SEC Basketball: 5 Player of the Year Candidates Not Playing for Kentucky

At the midpoint of the conference season, John Calipari’s team of lottery picks has dominated the SEC Player of the Year conversation. But in a resurgent year for the SEC, several players are throwing their names into the mix with the Wildcats’ Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Terrance Jones.

Here are five players who have earned a spot in the POY discussion midway through the conference season.

Arnett Moultrie

Arnett Moultrie’s season thus far rivals any front court player in the country. The junior ranks sixth in the nation in rebounding (11.1 RPG) and fourth in the SEC in scoring (17 PPG, better than any player from Kentucky). He has also led a Mississippi State team that dramatically underachieved last season to an 18-5 record and a Top 25 ranking. 

Moultrie has also come up huge in some the biggest games of the season. He shot 8-of-9 for 19 points and 10 rebounds against then-ranked Arizona at the start of the season, followed two weeks later by a 13-rebound, 7-of-8 shooting performance against West Virginia. In SEC play, Moultrie shot over 65 percent in the first three games of the conference season, including a 25-point, 13-rebound showing against Alabama.

John Jenkins

From the start of the season, Vanderbilt’s guards were hyped as arguably the best backcourt duo in the nation. And despite bad losses against non-conference teams (i.e. Indiana State), John Jenkins has lived up to expectations. 

Jenkins ranks in the top 20 nationally and first in the SEC in scoring (19.7 PPG), besting second place and teammate Jeffrey Taylor by a full two points. The junior has also scored 25 points or more five times this season and shot 50 percent from the perimeter three times in the conference season alone.

Jeffrey Taylor

Complementing Jenkins in the Commodores highly-touted backcourt is senior Jeffrey Taylor. His nearly 18 PPG comes from an impressive 47 percent from the perimeter, even with Kentucky’s Doron Lamb. Aside from the debacle against Cleveland State, he’s scored in double figures in every game this season, including six games with 20 points or more. 

Along with his high scoring, Taylor’s 5.8 RPG as a guard (including 11 against Oregon in the season opener) is just slightly below teammate Festus Ezili and Florida’s Patric Young. He also boasts three games with four or more steals.

Jerrone Maymon

Jerrone Maymon has solidified himself as an elite big man in the SEC. The junior forward has scored in double figures in all eight conference games this season and averages 58 percent from the field in conference play. 

Defensively, Maymon’s presence in the paint has been critical for the Vols. Vanderbilt forward Festus Ezili scored just five points against Tennessee, and Arnett Moultrie was held to his lowest rebound total of the season when the Vols visited Starkville. 

Kenny Boynton

Kenny Boynton has been an enigma at times this season for the Gators. With high scoring has come inconsistent play (two points against Mississippi State) and labels of selfishness (two of nine from the three point line against Florida State). 

However, Boynton’s performances when he’s at his best place him among the elite guards in the SEC. He amasses his team leading 17.6 PPG by shooting 47 percent from the field and 71 percent from the foul line. He’s also shot over 50 percent from the perimeter 11 times this season and finished with three or more assists four times in conference play.