Oct. 21, 2015
The Commodore men’s basketball team was picked to finish second in the SEC preseason media poll by SEC media members, and junior center Damian Jones was named as a first-team All-SEC selection, in an announcement made by the SEC on Wednesday. The announcement marked the first time since the 2011-12 season that Vanderbilt has been selected second in the preseason poll.
Vanderbilt received 357 overall points in the media poll, second only to Kentucky, who grabbed 406 points. Texas A&M was picked third in the poll. Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for a five-player All-SEC Team. Ties were not broken.
Incoming freshman Ben Simmons of LSU was named the preseason player of the year, with Jones, a first-team All-SEC and all-Defensive team selection at the end of the 2014-15 season, also receiving votes along with Florida’s Dorrian Finney-Smith, Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis, and Texas A&M’s Danuel House.
The 2015-16 campaign begins November 13, with conference play set to begin January 2. The 2016 SEC Tournament will be March 9-13 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
Preseason Media Poll, Pts
1. Kentucky, 406
2. Vanderbilt, 357
3. Texas A&M, 344
4. LSU, 333
5. Georgia, 266
6. Florida, 258
7. South Carolina, 204
8. Mississippi State, 203
9. Ole Miss, 184
10. Auburn, 168
11. Arkansas, 118
12. Tennessee, 86
13. Alabama, 85
14. Missouri, 33
First Team All-SEC
Danuel House – Texas A&M, G, 6-7, 212, Sr., Fresno, Texas
Damian Jones – Vanderbilt, C, 7-0, 245, Jr., Baton Rouge, La.
Skal Labissiere – Kentucky, F, 6-11, 225, Fr., Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Stefan Moody – Ole Miss, G, 5-10, 179, Sr., Kissimmee, Fla.
Ben Simmons – LSU, F, 6-10, 225, Fr., Melbourne, Australia
Tyler Ulis – Kentucky, G, 5-9, 160, So., Lima, Ohio
Second Team All-SEC
Dorian Finney-Smith – Florida, F, 6-8, 220, Sr., Portsmouth, Va.
Malik Newman – Mississippi State, G, 6-3, 178, Fr., Jackson, Miss.
Charles Mann – Georgia, G, 6-5, 215, Sr., Alpharetta, Ga.
Alex Poythress – Kentucky, F, 6-8, 230, Sr., Clarksville, Tenn.
Tim Quarterman – LSU, G, 6-6, 190, Jr., Savannah, Ga.
Alex Caruso – Texas A&M, G, 6-5, 186, Sr., College Station, Texas
SEC Player of the Year: Ben Simmons, LSU