When it comes to SEC Basketball, the amount of overall talent has increased in a big way recently. Who are the top returning players for the 2018-19 season?
College basketball is a game of turnover. Very few players make it to the end of their eligibility. High-level athletes will declare to the NBA draft after one strong season. If they are on the verge of being a professional player, they could still leave after another year or two of coaching. Even if they know they won’t be an NBA talent, they still might declare just to leave college and maximize their window to make money overseas.
Even if a player stays in college, it is too common for someone to transfer to a place where they will get more playing time. No matter what the reason, most teams enter every season looking completely different from where they ended the year before.
This is common for most SEC teams. Fans are used to learning unfamiliar faces in exhibition games. In last year’s draft, seven players were drafted. That doesn’t include the dozens of seniors, transfers, and early NCAA exits. There are hundreds of minutes’ worth of playing time that is now up for grabs.
However, when a player decides to stay, he is often rewarded in the college ranks. Being one of the older players in a league full of teenagers helps veterans shine. Having a veteran presence is often the difference in a team’s success. Just ask Villanova, a team full of veterans last year.
Despite losing so many players last year, the SEC has a lot of talent coming back. Here are the ten best returning SEC players.