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Will Kentucky have Enes Kanter in the paint?
The obvious question facing Kentucky entering the new season remains whether Turkish import Enes Kanter will be eligible to play or not. Kanter, perhaps the Class of 2010's top big man recruit, of course remains in limbo as the NCAA investigates allegations that he received more than $100,000 in salary and extra benefits while playing for a club team in his homeland.
Whether the NCAA rules Kanter eligible or not is of great significance because his presence is the difference between Kentucky being a good team and a potential title contender. The 6-foot-11 big man could provide the interior scoring and rebounding the Wildcats need to replace DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson, but Kentucky might have to play a more up-tempo, trapping style if Kanter's not 
With or without Kanter, the Wildcats have a lot to be excited about with respect to their talent at other positions. The play of freshman point guard Brandon Knight during Kentucky's exhibition tour of Canada suggested he's a future star, while fellow elite recruits guard Doron Lamb and forward Terrence Jones also will be expected to make an immediate impact. Furthermore, returning wings DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller will provide much-needed experience and perhaps assume larger roles.
Can Florida live up to its own expectations?
When Florida forward Chandler Parsons told reporters that his goal for the new season was nothing short of a national championship, the quote received a lot of attention in the local press. Not a single member of this year's Gators has won even a single NCAA tournament game, so what was Parsons thinking putting pressure on the team with such lofty aspirations?
As he told me last week, what he was thinking was that few teams nationwide return more talent than Florida. The entire starting five returns intact from a Gators team that won 21 games a year ago but dropped five of six to end the season including a double overtime first-round heart-breaker to BYU in the NCAA tournament.
Leading Florida's SEC title push this season will be diminutive point guard Erving Walker and high-scoring Kenny Boyton, one of college basketball's most explosive backcourts. Meanwhile in the frontcourt, veteran forwards Parsons, Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin are each returning starters, but they will be pushed for playing time by a big man-heavy recruiting class headlined by McDonald's All-American Patric Young.
How much better will Georgia be?
Although it took a miracle four-game run through the 2008 SEC tournament for Georgia to earn its lone NCAA tournament berth in the past eight years, the Bulldogs may not require such good fortune to make a return trip next March. This Georgia team has more talent than any of the teams coach Mark Fox previously took to the postseason at Nevada.
The Bulldogs have NBA-caliber talent in junior forward Trey Thompkins and junior guard Travis Leslie, two of the top players in the SEC last season. Thompkins averaged a team-high 17.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks as a sophomore and Leslie scored 14.8 points a game and pulled down 6.8 boards.
What will determine how much Georgia improves on its pedestrian 14-17 record last season is whether the supporting cast surrounding Thompkins and Leslie is more effective this year, especially at point guard. The development of sophomore guard Dustin Ware, the addition of high-scoring Tennessee State transfer Gerald Robinson and the arrival of top recruit Marcus Thornton should provide a nice boost.
Can Mississippi State survive until its stars return?
Big man Renardo Sidney and guard Dee Bost figure to be two of Mississippi State's most important players next season, so Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury has devised a creative schedule to help his team survive without them.
In the first six weeks of the season, the Bulldogs will play a season-opening exhibition game and nine non-conference games against low-major and mid-major competition to reduce the impact of Sidney's nine-game suspension. Then when Sidney becomes eligible, Mississippi State will play a second exhibition game to ease him into the rotation before beginning the meat of their non-conference schedule with a marquee matchup with Virginia Tech on Dec. 18.
Bost will rejoin his teammates in time for the start of conference play, so the Bulldogs enter the season as heavy favorites in the beleaguered SEC West even without the graduated shot-blocker extraordinaire Jarvis Varnado. The return of second-leading scorer Ravern Johnson and the arrival of newcomers Brian Bryant and Jalen Steele should help Mississippi State tread water until it's at full strength.
Will Tennessee overcome off-court distractions again?
The specter of the NCAA's investigation into Bruce Pearl's recruiting tactics has enveloped Tennessee's basketball program this offseason, yet it's difficult to predict how the players will react. Either the Vols will rally together the way they did after star Tyler Smith was arrested and kicked off the team last winter, or they'll allow the distraction to derail a potentially promising season.
Although the graduation of Wayne Chism, J.P. Prince and Bobby Maze deprives Tennessee of three key players from last year's Elite Eight team, the Vols still have enough good personnel to return to the NCAA tournament next March. Junior wing Scotty Hopson has the talent if not the steadiness to be among the top players in the league, freshman Tobias Harris should make an instant impact and veteran guards Melvin Goins and Cameron Tatum are still searching for consistency.
What increases Tennessee's challenge as much as the departure of Chism or the Pearl investigation is the strength of the SEC East. Slip-ups in winnable games will be particularly problematic this season for the Vols with two games apiece against Kentucky, Florida, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
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