SEC Tournament notes

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Posted 6:57AM on Thursday, March 7, 2002

ATLANTA - Rod Barnes could be an attractive coaching candidate at Arkansas after putting together three 20-win seasons in four years at Mississippi. Last week, the Razorbacks bought out the final six years of Nolan Richardson's contract after the coach criticized fans and the media. Barnes is a Mississippi native who played for the Rebels from 1984-88, but Arkansas has the means to put together a more lucrative financial package. Mike Anderson is coaching the Razorbacks on an interim basis, including the Southeastern Conference tournament that begins Thursday at the Georgia Dome. Barnes wouldn't discuss the Arkansas job. ``I don't have any comment on that,'' he said Wednesday. ``It's just speculation. I don't comment on speculation and rumors.'' Arkansas could spark plenty of resentment if it decides to pursue a coach at a fellow SEC school. ``That would be a delicate situation for me,'' Auburn's Cliff Ellis said. ``I can only speak for myself, but it would be very difficult for me.'' DUPREE'S BURDEN: Ronald Dupree, LSU's leading scorer, has been at the center of attention while Collis Temple III battled foot and ankle injuries. Temple has been hurting since Dec. 15 and missed eight games. His season finally came to an end Friday when he underwent reconstructive surgery. ``Once Collis went down, defenses were able to key on me a little more,'' Dupree said. ``The baseline was one of my favorite places at the beginning of the year. Now, I always seem to get a trap. I had to adjust.'' Dupree still managed to average 16.7 points per game, ranking sixth in the league, and was the second-leading rebounder (8.6). SEC STRENGTH: Dave Odom coached in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the past 12 years, but he believes the SEC is a stronger conference from top to bottom. ``I don't want to disparage the ACC,'' the South Carolina coach said. ``I'm just calling it like I see it.'' Odom cited the fact that No. 11 Florida didn't earn a bye in the first round of the SEC tournament. ``Florida began the year in the top five and they may still be a top-five team, but they were not able to gain one of the top four spots in the league,'' he said. ``That's unbelievable.'' On the other hand, the SEC lacks a dominant team. ``There's no team of Duke or Maryland's caliber at this time,'' Odom said. ``No team has separated itself from the pack.'' Even so, the outspoken coach willingly volunteered which team he would call the favorite. ``Kentucky,'' he said. ``They only have three games to win, they have the most depth and they were playing very well in the last week of the season.'' FLORIDA'S PLIGHT: Only two teams have won four games in four days since the SEC tournament was revived in 1979. Florida coach Billy Donovan believes the Gators can be the third team to do it. ``We're focused on putting four good games together,'' he said. ``I think we can do it.'' Florida is ranked No. 11 nationally but didn't even earn a bye in the conference tournament. The Gators tied for the Eastern Division title with Georgia and Kentucky, but the other two teams got an extra day off under the tiebreaker rules. Donovan pointed out that Arkansas pulled off the four-wins-in-four-days feat just two years ago. ``We play similar styles, and they were able to do it,'' he said. ``I don't think it's improbable.'' 3-POINT DROUGHT: Don't look for South Carolina to put up a lot of 3-pointers in the SEC tournament. The Gamecocks missed all 19 attempts from outside the arc in their last game, a 64-57 loss to Mississippi State. ``We depended a lot on our 3-point shooting this season,'' guard Jamel Bradley said. ``Coach (Dave Odom) has been stressing that we've got to get our big men involved. Our main emphasis in practice has been getting the ball inside.'' South Carolina ranked seventh in the SEC this season in 3-point shooting, hitting just over 34 percent. SHUT-OUT TEAM: Since the SEC tournament was revived in 1979, nine schools have won at least one championship. The only teams that have failed to win the tournament in its modern incarnation are Florida, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. South Carolina has a bit of an excuse: The Gamecocks didn't join the SEC until the 1991-92 season. Also, it's worth noting that Vanderbilt does have a tournament championship. The Commodores won in 1951 the next-to-last SEC tourney before a 27-year hiatus by claiming four victories in three days at the Jefferson County Armory in Louisville, Ky.