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Gamecocks picked fourth in SEC East hoops poll
Downey on All-SEC first-team
Written by Seth Emerson
semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 10.19.09
CommentsSouth Carolina split the SEC East division title last year, and brings back four starters and five seniors. And yet the Gamecocks are picked to fall three spots, according to preseason voting by media covering the league.
That's the latest sign of how much the league is expected to improve this season.
The Gamecocks are picked to finish fourth in the East, behind Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, in voting that was announced Monday.
Senior guard Devan Downey made the preseason All-SEC first team, which shouldn't be a surprise since he made the first-team after his sophomore and junior seasons. Downey also received three votes, out of 25 total, for preseason player of the year.
Kentucky was the overwhelming pick to win the league, with Wildcat center Patrick Patterson earning the most votes (11) for preseason player of the year. Freshman John Wall finished second with six votes.
But Wall, the nation's top recruit, did not make the preseason first-team.
Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado also got three votes for POY, while Tennessee's Tyler Smith received two. Those two joined Patterson, Downey and Mississippi's Terrico White on the first team.
Wall was joined on the second team by LSU's Tasmin Mitchell, Vanderbilt's A.J. Ogilvy, Mississippi's Chris Warren and Auburn's DeWayne Reed.
Kentucky received 20 votes to win the league, followed by Mississippi State (three) and Tennessee (two).
South Carolina received 77 points in voting for the East, between third-place Vanderbilt (90) and fifth-place Florida (68). Georgia was a unanimous choice to finish last in the division.
The predicted order of finish in the West was Mississippi State, Mississippi, Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Auburn.
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