With college basketball tipping off this week (finally) and Kentucky playing its first game on Friday, the wait is over. However, we’ve spent almost all of our energy here on the Pinkie thinking about the ‘Cats and the players that will take court. This week, we will shift our focus to the competition in the SEC.

First up, we will take a look at the SEC West.

Over the past few years, the SEC West has consistently lagged behind the East. Last year, things were a bit different. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so much that the West took a step forward, rather both the East and West were comparably awful.

Here are last year’s standings in the West:

1 – LSU 27-8 (13-3)
2 – Auburn 24-12 (10-6)
3 – Mississippi State 23-13 (9-7)
4 – Alabama 18-13 (7-9)
5 – Mississippi 16-15 (7-9)
6 – Arkansas 14-16 (2-14)

I don’t think there is any clearer indication that SEC was down last year than the fact that Auburn finished second. Auburn was a desperately undersized team that couldn’t shoot threes consistently. In a normal year, that Auburn team finishes closer to 6-10 than 10-6

Things figure to be different in the conference this year, in both the east and the West for three reasons: good new coaches (Coach Cal at UK, Anthony Grant at Alabama, and Mark Fox at Georgia), big name returnees who opted to return to school, and some phenomenal newcomers.

Before we get to my predictions on the order of finish, I’m going to name the best in the West in a few different categories.

Best Player – Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State)

This is a tough one. Tasmin Mitchell and Michael Washington both merit consideration, but I think Varnado has the biggest impact on his team and the games he plays because of his play on the defensive end. His offense has improved every year he has spent in college and it will continue to improve this season.

Best Coach – Trent Johnson (LSU)

LSU benefited from a weak conference last year, but you have to give a lot of credit to Trent Johnson for the work he did to turn around LSU. John Brady was one of the worst basketball coaches in SEC history, but he knew how to bring in talent. Last season, LSU actually did some good things with that talent.

However, by the end of this season, I think that we will be calling Anthony Grant the best coach in the SEC West.

Best Athlete – Terrico White (Ole Miss)

Terrico is not a big dude, but he can get up and down the floor and finish at the rack.

Best Freshman – Renardo Sidney (Mississippi State)

We’re not sure yet if Renardo will be able to play, but if he does he is a big time player.

Now, here’s how I think the SEC West will shake out:

1st - Mississippi State

Mississippi State will quickly go from a team that could be a threat in the SEC to a team that could make noise on the national scene if Renardo Sidney is cleared to play.

However, I think Rick Stansbury has enough to win the West even without Sidney. The Bulldogs won the SEC Tournament last year with a perimeter oriented team that played around Jarvis Varnado and they return all 5 starters.

Dee Bost, Barry Stewart, Ravern Johnson, and Phil Turner were the four starting guards in the Bulldog attack. Mississippi State lived and died by the three point shot last season and frankly, they were much better when they didn’t just hoist up shots all over the place.

Emerging late last season was 6-8 forward Kodi Augustus, who allowed the Bulldogs to play a bit more conventionally.

The Bulldogs ceiling this season depends on whether another big man can play effectively alongside Varnado. An eligible Renardo Sidney is the easiest answer, but Stansbury landed another freshman big man in John Riek. Riek is a bit of a project, so this may not be the year it happens for him.

2nd – Ole Miss

Andy Kennedy had his squad well positioned to contend in the SEC last season, but injuries did them in. Their best player, point guard Chris Warren, went down, but ironically, it could help them this season. The team had to learn to play without him, and Terrico White stepped up.

Warren is now back and the Rebs are thinking big.

Last season, they really didn’t get much production from their big men (which was a theme among SEC teams last year) and they will be looking for freshman Reginald Buckner to come in right away and fill the void.

3rd - LSU

The Tigers lose their best player in Marcus Thornton, but teams don’t just forget how to win games, and they won a lot of games last year. Tasmin Mitchell is one of the toughest matchups in the conference and Trent Johnson will look to build on the momentum of last season.

4th – Alabama

Anthony Grant hasn’t had the chance to turn Alabama around quite yet, but trust me, he will. I believe that Grant is going to be at Alabama for a long time. He will rely on super sophomore JaMychal Green as he begins his work. They return 4 starters with Alonzo Gee being the only loss.

5th – Arkansas

Arkansas better than the 5th most talented team in the SEC West, but John Pelphrey has turned a good job into a bit of a disaster in his first couple years on the job. All 5 starters return, but I’m not sure I would want all my starters returning after last season’s collapse.

6th – Auburn

Auburn loses three starters in Korvotney Barber, Quantez Robertson, and Rasheem Barrett, but DeWayne Robertson returns for Jeff Lebo and will contend for All SEC honors.

Keep an eye out tomorrow for Nick’s look at the SEC East.