SEC Basketball: Breaking down each team’s 2018 recruiting class
Recruiting in SEC Basketball has picked up in a huge way the last few seasons. How did each team do when it comes to the 2018 class?
The SEC in terms of basketball has struggled over the years to become a competitive league compared to the other power conferences. Kentucky was always a national power but the others failed to consistently keep up to their standards.
But the programs made some big staff moves as of late, hiring coaches with great recruiting ties. It’s paid off, with last season the SEC sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament. Many of those teams had multiple top-100 players in their recent recruiting classes, bringing up the talent level to a place the conference hasn’t been at before.
What’s helped is that despite many of them being top-100 players, very few outside of Kentucky ends up being “one and dones” to the NBA Draft. Last season Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Missouri’s Michael Porter Jr. ended up being lottery picks, with the other young stars opting to return for another year. That’s why another year with at least eight bids is certainly possible for the SEC.
In this piece, I’ll be going team-by-team is this conference, taking a look at every 2018 commit. Which ones are most likely to make an impact? And who could be the most pleasant surprise from these respective classes? Most importantly, which SEC recruiting class rivals the Kentucky Wildcats the most?