SEC Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2018-19

By Brian Rauf | Jun 26, 2018

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 22: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats speaks to PJ Washington #25 in the first half against the Kansas State Wildcats during the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at Philips Arena on March 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

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GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 01: Chris Silva #30 of the South Carolina Gamecocks goes up for a dunk in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four Semifinal at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 1, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Steppig – Pool/Getty Images) /

12. South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina is only one year removed from making their Cinderella Final Four run in 2017 but Frank Martin’s squad is still really far from being competitive in the SEC.

The Gamecocks were dealt a significant blow when P.J. Dozier surprisingly left school following that Final Four run and when guard Rakym Felder was dismissed from the program, and they haven’t quite been able to recover.

Chris Silva (14.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg) is an all-conference caliber player but the Gamecocks don’t have any real talent to surround him with. Maik Kotsar has proven to be nothing more than a role player and guard Hassani Gravett seemed to plateau last year.

With very little depth, South Carolina is hoping that Justin Minaya (7.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg) takes a major step forward and that freshman Jermaine Couisnard has a larger impact than expected.

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