Kentucky unanimous No. 1 in SEC media poll

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Read moreUT Vols' Tyndall knows rebuilding never sleeps

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - First-year Tennessee basketball coach Donnie Tyndall knows the time will come when his fan base will expect him to beat Kentucky on a semi-regular basis. He just hopes they don't expect it to be this year.

"Until we get some players, I'm OK with playing them just once (this season)," he said during the Southeastern Conference's annual basketball media event at the Ballantyne Resort Resort. "I'm pretty sure their first five is picked to win the league and their next five is picked second."

Not quite, but close. A panel of national and SEC media members awarded the Wildcats all 20 of their first-place votes on Wednesday, easily out-distancing second-place Florida and third-place Arkansas. Tyndall's Vols, who return but four players from last year's Sweet 16 team, were picked 13th among the league's 14 schools. LSU was picked fourth, followed by Georgia, Ole Miss, Missouri, Auburn, Texas A&M, Alabama, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, UT and Mississippi State.

Kentucky sophomore guard Aaron Harrison -- who hit game-winning 3-pointers in three consecutive NCAA Tournament games last season before the Cats lost to Connecticut in the national championship game -- was chosen the SEC's preseason player of the year. Arkansas sophomore Bobby Portis, Florida guard Michael Frazier, LSU's Jordan Mickey and Mississippi's Jarvis Summers round out the first team.

To support Tyndall's assumption of UK's overwhelming talent, four Wildcats -- center Willie Cauley-Stein, forwards Alex Poythress and Karl-Anthony Towns and Aaron Harrison's twin brother Andrew -- joined Georgia's Charles Mann on the second team.

"That's pretty cool," said Aaron Harrison when told of UK's preseason accolades. "I'm happy for my teammates. But it doesn't mean anything. We haven't played a game yet."

But when they do, Kentucky coach John Calipari does expect to play two five-man platoons for the first time in his coaching career.

"Never been done before," he said. "I told my athletic director, 'I should get paid twice.'"

If Cal can somehow find a way to finish both first and second, he just might deserve it.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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