SEC basketball Media Day: Notes, jokes and more as 2022-23 season approaches

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The annual SEC Media Day in Birmingham provided an outstanding opportunity to dig a little deeper behind the stories and personalities of the SEC. Here were 10 funny, poignant or just plain interesting moments from the day.

1. The paternal mentor/coach angle is real

Whether it was Bruce Pearl admitting he might choke up in talking about new Florida boss Todd Golden or Buzz Williams terming Missouri coach Dennis Gates “a star,” the mentor/new coach angle was strong in Birmingham. The new coaches met basically universal acclaim.

2. Faith matters

Rick Barnes discussed his support of Dick Vitale, indicating that when he had reached out to Vitale after his cancer diagnosis, Vitale had asked for his prayers, and so Barnes had started texting him those prayers. Vitale started sharing those prayers on Twitter, and Barnes’ faith — through the lens of his love and respect for Vitale — was news again.

“When he comes around and comes in to do games, it brings an extra element of excitement, I think, to the campus, to the game,” Barnes said. “I think I speak for everyone and would thank him for what he has done for our college and our collegiate game.”

Meanwhile, Bruce Pearl spoke passionately about taking his Auburn team to Israel, and expressed his support and encouragement for getting other teams to take the trip. “Jerusalem is a very special place for all the world’s religions,” Pearl said. “Why not bring your kids back there and see where it all started?”

3. Hanging with Stack? Nah

In a league full of coaches, most of whom were fairly mediocre players, Vanderbilt’s Jerry Stackhouse naturally stands out. Asked if any other SEC coach could hang with him in a game of HORSE, Stack initially replied, “Probably not.” He did circle back later and mention Alabama’s Nate Oats as a shooter who might beat him.

4. Calipari in midseason form

Whether it was talking about Oscar Tshiebwe’s quick healing (“He’s not swelling. You’re supposed to swell!”), his feelings on a potential pitfall of the NIL situation (“We cannot damage the Olympic sports. I’m hearing, ‘You’ll have 8 sports.’ NO!”), or his thoughts on Arkansas’ massive recruiting success (“You’ve just got to win every game now and it’ll be fine”), John Calipari was in midseason form Wednesday.

So much so that at one point during Barnes’s Q&A session, Calipari boomed away from the SEC Network set at roughly triple everyone else’s volume. Barnes at one point acknowledged, “Cal is so loud he distracted me.”

Swaggy Cal generally means successful Cal.

5. Family matters

Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams is certainly capable of being a snappy dresser, and he acknowledged the secret behind that tendency. Asked about his pocket square, Williams admitted, “I was raised by a single parent — a mother — and I had to pick out my clothes the day before.” Well done, Mom.

Georgia’s Braelen Bridges was wearing a necklace with a photo of his late grandmother, Vivian Jackson, inside, citing the strong connection he still feels to her.

LSU’s Adam Miller cited his mother’s influence in helping him decide that he wanted to return to LSU from the transfer portal– even when he himself was uncertain.

6. Muss knows baseball?

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman responded to a question about his use of analytics by indicating the degree to which he seeks out baseball comparisons. Musselman noted that Oakland A’s analytics wizard Billy Beane had been a neighbor, and that Muss enjoyed picking his brain. He also cited 4 road trips with the Los Angeles Angels in 2022, based on his relationship with manager Phil Nevin. Apparently, new ideas are as intriguing to the Arkansas boss as another 5-star recruit.

7. Each player has his own NIL perspective

Many of the SEC players addressed the NIL situation, each with their own angles. Some spoke of deals that were particularly cool (Georgia’s Kario Oquendo likes his deal with merchandise store Assembly Hall) or meaningful (Florida’s Colin Castleton talked about his deal with trading card maker Panini, which took him back to buying cards as a boy).

Others talked about the social impact of their NIL situation, or the team impact, like Arkansas’ Kamani Johnson, who cited the Razorbacks’ team deal with Children’s Safety Center in Northwest Arkansas. “I know there are stories about all these guys and these crazy numbers, but what’s most important to me is how we get to help our community,” Johnson said.

A few players admitted deals they’d love to have. Missouri’s Nick Honor named Evian water and Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith quickly admitted his love of Crocs shoes as a potential deal he’d love to get.

Perhaps the funniest pair of answers came from Texas A&M, where guard Tyrece “Boots” Radford admitted he’s never actually worn boots, while forward Henry Coleman said he’d love to have a deal with boot company Tecovas. Maybe they can work that one out?

8. Plenty of answers on favorite road venue

Players were also all over the map when addressing favorite road venues. Among the common answers were Kentucky, Tennessee and Auburn. Some players chose teams for personal reasons, like Vandy’s Jordan Wright, who admitted that the homecoming aspect of playing at LSU made it his favorite, or Arkansas’ Kamani Johnson, who recalled memories of his brother Dakari’s career in picking Kentucky as his choice. At least one player opted outside the conference, with Tennessee’s Josiah-Jordan James choosing Arizona as a destination he’s looking forward to seeing.

9. Hayden Brown is going to be plenty of fun

South Carolina was picked to finish last in the SEC, and other than all-everything 5-star freshman GG Jackson, the Gamecocks’ roster isn’t exactly heralded. That doesn’t mean they’re not fun. Graduate transfer Hayden Brown was one of Media Day’s most engaging characters.

Brown comes to Carolina from The Citadel and was quick to admit that the transition to the SEC was rather liberating, granting an opportunity to be something closer to the typical college kid. “I (don’t have to) make my bed,” Brown said with a grin, revealing a liberation offered by his Gamecock career. His long hair and beard were also not allowed at his former school, of course. When one media member, hearing Brown speak of his Christian faith, told him that he looked like Jesus, Brown quickly cracked, “Well, but Jesus wasn’t white.” Seeing a player like Brown get his chance in the SEC is one of the sometimes forgotten joys of the modern transfer situation.

10. Mixed feelings on enlarging the NCAA Tournament

SEC coaches were all over the map in their thoughts on a possible expansion of the NCAA Tournament field. Missouri’s Dennis Gates was perhaps the strongest proponent of expansion, saying, “It’s time to give that opportunity another look and maybe grow it. I would like to see it double, to be honest.” Add Bruce Pearl to that column, as he cited the Ole Miss baseball team getting the last NCAA baseball Tournament bid and winning the Tournament. “That might be a pretty good reason to expand it,” Pearl said.

On the other hand, many were against expansion. “If it ain’t broke … ” started South Carolina coach Lamont Paris before equivocating on his final feelings. Florida’s Todd Golden admitted he “kinda likes it where we are.” Arkansas’ Eric Musselman indicated his support for the current system, noting that it’s “working pretty well for everybody involved.”

Buzz Williams might dispute that after his Aggies were left on the bubble a year ago. “I don’t think anybody at the NCAA is going to listen to anything I say,” Williams quipped when asked for his Tournament thoughts.

Joe Cox

Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.