SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

After winning just six games and going 1-17 in SEC Basketball play, Georgia parted ways with head coach Mike Crean. His replacement is a familiar face in Mike White, who comes from Florida after his team missed out on the NCAA Tournament and potentially was set to suffer a similar fate himself this offseason.

His new team is far less talented than the one White just left but there are still some good players to work with on this roster. It starts with Kario Oquendo, who quietly was one of the best rookies in the SEC last season. He led Georgia with 15.2 ppg on 45% shooting from the field. The 6’4 shooting guard had 20+ points on 10 occasions, including a season-high 33 points at Texas A&M.

The next two top scorers are also back for the Bulldogs in Braelen Bridges (12.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg) and Jaylin Ingram (10.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg). These two forwards are joined by Syracuse backup center Frank Anselem and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, who at OK State was a 6’9 double-digit scorer as a freshman but took a step back last season. There’s more depth in the frontcourt this time around but it’s still not clear if any of them can guard the elite tier of centers in the SEC.

The backcourt trio with Oquendo, Bradley transfer Terry Roberts and North Texas transfer Mardrez McBride will certainly be an upgrade over last year but there are still a ton of questions. And one is Coach White’s ability to make this roster a success and overachieve, something he couldn’t do at Florida enough.