The SEC last year had one of, if not the greatest, season any single conference could possibly have. The SEC was able to get 14 of their 16 teams into March Madness, 4 of those teams made it to the Elite 8, and 2 of them made the Final 4. And to top it all off, they would also have the national champions, the Florida Gators. It's unlikely we will ever see a conference this good ever again, but here is how the SEC did this offseason in a goal to replicate what they did this past season once more.
Alabama Crimson Tide - B
Ever since Nate Oats has been the coach at Alabama he has made them a perennial tournament team every year. This last year was no different as he would lead his Crimson Tide to a record of 28-9 and an Elite 8 appearance before losing to Duke to officially end their season.
This offseason for Alabama was one of the weaker offseasons they've had in a while. Nate Oats was able to get 4 high school commits and 4 transfer commits, which isn't too bad until you look deeper into who they got. In the transfer portal Oats was able to pick up 4 solid players but they aren't really much more than solid, those players being Keitenn Bristow from Tarleton State, Jalil Bethea from Miami, Noah Williamson from Bucknell, and Taylor Bol Bowen from FSU. All of those players are very solid, but with the lack of star power currently on the roster, those players will be expected to do more than they should be expected to.
The high school recruiting scene was good bringing in 4 commits, all coming in as 4-star players. All 4 players are ranked between 35-115 in their class on 247 sports. The recruiting class is headlined by 6-8 forward from Oakdale, Connecticut, London Jemison. Oats was also able to bring in a few more solid players in Davion Hannah, a 6-5 guard from Branson, Missouri, Amari Allen, a 6-7 forward from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Collins Onyejiaka, a 6-10 center from Boston, Massachusetts.
The biggest positive to this offseason for Alabama is who they are returning, while they are not bringing back any of their major pieces like Mark Sears and Grant Nelson, Oats was still able to retain a solid amount of talent, including the likes of Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, Aiden Sherrell, Latrell Wrightsell Jr, and Houston Mallette.
While this offseason wasn't the strongest for Alabama, it still wasn't that bad. The only real flaw is star power, but if one of their good pieces takes a jump to being a star player, like Philon or Holloway, then they could once again be one of the top teams in the country