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The Best All-Time SEC Basketball Players by Position

This is my all-time SEC basketball team, with players listed by position. Please note that these rankings are based on college performances alone, so a player like Anthony Davis who went to the NBA early may rank below players like Bailey Howell and Ernie Grunfeld, who starred for three or four years.

FIRST TEAM ALL-TIME SEC BASKETBALL LEGENDS

Center: Shaquille O'Neal (two-time SEC player of the year, LSU, 1991-1992), aka "Shaq"
Power Forward: Charles Barkley (SEC player of the year, Auburn, 1984), aka "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound"
Small Forward: Bernard King (three-time SEC player of the year, Tennessee, 1975-1977, averaged 25.8 ppg), aka "Bernie"
Point Guard: Peter Maravich (three-time SEC player of the year, LSU, 1968-1970, averaged 44.2 ppg), aka "Pistol"
Shooting Guard: Johnny Neumann (Ole Miss, 1971, averaged 40.1 ppg), aka "Johnny Reb"
Swingman: Dominique Wilkins (SEC player of the year, Georgia, 1981, averaged 21.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg), aka "The Human Highlight Film"

NOTE: Kings reigned in the SEC from 1975 to 1979, as Bernard King was the SEC player of the year three times, and was followed by Reggie King, a two-time winner of the league's highest award.

NOTE: "Pistol" Pete Maravich is the NCAA's all-time scoring leader with an average of 44.2 ppg. Johnny "Reb" Neumann is the second-leading scorer at a major college, averaging 40.1 ppg in his only season. The two biggest scorers in major college basketball followed each other, dominating the scoring charts from 1968 to 1971, although Neumann declared hardship after his only varsity season at Ole Miss.

SECOND TEAM ALL-TIME SEC BASKETBALL LEGENDS

Center: Bailey Howell (two-time consensus All-American, Miss. State, 1958-1959, averaged 27.1 ppg, 17.0 rpg)
Power Forward: Bob Pettit, (three-time all-SEC, LSU, 1952-1954, averaged 27.4 ppg, 14.4 rpg)
Small Forward: Dan Issel (two-time All-American, Kentucky, 1967-1970, averaged 25.8 ppg, 12.9 rpg)
Point Guard: Chris Jackson (two-time SEC player of the year, LSU, 1989-1990, averaged 29.0 ppg, 3.6 apg)
Shooting Guard: Kevin Grevey (two-time SEC player of the year, Kentucky, 1973-1975)
Swingman: Ernie Grunfeld (SEC player of the year, Tennessee, 1977, averaged 22.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg)

NOTE: Ernie Grunfeld was somewhat overshadowed by his superstar teammate Bernard King, but might have been a three- or four-time winner of the SEC player of the year otherwise. Grunfeld was a nearly perfect swingman, strong enough to play small forward, smooth enough to play shooting guard).

THIRD TEAM ALL-TIME SEC BASKETBALL LEGENDS

Center: Clyde Lee (two-time SEC player of the year, Vanderbilt, 1964-1965)
Power Forward: Anthony Davis (SEC player of the year, Kentucky, 2012), aka "Unibrow"
Small Forward: Kenny Walker (two-time SEC player of the year, Kentucky, 1985-1986), aka "Sky Walker"
Point Guard: John Wall (SEC player of the year, Kentucky, 2010)
Shooting Guard: Rex Chapman (Kentucky, 1986-1988)
Swingman: Dale Ellis, (two-time SEC player of the year, Tennessee, 1982-1983)

NOTE: Rex Chapman did not suffer from "white man's disease."

NOTE: Dale Ellis was an unusual swingman. He played mostly inside while at Tennessee, then became one of the early star three-point specialists in the NBA.

HIGH HONORABLE MENTION

Grant Williams, pf, (Tennessee, 2018-2020, a potential three-time SEC player of the year)
Reggie King, sf, (two-time SEC player of the year, Alabama, 1978-1979), aka "Mule"
Corliss Williamson, pf, (two-time SEC player of the year, Arkansas, 1994-1995)
Allan Houston, sg, (Tennessee, 1989-1983, averaged 20+ ppg all four seasons)
Glenn Davis, LSU, SEC player of the year 2006, aka "Big Baby"
Chris Lofton, sg, Tennessee, SEC player of the year 2007
Kyle Macy, sg, Kentucky, SEC player of the year 1980

HONORABLE MENTION

Leon Douglas, c, Alabama (a powerhouse center)
Robert Horry, sf/pf, Alabama
Wendell Hudson, sg, Alabama
Antonio McDyess, pf, Alabama
Derrick McKey, pf, Alabama
Trevor Releford, pg, Alabama
James Robinson, sg, Alabama
Collin Sexton, sg, Alabama
Latrell Sprewell, sg, Alabama

Ronnie Brewer, sg/sf, Arkansas
Todd Day, sg, Arkansas
Joe Johnson, pg/sg/sf, Arkansas
Lee Mayberry, pg, Arkansas
Oliver Miller, c, Arkansas
Sidney Moncrief, sg, Arkansas
Bobby Portis, pf, Arkansas
Alvin Robertson, sg, Arkansas

Doc Robinson, pg, Auburn
John Mengelt, sg, Auburn
Mike Mitchell, sf, Auburn
Chuck Person, sf, Auburn, (aka "The Rifleman")
Wesley Person, sg, Auburn

Bradley Beal, sg, Florida
Udonis Haslem, pf, Florida
Al Horford, pf, Florida
Corey Brewer, sg, Florida
David Lee, c, Florida
Vernon Maxwell, sg, Florida
Mike Miller, sg/sf, Florida
Joakim Noah, c, Florida
Chandler Parsons, sf, Florida
Jason Williams, pg, Florida
Neal Walk, pf, Florida

Vern Fleming, sg, Georgia
Litterial Green, pg, Georgia
Jarvis Hayes, sg, Georgia
Alec Kessler, c, Georgia
Yante Matten, pf, Georgia

Louie Dampier, sg, Kentucky (one of the best long-range shooters of all time)
Tony Delk, pg, Kentucky
Jack Givens, sg, Kentucky
Jamal Mashburn, sf, Kentucky
Ron Mercer, sg/sf, Kentucky
Pat Riley, sg/sf, Kentucky (yes, the famous NBA coach was a player!)

Erick Dampier, c, Miss. State
Dontae Jones, sg, Miss. State
Jeff Malone, sg, Miss. State
Jarvis Varnado, c/pf, Miss. State (aka "Swat")
Darryl Wilson, sg, Miss. State (aka "Super D")

DeMarre Carroll, pf, Missouri
Derrick Chievous, sf, Missouri
Phil Pressey, pg, Missouri
Jon Sundvold, pg/sg, Missouri

Carlos Clark, sg, Ole Miss
Gerald Glass, sf, Ole Miss (aka "World Class Glass")
Marshall Henderson, sg, Ole Miss
Don Kessinger, pg, Ole Miss (better known as a great defensive shortstop)
Stefan Moody, sg, Ole Miss
John Stroud, pf, Ole Miss
Elston Turner, sg, Ole Miss

Alex English, sf, South Carolina
John Roche, pg, South Carolina
Sindarius Thornwell, sg, South Carolina

Kyle Alexander, c, Tennessee
Jordan Bone, pg, Tennessee
Jordan Bowen, sg, Tennessee
Wayne Chism, pf, Tennessee
Tobias Harris, pf, Tennessee
Reggie Johnson, pf, Tennessee
Bill Justus, sg, Tennessee
Jordan McRae, sg, Tennessee
Josh Richardson, sg, Tennessee
Ron Slay, pf, Tennessee
Admiral Schofield, sg, Tennessee
Jarnell Stokes, pf, Tennessee
Lamonte Turner, sg, Tennessee
Tony White, pg, Tennessee
Ron Widby, sf, Tennessee

Jan van Breda Kolff, sf, Vanderbilt
Charles Davis, sf, Vanderbilt
Shan Foster, sg, Vanderbilt
Billy McCaffrey, sg, Vanderbilt
Mike Rhodes, sg, Vanderbilt

SPECIAL MENTION

While the two greatest scorers in the history of college basketball didn't play in the SEC, they did play in SEC territory. Phillip Hutcheson and John Pierce played just down the road from Vanderbilt at David Lipscomb University, from 1986-1990 and 1990-1994, respectively. Hutcheson scored 4,106 points in his career for the Bison, which — at the time of his graduation — was the most by any player at any level (back then, Lipscomb was still an NAIA program). He was then replaced by Pierce, who somehow finished his career with 4,230. So the two greatest scorers in college history just happened to play at the same tiny school, in immediate succession, for no justifiable reason!

Related Pages: All-Time Cincinnati Reds Baseball Team, The Greatest Baseball Infields of All Time, Cincinnati Reds Trivia, Is Mike Trout the GOAT?, Best Baseball Nicknames, Mike Trout Nicknames, Weird Baseball Facts and Trivia, Baseball Hall of Fame: The Best Candidates, Why Pete Rose Should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Big Red Machine Chronology, Baseball's All-Time Leaders in WAR per Season, Baseball's All-Time Leaders in WAR7, Weird Sports Trivia, Who is the NBA GOAT?, NBA All-Time PPG Leaders, NBA Greatest Scorers, The Best All-Time SEC Basketball Players by Position, The Best Tennessee Vols Basketball Teams and Players of All Time

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