Best of a too-short SEC season

COLUMBIA -- Seems as if SEC play just began, and already we're on the doorstep of the conference tournament in Nashville. Where did the winter go?

With the warmer March temps (at least in theory) come postseason awards. Here's what stood out during the course of the past two months.

Team of the Year

Kentucky

Of course it's the Wildcats. The Hate Factor is back with the Cats. Rival SEC schools and teams are again irritated by Big Blue, and that means John Calipari is doing something right.

Is his track record crystal clear? Nope. But until there's fire to go with the haze of smoke, then let it go and give 'em credit.

John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have been everything they were supposed to be, and more. Patrick Patterson has figured out, during SEC play, how to fit in with those guys. Watch Eric Bledsoe defensively; he's good there, growing elsewhere.

They're young, and that leads to a bit of uneven play through the course of a game. More often than not, the Wildcats' good periods are so good that there's no cause for concern. Beware, though. They're going to run up against a good, disciplined team in the NCAAs. Is UK mentally built for March?

Team Built for March

Vanderbilt

This is just my caveat category so I can talk about Vandy, which I think is the team to watch in the NCAA Tournament -- possibly in the SEC tourney, too, since it's up the street from its home gym.

Got to like the various pieces, and mostly experienced pieces, that Kevin Stallings employs. It's difficult to pinpoint how to defend a team with-- between Jeffery Taylor, A.J. Ogilvy, Jermaine Beal -- a lot of different means of attack. If someone's off, there are others to pick it up.

That spells good things in tournament play. (Now watch 'Dores lose in first round, just to spite me.)

Player of the Year

Devan Downey, USC

Call me a homer. Whatevs. What Downey has done with such a limited amount of talent around him is simply incredible.

Wall is phenomenal. He's a game-changer. But if he's off, there are a lot of other dudes on that Kentucky team to pick it up for him.

For Downey as an individual, however, there's no player in the league for whom opposing coaches have to gameplan. It's not even that close.

Even at 5-9, he always manages to get his shot. And he makes a good deal of them.

He's a truly special player whom we'll only appreciate more in time.

Freshman of the Year

DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky

I feel the need to start off by apologizing to Wall. It's not my intention to snub him in award talk, because I think he's very deserving. However, in the games I've watched, it's been Cousins who has been the more dynamic freshman on the floor for Kentucky. The discussion, assuredly, is between those two, though.

Cousins' footwork is symphonic. And you just don't see that with college big men -- and you really don't see it from first-year players.

Once this guy gets a hold of his emotions and foul trouble (they're certainly linked), he will be darn-near unstoppable. Unfortunately for college fans, he'll be doing that in an NBA city near you, and not the college game. C'est la vie.

Coach of the Year

Bruce Pearl, Tennessee

Yeah, Calipari's going to win his share of votes for this, but I don't think you need to go any farther north than Knoxville to find the league's best coach this season.

Additional coverage
South Carolina Gamecocks

What happened New Year's Day is, without question, a coach's very worst nightmare. Four players in a car, all accused of incredibly damning, against-the-law things. Oh, and the worst allegations are saved for your very best player who happens to be one of the conference's very best players.

Pearl had to kick Tyler Smith off the team as SEC play was beginning. And, yet, the Volunteers stuck together on and off the floor. Credit, in a big-time way, Pearl and his staff.

Beyond even jaw-dropping victories against then-No. 1 Kansas and then-No. 2 Kentucky, Tennessee has put up 20-plus wins and got to the position it likely would have been in even with Smith. Very impressive.

Bust of the Year

Ole Miss and Terrico White

It's difficult to come down too hard on a team that's on the verge of 20 wins and still very much in the NCAA discussion. And it's difficult to come down too hard on a player that's averaged nearly 15 points a game.

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com, check out the Gamecocks blog at postandcourier.com/blogs/gamecocks and follow him on Twitter (@gamecocksblog).