Every SEC Basketball Team's Most Underrated Player: Part 1 of 4

Part one includes Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas and Florida

The Southeastern Conference is currently listed as the top conference in the country via KenPom adjusted efficiency. Auburn is the number one team in the rankings, and Tennessee and Alabama are both in the top 15 again this season with rankings of 6 and 11 respectively. There’s plenty of talent in this conference, some easier to spot than the rest.

Let’s look at the most underrated player on each SEC Team.

Auburn: Chad Baker-Mazara. 6-7 Guard. Junior. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

I’m torn between the senior Chad Baker-Mazara and freshman phenom Tahaad Pettiford, but I’ll give Mazara the nod. He’s always been gifted with elite athleticism, a wiry, quick twitch athlete with speed and vertical leaping ability. The difference from this year to last is his assertiveness on the offensive end, which has progressed brilliantly. He has turned himself into a better fit for Bruce Pearl’s system.

He uses his athleticism to score at the rim and to elevate on jumpshots. His decision making has improved, as he has developed himself from an athlete with upside to a key piece in the Pearl offense. Baker-Mazara is actually the cousin of MLB player Nomar Mazara. He is 6-7 from Santo Domingo Dominican Republic. Auburn is the third team he’s played for in his college career, starting at Duquesne and San Diego State before ending up at Auburn with Pearl.

I personally enjoy Mazara’s wholesome sense of humor. Here are a couple of his funny moments from Twitter. Click the photo to follow the link.

It feels like he should have at least some draft projectability, given the blend of size, athleticism, and shooting touch. He’s a career 41% three point shooter, and will  reach 100 made threes for his career this season. He’s enjoyed an efficient start to this season, posting strong Offensive rating scores in all of the Tigers games so far.

Alabama: Grant Nelson. 6-11 Forward. Senior. Devils Lake, North Dakota

People forgot how good Grant Nelson was last year when the Tide landed Rutgers’ transfer Cliff Omoruyi. 

An adjustment period was needed for Nelson last year as he made the transition from North Dakota State and the mid-major Summit League to Alabama and the grueling SEC. He became Nate Oates’ starting center last season and played efficiently, getting better as the season went along and he became more comfortable.  

He’s been great this season as well, building off the strong second half and postseason last year. His averages are 12 points per game, 7 rebounds, and 63% shooting. Similar to Baker Mazara, Nelson is a quiet but consistent producer struggling to stand out on a loaded roster. Nelson led the SEC in two point field goal % during conference play, going 52-75. He’s started this season 12-14 on twos, a whopping 86%.

This season he’s settled in nicely at power forward next to Omoruyi. Alabama’s frontcourt pairing will give the SEC problems all winter long with Omoruyi’s physicality and Nelson’s efficiency. Both can protect the rim. Nelson had 24 points and five blocks in a memorable Sweet 16 performance last year. He’s a big game player, but knows his role well enough to thrive in it.

Arkansas: Adou Thiero. 6-8 Guard / Forward. Junior. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I’m old enough to remember when Adou went by (THEE- Air- Oh), but he’s going by (THEE-ROW) now. Coach John Calipari brought Thiero with him from Kentucky for his inaugural season in Fayetteville. Thiero broke out mildly last season, showing breathtaking flashes of athleticism and a coach’s dream motor and energy level. He is a rare athlete. Explosive and violently aggressive with control. This season, Thiero has become a high usage player under Calipari, and has handled this transition remarkably well. In his first two seasons at Kentucky, Thiero never scored more than 16 points. Now he’s averaging over 18 per game on 65% shooting, top 50 in the country. 

He’s shown a much better jump shot, and while he’s only 4-11 from three point range this season, he’s shot it confidently enough to assume he’ll stick around that 35% mark. The fact the defense has to respect his outside shot now has opened up driving lanes for him to attack, and attack he does. Thiero’s 13 dunks already this season leads Arkansas by a considerable margin, with the rest of the team only having seven combined. I watched lots of Adou Thiero last season at Kentucky, and he was a guy I never wanted to take my eye off of. He plays at a different intensity level than the other nine players on the court, almost as if he’s on a solo mission out there.

Florida: Alex Condon. 6-11 Forward. Sophomore. Perth, Australia.

Condon’s frontcourt responsibilities doubled when Micah Handlogten went down for the season with injury. Condon has responded well. The 6-11, 230 pound sophomore has started all five games for Todd Golden’s 5-0 Gators, which are ranked #20 in the most recent AP Poll. Condon is averaging 12 points per game, seven rebounds per game, and leads the team with two blocks per game as well. He’s recorded multiple blocks in four straight games. In his best game of the season so far, Condon went for 23 points on 7-7 shooting including 2-2 on three pointers, two assists, and two blocks. It only took him 25 minutes. He’s only playing about 24 minutes per game, each one efficient and productive on both ends. With the injury to Handlogten, Condon needed to step up, and his development is a big reason Florida has been successful so far this year. 

(via NBADRAFTPOINT on X)

Offensively, Condon has been aggressive around the basket, drawing a lot of fouls. His free throw rate is 100%, and for reference, FT rate tries to show how much a player can get to the free throw line relative to his regular field goal attempts. Not to be confused with free throw %. Condon has taken 36 free throws and 36 field goals, so his FT rate is 100% because of the 1:1 ratio. Hopefully that makes sense, but the point is he can draw fouls and get himself to the line. Once he gets there, the touch is still a work in progress, as Condon has shot just 58% from the charity stripe this season. His passing as a big, along with his ability to not turn the ball over make him an efficient player. KenPom has him at 122.6 for offensive rating. 

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Subcribe for more! Four more teams coming tomorrow in part 2!

Coming Tomorrow: Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State

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