Busting Brackets
Fansided

SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

By Caleb Hightower

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 12: The arena sits unused after the announcement of the cancellation of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament has been cancelled due to the growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 12: The arena sits unused after the announcement of the cancellation of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament has been cancelled due to the growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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AUBURN, ALABAMA – FEBRUARY 12: John Petty Jr. #23 of the Alabama Crimson Tide (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
AUBURN, ALABAMA – FEBRUARY 12: John Petty Jr. #23 of the Alabama Crimson Tide (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

team. 523. . . . Crimson Tide . 9

2019-20 SEC Record: 8-10 

Although I anticipated Kira Lewis Jr’s decision to enter his name into the NBA draft, and not remove it, I’m still trying to picture how Alabama’s offense will look without him. Alabama ranked 3rd in points per game scored (82.0) last season because of their ability to get out and run after missed shots, and quickly push the ball up the floor after made baskets. And who was the guy that was responsible for making sure this happened regularly? Yep, you guessed it, Kira Lewis Jr.

When he played at Alabama, he was excellent at reading the opposing defenses body language, and knowing when to take the ball coast to coast, and finish at the rim. Frankly, I am not sure if any of Alabama’s current guards can come in, and immediately fill the big shoes that Lewis left behind.

On the bright side, they have two of their top 3 three-point shooters from a season ago returning (John Petty Jr, and Jaden Shackelford) which will help keep the Crimson Tide in the hunt. Their glue guy, Herbert Jones is also returning, and just describing him as a game-changer wouldn’t even do him justice.

He is a guy that played through a left wrist injury for a good portion of conference play and still managed to do all of the little things (such as hustling for loose balls and sacrificing his body on defense) to give Alabama the spark it sometimes needed. I think that a 9th place finish is fairly realistic for Alabama right now, but I wouldn’t be overly surprised if they proved me wrong in the end.

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