Tucker’s Preseason SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Part 1
Credit: University of Georgia Athletics
By Tucker Harlin
We’re right in the middle of football season but basketball will be upon us before you know it! In honor of the season tipping off in a little under a month I’ve decided to release my official SEC preseason power rankings for 2024-25.
I’ve looked at all 16 rosters to form the basis for my rankings. There’s a lot we simply won’t know about each team until they get on the floor, so this list could be fuzzy in some places near the bottom.
I’m looking specifically at results from last season, key returnees, and key transfers. I do mention incoming freshman a lot, but they don’t hold nearly the same value as transfers anymore.
I’m ranking these in ascending order, so don’t freak out if you don’t see a team that should be near the top in this group.
16. GEORGIA
I’m basing my placement of Georgia in last as a result of program history and the temperature on Mike White’s chair.
For one, we’re hovering right around a decade since the last time Georgia found its way into an NCAA tournament, the longest active drought in the SEC. Second, it’s a red flag if a program doesn’t sound the alarm bells when you take its coach.
Georgia loses three of its four best scoring guards in Noah Thomasson, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, and Justin Hill. Additionally, rim protector Russel Tchewa graduated and R.J. Melendez is elsewhere in the SEC.
Of the returnees, sophomores Silas Demary Jr. and Blue Cain will be expected to do the most. Demary started regularly for the Bulldogs and scored double digits about every other game while the Knoxville native Cain was a key bench piece for a lot of the season.
The Bulldogs have brought in five transfers this season, two of which played at the power five level.
SEC fans will remember Tyrin Lawrence for his heroics at Vanderbilt the past two seasons. R.J. Godfrey was a useful defender on the Clemson team that lost to Alabama in the Elite Eight.
A pair of Mt. St. Mary’s transfers in Dakota Leffew and De’Shayne Montgomery head to Athens this season. Both are scoring guards, averaging 18 and 13 points for the Mountaineers last year.
There is a pair of freshman to keep an eye on in Asa Newell and Somto Cyril. Newell is a five star power forward out of Florida while Cyril is a four star center from the Atlanta area.
15. OKLAHOMA
The Sister Jean magic Porter Moser had at Loyola Chicago has died out at Oklahoma.
The Sooners started last season on a high note, finding their way into the Top 10 in December. But after a loss to North Carolina in the Jumpman Invitational, the Sooners middled in the Big 12 and were left on the wrong side of the bubble in March.
Senior forward Sam Godwin is the top returnee for the Sooners in 2024-25, averaging just shy of seven points and over five rebounds per game.
It’s safe to say Oklahoma is going to feature many transfers in its lineup this season.
Former Alabama forward Mo Wague and St. John’s transfer Glenn Taylor Jr. are the two who played at power five schools last season. Neither was very productive last season.
Guards Jadon Jones, Duke Miles, Brycen Goodine, and Kobe Elvis all transfer to Oklahoma from conferences outside the power five realm. Elvis is the biggest name in the group as he was an important piece to the Dayton team that made the NCAA tournament last season
14. LSU
Matt McMahon is in a “prove it” year in Baton Rouge this season.
McMahon did what he could with the few pieces left from Will Wade’s rushed exit and a few trusty transfers he brought with him from Murray State in his first season. Last season was a step in the right direction but the Tigers weren’t in the NCAA tournament conversation.
The Bayou Bengals will be in search of options to replace the scoring from guard Jordan Wright and forward Will Baker. Guards Tyrell Ward and Jalen Reed along with forward Derek Fountain, none of which matched Wright and Baker’s production last season.
The Tigers are bringing in three guards out of the portal in Cam Carter, Jordan Sears (not related to Mark), and Dji Bailey.
Carter is a transfer from Kansas State who was the second best scorer for the Wildcats with 14.6 per game. Sears balled out at UT Martin last year, averaging just shy of 22 points per game. Bailey comes over from a strong Richmond squad for whom he scored just over 10 points per game.
LSU adds four freshman to its mix this year, three of which are four stars. Curtis Givens III is a four star point guard from Florida, Vyctorious Miller is a four star shooter from Arizona, and power forward Robert Miller is the highest rated signee from Texas.
13. MISSOURI
The year after you surprise the league with a run to the NCAA tournament is always complicated because of the target it puts on your back.
Dennis Gates learned that lesson, but you’d be foolish to forecast an 0-18 SEC record ahead of last season. To make matter worse, the Tigers lose three of their top four offensive producers in Sean East, Nick Honor, and Noah Carter.
Missouri does bring back a strong scorer in Tamar Bates from a season ago. Bates averaged 13.5 points per game in his first season in CoMo after transferring from Indiana. Bates’ season high was the 36 he scored in a home loss to Florida.
The Tigers acquired a strong mixture of portal acquisitions and incoming freshman to revamp the 2024-25 Missouri Tigers.
Tony Perkins and Mark Mitchell are among the top transfers to watch. Perkins was a key point guard for four season under Fran McCaffery at Iowa while Mitchell spent two seasons at Duke and provided it with a consistent scoring threat inside the arc.
Josh Gray is a transfer from South Carolina to keep an eye on. Gray provided a physical inside presence for the Gamecocks to go with Collin Murray-Boyles last season.
The other two transfers of note are a pair of steady scoring guards from mid majors. They are Jacob Crews from UT Martin and Marques Warrick from Northern Kentucky, both of which averaged between 19-20 points per game.
Four four-stars will join the Tigers out of high school this season. Seven-footers Peyton Marshall and Trent Burns will presumably back Gray up underneath while small forwards Annor Boateng and Marcus Allen hope to find a way into the mix.
