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Now, let’s dive into your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:

Shane:

Which new SEC men’s hoops coach do you think will win the most games in Year 1?

If you’ve been reading my stuff lately, you know how much I love Todd Golden at Florida. I gave the Gators an A+ for that hire. Some of y’all thought that was crazy, based on his lack of head coaching experience and his current resume.

But that’s not what the grade was about. It’s about his potential. If you’re grading the new hires on what they’ve done so far, all of them range from a B- to a C-. This is about what Golden will do.

I think his brand of basketball will lure some top transfers to Gainesville and he’ll hit the ground running, making the NCAA Tournament in 2023. I’d be surprised if the Gators didn’t hit the 20-win mark in the regular season. Mike White didn’t leave the program in horrible shape. He just wasn’t having the level of success Florida fans expect. Golden can take that torch and run with it.

I also think Matt McMahon can rack up some wins at LSU, but without knowing what NCAA sanctions the Tigers will be facing, I can’t accurately predict what he’ll do in 2022-23. So, Golden is your answer.

Joe:

Emory Jones is in the transfer portal. If you were him, where would you go to end your college career?

Well, where I think he’ll end up and where I’d go if I were him are 2 different things. Based on Jones’s recent social media activity, it seems Arizona State is a strong contender. That makes sense, as the Sun Devils need someone to replace Jayden Daniels, who is now at LSU.

I think if Mizzou misses out on JT Daniels, the Tigers would be a good landing spot for Jones (obviously, I’m a bit biased there). West Virginia is also an intriguing school. I’d probably have Arizona State at No. 3 on that list, ahead of Cal (another potential landing spot).

Jones is too similar to Daniels, in my opinion. And, since the Sun Devils didn’t exactly maximize Daniels’ potential, it doesn’t make sense that Jones would go there.

But, he has arm talent and can make plays with his legs, so wherever he ends up, I expect him to be firmly in the mix for the QB1 job.

Cody:

Which SEC spring game are you most excited for?

I know we just talked about Jayden Daniels, but I’m really excited for LSU’s spring game. Myles Brennan came out of the transfer portal to stay at LSU and then first-year head coach Brian Kelly went out and added Daniels.

A lot of quarterbacks would have been hurt by that and re-entered the portal, but Brennan has stuck around. He hasn’t been afraid of competition in his career. He actually beat out Max Johnson a couple of years ago before suffering an injury.

Then there’s 5-star freshman Walker Howard and another intriguing young QB in Garrett Nussmeier. LSU’s QB competition is going to be an intense one.

I can’t imagine all 4 of those guys will remain at LSU all through the summer, but hey, I’ve been wrong before. LSU’s spring game promises to feature a great QB battle and a look at a revamped squad in Year 1 for Kelly.

@Dobbe8:

This year’s Final Four is in New Orleans. The NCAA has announced the next 4 locations for the Final Four, as well – Houston in 2023, Phoenix in 2024, San Antonio in 2025 and Indianapolis in 2026. Rank those 5 cities in terms of how excited you’d be to go to each for the event.

This year’s Final Four should be a party. New Orleans is a really fun city and one that should definitely host more big college sporting events. It did a great job with the College Football Playoff National Championship Game a couple of years ago.

After that, Indianapolis is the clear No. 2 choice. Indy is a basketball mecca. And even though the Final Four won’t be held at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis was built for events like this. The downtown area is very walkable and, despite complaints to the contrary by many media members during this past College Football Playoff, it’s not all that expensive.

Following Indy, take your pick. I went with San Antonio, then Houston and then Phoenix. Phoenix just seems like a large, spaced-out city that isn’t very walkable. And there’s the heat. Even in early April, it might be unbearable. Here’s how I ranked the cities 1-5:

  1. New Orleans
  2. Indianapolis
  3. San Antonio
  4. Houston
  5. Phoenix

I’d love to see Las Vegas host the Final Four sometime soon. Kansas City would also be a good spot. And, we need to keep Atlanta in the rotation, too. Plenty of good cities out there that would be great hosts for the Final Four!

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