Barring an Oscar Tshiebwe return, Tennessee's Santiago Vescovi could be the best-returning player in the SEC. In fact, as of right now, Vescovi, along with Tolu Smith of Mississippi State and Wade Taylor lV of Texas A&M, is the only sure returners from the SEC First Team. So with that being said, should Vescovi be the preseason player of the year in the conference?
Last season, Vescovi scored 12.5 points, grabbed 4.6 rebounds, and dished out 3.1 assists en route to being named to the all-conference first team in the SEC. This was, of course, with pretty poor shooting splits compared to the previous year. Vescovi, especially late in the year, was thrown into more of an on-ball role with Zakai Zeigler's injury. Many will forge that Vescovi's down shooting numbers last year could've been due to a bad stretch after his early season injury. Vescovi was hurt in late November and missed a little time before going 4-23 from three in two games against Maryland and Arizona in mid-December.
While Vescovi will likely be the best-returning player in the SEC without Tshiebwe returning, there are still transfers and freshmen to consider. Of course, Alabama and Arkansas, among other schools, worked the portal to get some really talented players. However, none of them are as impactful on both ends as Vescovi is. The freshmen, while good, aren't talented enough to get a preseason award before coaches and media have seen them play against college competition. So that clears the runway for the guard from Uruguay to gain some pretty high expectations for next season. Of course, Vescovi will actually have to back it up with the numbers, but if Vescovi can stay healthy for a full season, the SEC better watch out.
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