University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Picked Third in SEC East By League's Media
October 29, 2003 | Men's Basketball
SEC TIPOFF | UT QUOTES| PREDICTIONS |
Tennessee was picked for a third-place finish in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division in a poll of media attending this year's media day in Birmingham, Ala.
The media tabbed defending champion Kentucky to win the SEC East and LSU to capture the SEC's Western Division respectively, while picking the Wildcats to win the league's overall title.
In the East behind Kentucky, the media's predicted order of finish reads Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia and South Carolina. Kentucky received 22 first-place votes for the division title over Florida's 18.
In the West, behind LSU, the predicted order of finish is Auburn, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Alabama and Ole Miss. Each of the six schools in the SEC West garnered at least one first-place vote. LSU received 21 first-place votes over Auburn (10), Mississippi State (6), Arkansas (1), Alabama (1) and Ole Miss (1).
Tennessee, coming off a 17-12 season and an appearance in the NIT, returns two starters in sophomore guard C.J. Watson and junior forward Brandon Crump. The Vols must replace SEC Player of the Year Ron Slay, who paced the league in scoring by averaging 21.2 points per game.
"This is going to be an interesting year," UT head coach Buzz Peterson said. "It is going to be different without Ron Slay. Slay not only scored points but he was our leader. I really love the chemistry of the team. They are like a sponge and they sort of soak everything up in practice. Overall I am excited about this year. There is a lot of talent and we need to make sure this team stays positive."
Vanderbilt's Matt Freije (13 votes) outpolled Florida's David Lee (10) LSU's Jaime Lloreda (10) for preseason player of the year honors.
Tennessee opens its exhibition slate Nov. 5 against EA Sports at Thompson-Boling Arena in a 7:30 p.m. (EST) tipoff.
| 2003-04 SEC Media Day Predictions | ||||||
| Eastern Division (Votes) | ? | Western Division (Votes) | ||||
| 1. | Kentucky (22) | 223 | 1. | LSU (21) | 205 | |
| 2. | Florida (18) | 219 | 2. | Auburn (10) | 181 | |
| 3. | Tennessee | 129 | 3. | Miss. State (6) | 167 | |
| 4. | Vanderbilt | 119 | 4. | Arkansas (1) | 107 | |
| 5. | Georgia | 87 | 5. | Alabama (1) | 93 | |
| 6. | South Carolina | 72 | 6. | Ole Miss (1) | 87 | |
| Conference Champion [35 votes] -- Alabama (20), Florida (4), Georgia (4), Kentucky (3), Miss. State (2), Ole Miss (1), Auburn (1). | |||||||
| 2003-04 Preseason All-SEC Teams | |||||||
| First-Team | |||||||
| G - Gerald Fitch | Kentucky | 36 | |||||
| F - Matt Freije | Vanderbilt | 31 | |||||
| F - David Lee | Florida | 29 | |||||
| C - Jaime Lloreda | LSU | 23 | |||||
| G - Anthony Roberson | Florida | 17 | |||||
| Second-Team | |||||||
| G - Timmy Bowers | Mississippi State | 13 | |||||
| F - Justin Reed | Ole Miss | 10 | |||||
| C - Kyle Davis | Auburn | 10 | |||||
| F/C - Lawrence Roberts | Mississippi State | 4 | |||||
| F - Marco Killingsworth | Auburn | 1 | |||||
| PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Matt Freije, Vanderbilt (13), David Lee, Florida (10), Jaime Lloreda, LSU (10), Gerald Fitch, Kentucky (4), Matt Walsh, Florida (1). | |||||||
