It is almost miraculous when I write an SEC column and there is no mention of Kentucky. Well, there goes that. I mentioned the Wildcats, but I have hit their various players in previous Early Return reports and even Terrence Jones doesn't really deserve a mention in this report of big players. The top heavy conference has plenty of bigs worth mentioning. Another thing worth mentioning is how leagues derive their positional eligibility. Some use the official website for the team and others use ESPN. Overall, I don't think it matters as long as things are consistent. Centers are hard to find and I think that is ok. A few of the players in this list are classified as centers, but all of them could be. It just depends on the player and the team.
Arnett Moultrie, forward, Mississippi State
Moultrie may be my favorite player in the conference. He is just so steady and excellent. The 6-foot-11 UTEP transfer has missed three games due to tendinitis in his knee, but he has been a double-double machine that has taken the onus off of fat Renardo Sidney. Moultrie had four straight double-doubles and seven this season. Other than West Virginia and Baylor, the competition has not been strong. Moultrie had eight points and ten rebounds in the game against Baylor. He and Sidney clogged the lane effectively, but Moultrie did not score very effectively against the Baylor bigs. The big man should lead the SEC in rebounding and be able to score regularly against smaller opponents.
Patric Young, forward/center, Florida Gators
I have two trains of thought when it comes to Young, and the truth is somewhere in the middle. First, I think he is criminal underused because the Gator guards don't like to give up their shots. Second, I think he might be slightly overrated because he isn't good enough to dominate the paint like a 6-foot-9, 245 lb warrior should. Young had a tremendous game against Arizona on Dec. 7 in an overtime win. Kenny Boynton, Jr. and Erving Walker gave Young plenty of missed shots to clean up and he took advantage with 25 points. He has only played more than 30 minutes twice this season and his lack of court time somewhat limits his productivity. Given his 25.7 minutes, his 11.3 points and 7.3 rebounds aren't bad, but one wonders what he would do if given more minutes (which are often limited by foul trouble) and shots.
JaMychal Green, forward, Alabama Crimson Tide
The Alabama dynamic duo in the frontcourt has more or less survived the nonconference slate. Green has been limited by elbow, knee, and shoulder injuries. He missed one game in November and the Tide's last game, a win over Oklahoma State. I wouldn't be shocked if he got limited minutes against Jacksonville on Thursday. The 6-foot-8 senior had scored at least 20 points in three of his last five games and hit 66% of his shots during that stretch. Shots won't be as easy to make against SEC teams that know Green better than any others, but he certainly didn't slow down during last year's conference slate. Green will never be a superstar, but he is a very solid college player.
Tony Mitchell, forward, Alabama Crimson Tide
Early on, it looked Mitchell had jumped Green to be the Tide's most valuable player. The 6-foot-6 junior has slowed down a bit and was hampered by a knee injury for a few games. He is certainly the higher flyer of the two Tide forwards and is more apt to the have the dunk of the day. Mitchell is a greater volume shooter than Green as well, but he spends too much time on the perimeter. He is only making 33% of his three-pointers and has 2-for-12 in his last three games. Mitchell is also a poor free throw shooter, making just 58.3%. The two forwards mesh very well on the defensive end and Mitchell is averaging more than a steal and a block (1.4). The Georgian had the best run of his career last February, so the best may be yet to come.
Justin Hamilton, center, LSU Tigers
Could it be that coach Trent Johnson has the Tiger program headed in the right direction after three full years? At Stanford, he used the Lopez twins and it appears that he is getting the most out of the 6-foot-11 Hamilton. The Iowa State transfer has become the Tigers' most consistent scorer. Over his last four games, he has averaged 13.8 points. His minutes per game average is trending toward 30 and he is hitting 51% of his field goals. Hamilton was able to take advantage of his size against Marquette for 13 points in 31 minutes. It will be interesting to see what he can do against the trees of the SEC. Prior to conference play, the Tigers play a good game against Virginia on Jan. 2. That should be a good test to determine just how good they are.
Rob Chubb, center, Auburn Tigers
My guess is that any value that Chubb has a second tier center will disappear during conference play. He has had some solid games thus far this season, but they were against the likes of McNeese State (21 points in the opener) and Florida A&M (another 21 points). In the other nine games, Chubb has scored more than ten points three times and been held to five or less four times (including his last two games). Chubb provides occasional rebounding, but has been in nearly constant foul trouble. The 6-foot-10 junior has accrued at least three fouls in all but two games and fouled out after 14 minutes against Long Beach State on Dec. 23. You might as well get ahead of the curve and dump Chubb now.
Festus Ezeli, center, Vanderbilt Commodores
For all intents and purposes, we haven't seen a healthy Ezeli this season. He did appear in two games after his knee injury (and suspension). He played surprisingly well against Davidson with 15 points in 21 minutes before fouling out. His knee started to bother him again on Dec. 17 and he had just four points in 22 minutes. He is slated to play against Marquette, but he will likely be limited as the team makes sure that he doesn't have a relapse. If you were counting on Ezeli this season, you will have to be patient. It may be another month before he is playing starter's minutes and there is no guarantee that he will be able to return to his junior season's stats of 13.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks.