Men's Basketball Picked Second In SEC East; Calathes Picked Preseason First Team All-SEC
Monday, October 20, 2008 | Men's Basketball
The University of Florida men's basketball team was selected to finish second in the SEC East according to the 2008-09 men's basketball Preseason Media Poll, announced on Monday, while sophomore guard Nick Calathes was selected on the five-man Preseason All-SEC First Team.
It marks the second straight year the Gators have been selected second heading into the season.
Tennessee, was picked to win the SEC East and was also predicted to defend its 2008 SEC championship title. The Volunteers earned 23 first-place votes, beating out Florida's five and Kentucky's two as the SEC Champion. Kentucky, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Georgia round out the predicted order of finish in the East.
Alabama was tabbed as the preseason pick in the SEC West, receiving first-place votes. LSU received the same amount of first-place votes, finished second overall in SEC West balloting. Ole Miss was picked to finish third, followed by Mississippi State, Auburn, and Arkansas.
Tennessee Junior forward Tyler Smith earned Preseason SEC Men's Basketball Player of The Year leading all vote-getters with 17. Kentucky sophomore Patrick Patterson finished second with nine, South Carolina junior Devan Downey received two votes, and LSU senior Marcus Thornton and Calathes each earned one vote.
Calathes was a Preseason All-SEC First Team pick after winning SEC Newcomer of the Year, SEC co-Freshman of the Year, leading the Gators in scoring at 15.3 points per game, and the SEC in assists at 6.1 per contest.
The Gators began practice for the upcoming season last Friday and are returning four of five starters from last year's squad that went 24-12 and reached the NIT semifinals.
Preseason Media Poll
(First-Place Votes in Parentheses; *-unanimous selection)
SEC Champion: Tennessee (23); Florida (5); Kentucky (2)
Eastern Division
2007-08
Poll SEC Overall
Tennessee (23) 172 14-2 31-5
Florida (5) 143 8-8 24-12
Kentucky (2) 130 12-4 18-13
Vanderbilt 88 10-6 26-8
South Carolina 56 5-11 14-18
Georgia 41 4-12 17-17
Western Division
2007-08
Poll SEC Overall
Alabama (11) 151 5-11 17-16
LSU (11) 147 6-10 13-18
Ole Miss (8) 136 7-9 24-11
Miss. State 91 12-4 23-11
Auburn 54 4-12 14-16
Arkansas 51 9-7 23-12
FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky -- 6-9 235 So. Huntington, W.Va.
Tyler Smith, Tennessee F 6-7 215 Jr. Pulaski, Tenn.
Nick Calathes, Florida G/F 6-6 194 So. Casselberry, Fla.
Devan Downey, South Carolina G 5-9 175 Jr. Chester, S.C.
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt C 6-11 250 So. Sydney, Australia
