SEC Basketball Preview: Everyone chasing Alabama, Auburn

November 8, 2024

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By Lee J. Green

Call this one the Iron Basketbowl.

Talk of Alabama and Auburn in November mostly revolves around the storied Iron Bowl football rivalry. But as SEC basketball teams tip off their games this month, the Crimson Tide and Tigers are predicted to finish one and two in the conference — and on Nov. 11, The Athletic’s Top 25 had Alabama and Auburn as Nos. 1 and 2 in the nation.

After making it to their first Final Four in program history last season, Alabama was ranked second in the Associated Press preseason poll and was picked by the media at SEC Media Days in Birmingham last month to win the conference.

“We don’t concern ourselves with preseason rankings. Our focus is 100 percent on building off what we accomplished last year,” said Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats. “We have some unfinished business.”

The Crimson Tide faces one of the toughest schedules in the nation, playing 15 of their 31 regular season games against teams ranked in the preseason top 25.

Alabama returns all-American guard and scoring leader Mark Sears. The Tide led the nation in scoring last season and boasts the only roster in the nation featuring six players that have scored 1,000 points or more in their careers (Sears, forward Houston Mallette, forward Grant Nelson, center Clifford Omoruyi, guard Latrell Wrightsell, Jr., and guard Chris Youngblood).

Richard Hendrix, an All-SEC Alabama forward from 2005-2008 who is now an analyst/broadcaster for the SEC Network, said he is optimistic about Alabama’s chances in 2024-25. “If the transfers and recruits can gel with the returning players and they can improve on defense, I like our chances to go deep in the tournament,” he said.

Hendrix played for Maccabi Tel Aviv from 2010-12 and again in 2016. He said that “those were some of the best years of my life and playing career. The people would take me into their homes and were so inviting to me. And there are some very passionate basketball fans in Israel.”

He said he still has friends in Israel he talks with regularly, including his Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach David Blatt, who is also a former head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers; and Blatt’s son, Tamir, who currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv and was the MVP of round one of the Euroleague playoffs last season.

On the way to meeting the media at SEC Basketball Media Days in October, Bruce Pearl spoke at the US-Israel Education Association meeting in Birmingham. The Jewish head coach of the No. 11-ranked Auburn Tigers has long been an advocate for Israel and took his team there in the summer of 2022.

“We’re really grateful for the unified support Israel has gotten from our communities across the (SEC conference footprint) and fellow Zionists,” said Pearl. The USIEA was instrumental in lobbying Congress to get more funding for the Iron Dome, and Pearl is now on their board.

Pearl also spoke at an Oct. 7 commemoration event at Auburn and still meets with students on The Plains for his regular Bagels with Bruce.

On the court, Auburn is led by 6’10 all-American forward/center Johni Broome and senior guard Denver Jones from Huntsville.

The Tigers also have one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation. They face three of the four teams in the Final 4 last season — Alabama, Purdue and NCAA Champion Connecticut.

“Every year it’s a new challenge. I’m 64 years old, but every year I feel like I’m a new coach and a teacher,” said Pearl, whose son Stephen is an assistant coach for the Tigers. “I enjoy the process of helping to mold successful young men on and off the court. We want to create an environment that our kids can thrive in.”

Florida Gators’ Head Coach Todd Golden also considers Pearl a mentor. Golden and Stephen Pearl played for the U.S. team Bruce Pearl coached that won gold at the World Maccabiah Games in 2009.

“Bruce, Stephen and I are like family,” he said. “We go back so far and I’m grateful for everything they have done as friends and mentors.”

He said the Pearls has helped him acclimate to the SEC when he came to Florida in 2022. Golden’s Gators are ranked 21st nationally and return their leading scorer, All-SEC guard Walter Clayton, Jr.

After graduating from St. Mary’s College, Golden played for Maccabi Haifa from 2008-10. “I’m grateful for the time I spent in Israel. It taught me a lot about myself and about my Judaism,” he said. “I also learned from some great coaches there and that has helped me to grow as a coach here.”

The SEC has a record nine teams ranked in the AP Top 25. “In all my time coaching in the SEC, this is the strongest and most competitive the conference has ever been,” said Pearl, who also coached at Tennessee. “We know that we have to bring it every game.”

Here is the predicted order of finish for the SEC as voted on by national media:

1 – Alabama Crimson Tide

2 – Auburn Tigers

3 – Tennessee Volunteers

4 – Arkansas Razorbacks

5 – Texas A&M Aggies

6 – Florida Gators

7 – Texas Longhorns

8 – Kentucky Wildcats

9 – Ole Miss Rebels

10 – Mississippi State Bulldogs|

11 – South Carolina Gamecocks