SEC BASKETBALL NEEDS SOME HELP AND A CONSULTANT WILL NOT HELP 

         I think the SEC needs to do some serious soul searching about the sorry state of its basketball program. It appears that the SEC is at the bottom of the Power Five Major basketball leagues, and frankly, there are two or three mid-major conferences which might be better than the SEC as well. If you look at the NCAA and NIT results so far it proves my point. It's difficult to understand the slow demise of the SEC. Everyone has their opinion, and I'll offer you mine.

1. The SEC is all about football. It is about nothing else to most fans. I'm not denigrating women's sports or minor sports, but SEC fans don't care about anything else but football. I've had dozens of friends over the year say "I'm an Alabama fan, but I don't keep up with basketball." The implication is that sports other than football don't count. Is is possible that if you are the undisputed leader in NCAA football it hurts in other sports. I think perhaps it does. How much? I'm not sure.

2. The South doesn't produce great basketball players. You can rattle off a list of great players who played in the SEC. However; the SEC seems to have outstanding athletes who are not fundamentally sound as basketball players. Since I'm familiar with Alabama, I'll use them as an example. Other than Retin Obasohan, who is Bama's best player. The answer is Riley Norris. He understands the game. He's going to help you in all aspects of the sport. Is he a great player? Yes, I say he is, but he isn't a great athlete. The SEC seems to get fewer of tremendous athletes who are also great basketball players. Norris holds his own because he knows how to play the game. Don'ta Hall and Jimmie Taylor are outstanding athletes. Neither one of those hard working young men seems to understand how to play their position. For all I know both might end up being players and great athletes. Hall is more likely than Taylor. 

3. Southern high school basketball is a lesser sport. Basketball is the sport that is played between football season and spring camps. Not all schools are that way but proportionally the south does not produce as many basketball players as their football counterparts. Fundamentals are often lacking. Here's some proof. I have coaches ask me to help them with fundamentals annually. I'm talking about defensive position, how to use the baseline and sidelines in presses, and how to improve their shooting skills. Those are three areas that I think have hurt the SEC. But there is one more than hurts the SEC. I call it the ESPN effect. 

    Kids no longer have the same loyalty toward local or in-state schools as in the past. Turn on the television and PAC 12, Big 10, and other conferences don't seem so far away. Mom and Dad won't miss seeing any games. Students can broaden their horizons by playing in New York, LA, or Lawrence. The ESPN has almost produced super leagues. Those schools may not play in the same conferences. Those schools are the center of the attention of all players who tune in on the TV. Right now the SEC looks like a bad hair-cut on prom night. 

Next up: Does the Tide need to model their program on Gonzaga?