKCowboys]

UK, Florida, Texas, UT, Arkansas....SEC is a booger bear again

 

[RationalKentuckyFan]

I think Florida is likely to win the conference but Kentucky is going to do well. If Pope doesn't completely fail as a coach then Kentucky should be a top 3 team in the conference or at least in the top 5.

 

[BlueRocker777]

Looking at these potential starting lineups, in my opinion, Kentucky has the second or third best starting team. I would put Florida #1 and Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas 2-5 in some order.

 

[Haggin_Hall_1983]

How do the Cats stack up on paper?

Team	Point guard	Shooting guard	Small forward	Power forward	Center
Alabama	Aden Holloway	Amari Allen	London Jemison	Drew Fielder	Brandon Garrison
Arkansas	Jeremiah Wilkinson	Jordan Smith Jr.	Billy Richmond III	Miikka Muurinen	Cooper Bowser
Auburn	Tahaad Pettiford	Kevin Overton	Mantas Rubštavičius	Thomas Dowd	Owen Freeman
Florida	Boogie Fland	Urban Klavzar	Thomas Haugh	Alex Condon	Rueben Chinyelu
Georgia	Marcus “Smurf” Millender	Blue Cain	Freddie Dilione V	Kanon Catchings	James Scott
Kentucky	Zoom Diallo	Alex Wilkins	Milan Momcilovic	Mark Mitchell	Malachi Moreno
LSU	Donovan Dent	Skyy Clark	Saliou Niang	Mouhamed Dioubate	Marcio Santos
Mississippi State	Josh Hubbard	Tajuan Simpkins	King Grace	Kendyl Sanders	ND Okafor
Missouri	Jason Crowe Jr.	Jamier Jones	Trent Pierce	Bryson Tiller	Shawn Phillips
Oklahoma	Xzayvier Brown	B.J. Edwards	Derrion Reid	Khani Rooths	Duke Brennan
Ole Miss	Adam “Budd” Clark	Ilias Kamardine	Patton Pinkins	Roman Siulepa	Santiago Trouet
South Carolina	Kory Mincy	Davion Hannah	Shane Blakeney	Camden Heide	Juan Fernández
Tennessee	Terrence Hill Jr.	Tyler Lundblade	Juke Harris	Jalen Haralson	Miles Rubin
Texas	Isaiah Johnson	Austin Goosby	Elyjah Freeman	David Punch	Matas Vokietaitis
Texas A&M	Jordan Pope	PJ Haggerty	Bryson Warren	Mackenzie Mgbako	Cade Phillips
Vanderbilt	Tyler Tanner	Ace Glass	T.O. Barrett	Bangot Dak	Berke Buyuktuncel

A few important caveats:

• Florida: Denzel Aberdeen would likely replace Klavzar if he becomes eligible.
• Kentucky: Mitchell’s spot depends on his court-ordered eligibility remaining in place.
• LSU: Its roster is especially unsettled. Dent and Clark are recent additions, and several projected players have eligibility or roster uncertainties.
• Oklahoma: Edwards and Brennan currently have separate court protections, although those situations remain subject to further proceedings.
• Alabama: Holloway’s availability depends on the resolution of his legal and team-status issues.
• Arkansas: Muurinen is awaiting NCAA clearance.
• Mississippi State and Texas A&M: These projections are less settled, and several starting spots could change.

Awesome post!! I like our team vs. anyone but Florida- and they need Aberdeen as badly as we need Mitchell.

 

[Haggin_Hall_1983]

florida is so good iowa beat them.... and they never blew us out...

Aberdeen is very important to Florida. He was key to their championship run.....Denzel comes up big at the right time.

 

[Bluegrass79]

A lot of no namers on there.
I like our chances if Wilkins and Moreno are steady.

Idk why but I've focused in on those two .....need production always.

 

[howitis_rivals115807]

Rank	Team	PG	SG	SF	PF	C	Team Avg
1	Kentucky	Zoom Diallo (4.0★)	Alex Wilkins (3.0★)	Milan Momcilovic (4.5★)	Mark Mitchell (4.5★)	Malachi Moreno (4.0★)	4.0 ★
1	Texas A&M	Jordan Pope (4.0★)	PJ Haggerty (5.0★)	Bryson Warren (3.5★)	Mackenzie Mgbako (4.5★)	Cade Phillips (3.0★)	4.0 ★
3	Arkansas	Jeremiah Wilkinson (3.0★)	Jordan Smith Jr. (5.0★)	Billy Richmond III (4.0★)	Miikka Muurinen (4.5★)	Cooper Bowser (3.0★)	3.9 ★
3	Florida	Boogie Fland (4.5★)	Urban Klavzar (3.5★)	Thomas Haugh (3.5★)	Alex Condon (4.5★)	Rueben Chinyelu (3.5★)	3.9 ★
5	Auburn	Tahaad Pettiford (4.5★)	Kevin Overton (3.0★)	Mantas Rubštavičius (3.5★)	Thomas Dowd (3.0★)	Owen Freeman (4.0★)	3.6 ★
5	LSU	Donovan Dent (4.5★)	Skyy Clark (3.5★)	Saliou Niang (3.0★)	Mouhamed Dioubate (3.5★)	Marcio Santos (3.5★)	3.6 ★
5	Tennessee	Terrence Hill Jr. (3.5★)	Tyler Lundblade (2.5★)	Juke Harris (3.5★)	Jalen Haralson (5.0★)	Miles Rubin (3.5★)	3.6 ★
8	Missouri	Jason Crowe Jr. (4.0★)	Jamier Jones (3.5★)	Trent Pierce (3.0★)	Bryson Tiller (4.0★)	Shawn Phillips (3.0★)	3.5 ★
8	Oklahoma	Xzayvier Brown (3.5★)	B.J. Edwards (3.0★)	Derrion Reid (4.0★)	Khani Rooths (3.5★)	Duke Brennan (3.5★)	3.5 ★
10	Alabama	Aden Holloway (3.5★)	Amari Allen (3.5★)	London Jemison (3.5★)	Drew Fielder (3.0★)	Brandon Garrison (3.5★)	3.4 ★
10	Mississippi State	Josh Hubbard (4.5★)	Tajuan Simpkins (3.0★)	King Grace (3.5★)	Kendyl Sanders (3.0★)	ND Okafor (3.0★)	3.4 ★
12	Georgia	Marcus "Smurf" Millender (3.0★)	Blue Cain (3.5★)	Freddie Dilione V (3.5★)	Kanon Catchings (3.5★)	James Scott (3.0★)	3.3 ★
12	South Carolina	Kory Mincy (3.0★)	Davion Hannah (4.0★)	Shane Blakeney (3.0★)	Camden Heide (3.5★)	Juan Fernández (3.0★)	3.3 ★
12	Texas	Isaiah Johnson (3.5★)	Austin Goosby (3.0★)	Elyjah Freeman (3.0★)	David Punch (3.5★)	Matas Vokietaitis (3.5★)	3.3 ★
15	Ole Miss	Adam "Budd" Clark (3.0★)	Ilias Kamardine (3.5★)	Patton Pinkins (3.0★)	Roman Siulepa (3.5★)	Santiago Trouet (3.0★)	3.2 ★
15	Vanderbilt	Tyler Tanner (3.0★)	Ace Glass (3.0★)	T.O. Barrett (3.0★)	Bangot Dak (3.5★)	Berke Buyuktuncel (3.5★)	3.2 ★

 

[Jtf2217]

Sky???? The same one that played here? How much did his walker cost the university

 

[BookofMormon]

florida is so good iowa beat them.... and they never blew us out...

They beat up on a really mediocre SEC last year. Most of the league underperformed in the tournament. Texas made up for some of it, Tennessee got lucky Jefferson got hurt. They stunk OOC the whole year. Just watch, they'll fart out a little and try and get hot near March.

 

[BookofMormon]

Aberdeen is very important to Florida. He was key to their championship run.....Denzel comes up big at the right time.

He wasn't that key in 2025. That said, he knows the system and the players and definitely a big difference.

 

[Wildcat_in_DC]

I disagree as Florida has been the best team in the SEC the last 2 years. Someone will have to show me they can beat them on the court instead of I think we can or random thoughts.

i'm not saying florida is bad, they will start the year as the #1 team in the best league in the country. but the reason why they won the title was they had elite guard play (started 3) and depth at guard to go along with excellent bigs. they dont have that on this roster. i think it will be hard to win big games with fland and klavar as your starting guards.

and if haugh, or chinyelu, or condon get in foul trouble.....who backs them up?

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Rank	Team	PG	SG	SF	PF	C	Team Avg
1	Kentucky	Zoom Diallo (4.0★)	Alex Wilkins (3.0★)	Milan Momcilovic (4.5★)	Mark Mitchell (4.5★)	Malachi Moreno (4.0★)	4.0 ★
1	Texas A&M	Jordan Pope (4.0★)	PJ Haggerty (5.0★)	Bryson Warren (3.5★)	Mackenzie Mgbako (4.5★)	Cade Phillips (3.0★)	4.0 ★
3	Arkansas	Jeremiah Wilkinson (3.0★)	Jordan Smith Jr. (5.0★)	Billy Richmond III (4.0★)	Miikka Muurinen (4.5★)	Cooper Bowser (3.0★)	3.9 ★
3	Florida	Boogie Fland (4.5★)	Urban Klavzar (3.5★)	Thomas Haugh (3.5★)	Alex Condon (4.5★)	Rueben Chinyelu (3.5★)	3.9 ★
5	Auburn	Tahaad Pettiford (4.5★)	Kevin Overton (3.0★)	Mantas Rubštavičius (3.5★)	Thomas Dowd (3.0★)	Owen Freeman (4.0★)	3.6 ★
5	LSU	Donovan Dent (4.5★)	Skyy Clark (3.5★)	Saliou Niang (3.0★)	Mouhamed Dioubate (3.5★)	Marcio Santos (3.5★)	3.6 ★
5	Tennessee	Terrence Hill Jr. (3.5★)	Tyler Lundblade (2.5★)	Juke Harris (3.5★)	Jalen Haralson (5.0★)	Miles Rubin (3.5★)	3.6 ★
8	Missouri	Jason Crowe Jr. (4.0★)	Jamier Jones (3.5★)	Trent Pierce (3.0★)	Bryson Tiller (4.0★)	Shawn Phillips (3.0★)	3.5 ★
8	Oklahoma	Xzayvier Brown (3.5★)	B.J. Edwards (3.0★)	Derrion Reid (4.0★)	Khani Rooths (3.5★)	Duke Brennan (3.5★)	3.5 ★
10	Alabama	Aden Holloway (3.5★)	Amari Allen (3.5★)	London Jemison (3.5★)	Drew Fielder (3.0★)	Brandon Garrison (3.5★)	3.4 ★
10	Mississippi State	Josh Hubbard (4.5★)	Tajuan Simpkins (3.0★)	King Grace (3.5★)	Kendyl Sanders (3.0★)	ND Okafor (3.0★)	3.4 ★
12	Georgia	Marcus "Smurf" Millender (3.0★)	Blue Cain (3.5★)	Freddie Dilione V (3.5★)	Kanon Catchings (3.5★)	James Scott (3.0★)	3.3 ★
12	South Carolina	Kory Mincy (3.0★)	Davion Hannah (4.0★)	Shane Blakeney (3.0★)	Camden Heide (3.5★)	Juan Fernández (3.0★)	3.3 ★
12	Texas	Isaiah Johnson (3.5★)	Austin Goosby (3.0★)	Elyjah Freeman (3.0★)	David Punch (3.5★)	Matas Vokietaitis (3.5★)	3.3 ★
15	Ole Miss	Adam "Budd" Clark (3.0★)	Ilias Kamardine (3.5★)	Patton Pinkins (3.0★)	Roman Siulepa (3.5★)	Santiago Trouet (3.0★)	3.2 ★
15	Vanderbilt	Tyler Tanner (3.0★)	Ace Glass (3.0★)	T.O. Barrett (3.0★)	Bangot Dak (3.5★)	Berke Buyuktuncel (3.5★)	3.2 ★

Ok wtf is that? You have Tyler tanner as a 3*? Boogie Fland as a 4.5? Thomas Haugh as a 3.5? If Mitchell and Milan are 4.5 then Moreno is a 3.5. Also Alex Wilkins is a 4.0, Ruben Chinleyou is a 4.0.... I could go on and on.

 

[NineIsOnTheWay]

I'm surprised Garrison and Dioubate will be starters, especially Garrison.

That feels so weird seeing Garrison start for Bama

 

[megablue]

That feels so weird seeing Garrison start for Bama

My thoughts, exactly !! ^^^

 

[dckala2_]

just don’t think Florida can repeat their title run with only their guards. Walter Clayton single handedly carried a team that should’ve lost in the s16.

Pope and every other coach should be on the ref’s *** to call their bigs for moving ‘close out’ screens.

for the cats, if pope can learn to play his best players and not go 14 deep we might have a shot.