SEC Basketball was historically great last season, sending an NCAA-record 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament. The league was so great collectively for many reasons, including landing many quality players from the transfer portal. Some examples included Jason Edwards (Vanderbilt), Chaz Lanier (Tennessee), Sean Pedulla (Ole Miss), and many others.
Once again, the SEC has teams that have done well in the transfer portal. Here’s a look at three specific early team winners.
Auburn Tigers
Key incoming transfers
- Keyshawn Hall - 18.8 ppg and 7.1 rpg at UCF
- KeShawn Murphy - 11.7 ppg and 7.4 rpg at Mississippi State
- Kevin Overton - 7.8 ppg and 3.7 rpg at Texas Tech
Auburn had one of the best frontcourts last year with Dylan Cardwell and All-American Johni Broome. While they’re gone, the team added Hall, one of the best frontcourt scorers in the country, who had a 40+ point game at UCF last season. Murphy is a proven SEC body, while Overton shot nearly 40% from three-point range at Texas Tech and should give them a good floor spacer.
Kentucky Wildcats
- Jaland Lowe - 16.8 ppg and 5.8 apg at Pittsburgh
- Jayden Quaintaince - 9.4 ppg and 7.9 rpg at Arizona State
- Denzel Aberdeen - 7.7 ppg and 1.4 apg at Florida
The Wildcats were one of the busier programs in the transfer portal, landing key players at each position. Lowe, an All-ACC guard from Pitt, is one of the best returning ball-handlers in college basketball. Quaintance was the youngest player in the sport last year and was still an elite interior defender, blocking nearly three shots a game. Aberdeen's impact will be key, as he’s looking for a bigger role after transferring from Florida.
LSU Tigers
- Dedan Thomas - 15.6 ppg and 4.7 apg at UNLV
- Rashad King - 18.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg at Northeastern
- Marquel Sutton - 18.9 ppg and 7.9 rpg at Omaha
After finishing at the bottom of the SEC last season, the Tigers took some big swings in the portal, landing some of the biggest stat-stuffers in college basketball. Thomas has the chance to be one of the best point guards, while King and Sutton will be relied upon to provide production on the wings. How they play will determine whether LSU can be a postseason threat next year.