Alabama

Yesterday, we looked at the SEC East, where Tennessee appears to be a clear-cut favorite.

What is the top D1 basketball program in each state.. and which program is the worst? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a state by state ranking based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

MAUI, Hawaii, Aug. 5, 2008 – The EA SPORTS Maui Invitational today announced the official bracket for the 2008 edition of the nation’s premier early-season college basketball tournament. Marking its milestone 25^th year, the eight-team competition will return to Maui’s ocean-front Lahaina Civic Center Nov.24-26.

To stay or go: Futures Hinge on Player Decisions

Even with the draft order now set, and player workouts getting underway, it’s still tough to predict which players will ultimately stay in the draft this year.  According to ESPN’s Chad Ford, 69 underclassmen declared for the draft this year, including surprises like Oregon State’s CJ Giles, who has now been kicked off two college teams, and Alabama’s Ronald Steele, who didn’t even play last season due to injury.

The SEC Freshman of the Year race looks like it will be a three player battle. Two of the three (A.J. Ogilvy didn’t make the cut) make a return appearance on the monthly All-SEC list.

Guard – Devan Downey – South Carolina – SO
19.4ppg, 5.3apg, 3.3spg
Best game – Jan 2nd – Radford – 23 points, seven steals, five assists, three rebounds

The little man certainly has a nose for the ball – he averaged four steals a game for January. Add to that his 22 points and five assists a game and you have one of the best Januarys by a player in the SEC.