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Every coach is looking forward to next season and every league team is in transition.
Eleven SEC head coaches and one assistant - Tennessee was represented by associate head coach Tony Jones - fielded questions from reporters on Monday morning.
Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings batted leadoff at 10 a.m. and Andy Kennedy of Ole Miss and Rick Stansbury of Mississippi State brought up the rear.
Both Kennedy and Stansbury, confronted with rosters in transition, sounded similar notes in their remarks.
"We had a busy month of May," Kennedy said, referring to his team's spring recruiting haul. "We feel like we picked up some nice pieces to go with our existing roster ...
"As a coach, you try to identify your needs, then put all of the pieces of the puzzle together."
MSU's Stansbury, the dean of SEC coaches, prepares for his 13th season after missing another SEC tournament title by a whisker last season. He has a puzzle on his hands this time, with a roster that lost senior leadership from shot-blocking king Jarvis Varnado and guard Barry Stewart while gaining a handful of new parts.
"There are question marks about who we have and where we're at," he told reporters. "We've got a lot of new pieces, new parts. I like those parts, so we'll try to put them together the right way."
One question Stansbury sidestepped on Monday concerned the abrupt departure of rising senior guard Phil Turner, whose scholarship was not renewed for next season.
"I have made my statement and Phil has made his statement and I'm not going to get into the ins and outs," Stansbury told reporters. "I'm ready to move on."
Question marks on the 2010-11 Bulldogs roster will include the health of point guard Twany Beckham and post player Elgin Bailey and the status of guard Dee Bost's appeal to regain his eligibility.
Stansbury had no news on the two players working their way back from injury, nor did he have much to add about the case of Bost, who waited too late to take his name out of consideration for the NBA Draft and is now making an effort to return to college ball.
"You're asking my opinion about something I have zero control over," Stansbury said. "We're just having to sit back and wait at this point" for the appeals process to run its course.
What is known about next season is that 6-foot-10 Renardo Sidney will have to sit out the first nine games of the season before the NCAA will clear him to play.
"That's probably the least of my worries, being able to integrate a pretty good player into the lineup after nine games," Stansbury said of Sidney.
Rebels regroup
The Rebels' Kennedy, still aiming for his first NCAA tournament trip as he prepares for his fourth season in Oxford, lost a pair of sophomore starters from last season as guard Terrico White turned pro - he was drafted in the second round last week by Detroit - and forward Murphy Holloway transferred out.
"We feel like we have landed on our feet," Kennedy said of his team's retooled roster, which will add a half-dozen new faces for next season.
One of those players, Indiana transfer Nick Williams, was in the Rebels' program last season after playing for the Hoosiers in 2008-09.
"His physical and mental toughness will certainly be welcomed," Kennedy said. "He can play any of the perimeter positions and his versatility will be his calling card. We feel pretty good about what he brings to the table and we expect him to make an immediate impact."
A five-man recruiting class will include a couple of junior college transfers who are expected to contribute quickly, including 6-9 Steadman Scott and guard Donald Williams, a former Kentucky signee. "Both of them will get opportunities to play very quickly," Kennedy said.
After a run to the NIT semifinals last season, Kennedy said he has already identified a motif for his latest squad: "We're all fighting for a common cause," he said. "That will be a recurring theme."
Contact John L. Pitts at 678-1522 or john.pitts@djournal.com
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