The Truth From the Trenches: Raw and Unfiltered Evaluations of SEC Draft Prospects
An SEC Coach Sounds Off on the Players He Scouted, Game-Planned Against, and Tried to Stop
As we inch closer to draft night, my prep work is done. I’ve watched all the film I need to. I’ve rewatched games, broken down tendencies, studied minutes, and lived in Synergy clips since last August. At this point, I’ve stopped grinding tape—not because I’m tired of it, but because I don’t want to overanalyze. There’s a point where you’ve got to trust your gut, trust your eyes, and lean on the work you’ve already put in. Over the course of the year, I’ve had conversations with scouts, league execs, and front office guys across the NBA. But for this series, I wanted to tap into a different voice—coaches. Guys who game-planned for these prospects, tried to take them out of their games, and saw them up close in the heat of conference play.
And there’s no better place to start than the SEC.
The league was brutal this year. Fourteen teams in the NCAA Tournament. Bigs with length. Guards who could get downhill. Wings with NBA tools. It was a loaded group. For this first installment, I spoke with an SEC coach whose team matched up with several of the top prospects.
These are his words—not mine.
Raw, unfiltered evaluations pulled straight from his scouting notes and coaching experiences. You’re going to hear how he schemed against them, what gave his team problems, and ultimately, who he believes has what it takes to carve out a role at the next level.
Buckle up.
Tre Johnson - Texas
"I think unless people know numbers, they don't understand him averaging seven and a half points per game in transition. You know, everybody talks about him at the rim, but scored seven and a half per game in transition, though. People would talk about his lack of rim attempts. And people don't understand how he was being guarded every night.