Now, "not a final four in the SEC?" You won't find any disagreement that the SEC is a "three teams at the top" conference this season.
Most of the conversations about the Bama team on this thread has a lot more to do with the state of the program as it stands after 4 years and little to do if we could possibly sneak into the 4 seed this tourney.
We are not breaking through with our talent and it's frustration and will continue to be frustrating when we play .500 basketball in the league. But for the record, we have some good coaches in the SEC who are recruiting at a much higher level. My Top for 4 teams this season, regardless of whether we happen to beat them or not:
Tennessee
LSU
Kentucky
Auburn
They are built and coached for results and look like the more sustainable teams in our league over the long haul. Wade down at LSU in a newcomer, but you could see the stockpiling of talent the last 2 recruiting cycles and the guy has them playing unafraid.
Barnes at Tennessee doesn't have a 5* or McDonald All-American on his team. He also doesn't have a team that's going to implode every year with the NBA draft. Much different strategy than what he took at Texas. He's doing this with an extremely well-coached system and tough-minded players.
Auburn is sustainable if Pearl doesn't get blown out of the water by external circumstances. Which for him is 90% of the game. But he can coach and recognizes how to put the pieces together no matter who's on the court and he plays in a cracker box that he has energized into a true home advantage. What's that worth?
Kentucky is Kentucky.
All of these teams are establishing an identity and style that allows them to compete on a higher and more consistent level than our basketball team. I don't think we're trending anywhere near where they look like they are heading.
Has coach Johnson built a top 25 basketball team after 4 years? No