Watching the NBA Draft, and the NFL Draft, and whatever other drafts there are out there, there’s a trend that I don’t like. All of these players say no one believed in them.

Bryce Young said no one believed in him because of his size. Well, he was the No. 1 recruit coming out of high school. Anthony Black wasn’t a 5-star recruit until his senior year of high school? OK, fine, but you were a 5-star recruit still.

Just because you weren’t a 5-star recruit in 3rd grade doesn’t mean no one believed in you. That storyline has to go away, and soon. I hate it.

If these players are to be believed, no one currently playing in professional sports was expected to make it that far. Give me a break.

OK, old man rant over. Let’s dive into this week’s Mailbag questions!

Shane:

Let’s settle this once and for all – should Alabama have made the College Football Playoff last year?

Simply put? No.

I understand the point Nick Saban was trying to make with his recent comments to Joel Klatt of FOX Sports. I really do. Alabama would have been a betting favorite against every team in the Playoff last year besides Georgia.

But Alabama was a betting favorite against Tennessee, if I remember correctly. Alabama was a betting favorite against LSU, I believe. And, as we all know, the Tide lost both of those games.

Yes, they were 2 plays away from being 12-0 and being a shoo-in for the Playoff, but you have to make those 2 plays (or at least 1 of them).

Do I think Alabama could have beaten TCU in the Playoff? Sure I do. But you have to do the work in the regular season to earn the chance to prove yourself in the Playoff.

Let’s say Alabama went 8-4 in the regular season, losing at Texas and at Ole Miss on the final plays of those games. The Tide would still be betting favorites against TCU, but there’s no way anyone would even entertain the thought that they belong in the Playoff.

Saban just needs to take the “L” on this one and focus on the 2023 season when, spoiler alert, the Tide will be in the Playoff mix once again.

Jerry:

Hugh Freeze or Zach Arnett: Which first-year SEC coach will have the most wins in 2023?

I honestly believe the answer will come down to the game between Auburn and Mississippi State at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 28.

I have each team going 5-6 in their other 11 regular-season games, so the battle on The Plains could be for a bowl berth and the better record between the first-year head coaches. That should make things even more intense than normal for an SEC West showdown.

Considering Freeze has plenty of previous experience as a head coach (including in the SEC) and Arnett is entering his first year as the leader of a program, I’m going to give the slight edge here to Freeze. Plus, that game on Oct. 28 is at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and we all know what kind of weird, bizarre things happen in that building!

This isn’t to say I’m down on Arnett as a head coach. I just think it’ll take him a couple of years to get his feet under him in the SEC. It’s a tough place to jump in as a head coach for the first time in your career.

Lance:

Which team got the steal of Round 1, in your opinion?

I don’t know if it was a “steal,” per se, but I absolutely love the fit of Anthony Black and the Orlando Magic. Putting the 6-7 Black alongside a pair of 6-10 playmakers in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner is incredible.

Black should be an immediate contributor to a team that could challenge for a 6-10 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs next year. I think the Magic are going to be a very, very interesting team to watch in 2023-24.

Also, I know I’m an SEC homer, but I’m also a Mizzou fan (and graduate, in case you’ve forgotten, since I know I don’t mention it very often), so you can trust that I don’t like to praise Arkansas without good reason. But getting Nick Smith Jr. at No. 27 is an insane value for the Charlotte Hornets.

They basically got an elite 6-9 playmaker in Brandon Miller at No. 2 overall and then took a lottery player at the end of Round 1. The Hornets absolutely crushed this draft. I can’t wait to watch them on League Pass next year!

@Dobbe8:

Would you rather hit a walkoff home run to win a College World Series game or make a diving catch to seal a victory?

Well, you can’t go wrong with either of those options! Making a play to win the game in the field or clubbing a walkoff bomb are both amazing.

But you have to go with the home run here. Rounding third base with your teammates surrounding home plate ready to mob you? There can’t be many situations in sports that are more special than that!

Plus, I haven’t hit a home run since middle school (and they were all inside-the-park home runs, at that). I can’t imagine what it would be like to hit the ball just right and watch it sail off into the Omaha sky.

I would definitely flip my bat and admire the home run for a few seconds before starting my trot. But I’d make it a quick trip around the bases to make up for it. Gotta get the party started with my teammates!

Have a question for next week’s Mailbag? Tweet at us using #SDSMailbag or email me at Adam.Spencer@XLMedia.com.