Georgia Bulldogs

Editor's note: ESPN.com’s Summer Shootaround series catches up on the offseason storylines for each conference. For more on SEC, click here.

Alabama: Trevor Releford
The Crimson Tide lost a host of important pieces and will be relying mainly on freshmen and sophomores. Coach Anthony Grant will need Releford to lead the way on the score sheet and in the locker room.

Arkansas: B.J. Young
The highly touted guard had a solid freshman season and could be poised for a major breakout as a sophomore. Guard play, particularly point guard play, is probably the most important part of Mike Anderson's up-tempo attack. Young will have the ball in his hands often and should be a lot of fun to watch.

Auburn: Jordan Price
The top recruit in Tony Barbee's 2012 class, joining a roster decimated by dismissals and offseason transfers, Price should be the best Tigers player from the get-go.

Florida: Kenny Boynton
Once seen as a conscienceless gunner, Boynton quietly submitted a fantastic offensive season for the Gators. With Brad Beal and Erving Walker gone, Boynton should get even more touches. If he maintains his efficiency, look out.

Georgia: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Caldwell-Pope was the gem of Georgia coach Mark Fox's 2011 recruiting class and showed plenty of promise as a freshman, averaging 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds a game.

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While the top teams stay the same, Georgia's deep class climbs into the top 10 , while Clemson, which keeps adding top D-linemen, moves one step closer to joining the Dawgs.

Editor's note: ESPN.com’s Summer Shootaround series catches up on the offseason storylines for each conference. For more on SEC, click here.

Alabama

Best-case scenario: The most impressive thing about Alabama's season was not just that Anthony Grant had the onions to suspend his two best players down the stretch but also that Alabama played so well after he did. That bodes well for the upcoming season, in which Grant will incorporate talented freshman small forward Devonta Pollard with essentially the same team that finished 7-3 down the stretch. If Alabama can find some outside shooting to go with its typically stingy defense, it should be in the NCAA tournament yet again.

Worst-case scenario: The Crimson Tide shot 28.9 percent from 3 last season, good for 328th in the country. That was the main cause of Alabama's offensive struggles, and Pollard is unlikely to alleviate it this season. If the defense slips even a bit from its top 10 efficiency perch, Alabama will take a step back.

Arkansas

Best-case scenario: B.J. Young is a highly talented player and a prime candidate for breakout stardom, but he isn't the only talented sophomore on the roster. When Mike Anderson took over at Arkansas, he managed to keep all of John Pelphrey's last-ditch 2011 recruiting class, including guard Rashad Madden and forward Hunter Mickelson. With a season in Anderson's demanding system under its belt, this program appears set to vault itself to NCAA-tournament-bubble relevance once more.

Worst-case scenario: I'm not sure how this team won't improve, given the increase in experience and the time spent learning on the fly last season. But for all that talent, the Razorbacks have to improve on the defensive side of the floor. Anderson's teams are at their best hassling opponents 90 feet from the rim, but the 2011-12 edition was far too permissive to be a consistent winner.

Auburn

Best-case scenario: Tony Barbee has raved about the talent he has accumulated this offseason. That's not exactly a high bar, but he has a point. Auburn brought in two top-100 recruits, four-star shooting guard Brian Greene and two junior college transfers who could contribute right away. This will be a whole new squad, and while an NCAA tournament berth is still a season or two away, the Tigers are almost certain to improve over their ugly, sub-.500 season.

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When and where: Nov. 19-20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Semifinal schedule for the Legends Classic
Nov. 19: Indiana vs. Georgia (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU); UCLA vs. Georgetown (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Nov. 20: Third-place game (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU); championship game (10 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Initial thoughts: It may be a simple four-game showcase, but this is a high-profile and exciting way to bring college hoops to the shiny, bottle-service-in-your-luxury-box Barclays Center. I'm all-in. ... These four teams have combined for 119 NCAA tournament appearances, primarily thanks to Indiana, UCLA and Georgetown, three of the sport's most storied programs. ... This is UCLA's coming-out party, and it's going to be fascinating to see that talented squad begin to sort itself out in some of its first high-profile, klieg-light competition.

Matchup I can't wait to see: UCLA versus Georgetown. It's really our first glimpse at UCLA uber-recruits Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson. It will also be our first look at how those players fit alongside purportedly slimming center Joshua Smith, forwards Travis and David Wear and former UNC point guard Larry Drew II, who could be the straw that stirs the drink or ... well, whatever the opposite of that metaphor would be. When Drew II rightfully lost his point guard spot to Kendall Marshall at UNC, he quit and transferred to UCLA a few weeks later. He should have redemption on his mind from day one in 2012-13. By the way, this isn't all about UCLA. Georgetown is going to be talented in its own right. Don't be shocked if swingman Otto Porter, and not Muhammad or Anderson, is the best player on the floor.

Potential matchup I'd like to see: Indiana vs. UCLA. I'd be fine with Indiana-Georgia too, but a chance to see what is likely to be two top-five teams -- not to mention two all-time bluebloods -- square off as early as Nov. 20 is absolute manna from the hoops heavens.

Five players to watch

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia: The 6-foot-5 shooting guard arrived at Georgia as the putative in-state savior, and while he wasn't quite that good as a freshman, he displayed plenty of long-term potential. The Legends Classic will be our first look at him since.

Larry Drew II, UCLA: There are a lot of players who deserve consideration (IU's Yogi Ferrell, UCLA's Anderson, Georgetown's Stephen Domingo), but Drew II might be the most fascinating, given his epic flameout at UNC and his reputation for being less than team-oriented. This is a huge season for UCLA. The Bruins' talent is immense. Has Drew II matured? Can he lead a team? Does he even need to? We'll see.

Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA: A 6-foot-6 guard with a versatile array of skills, he arrives in Westwood with as much hype as any UCLA freshman in some time. But is Muhammad all he is cracked up to be? Will he work in coach Ben Howland's system? You know what they say about first impressions.

Otto Porter, Georgetown: The stretchy swingman emerged from small-town Missouri in relative anonymity last season just in time to make a major impression on an upperclassmen-led Georgetown team. This year, Porter takes the reins, and Hoyas fans are right to expect big things.

Cody Zeller, Indiana: Zeller was already a beast as a freshman, but he spent the summer expanding his game and improving his core strength. This will be the first chance to see -- against quality competition at least -- the results of that offseason regimen. It's an early glimpse at the early favorite for national player of the year.

Title-game prediction

Indiana over UCLA: I get the feeling the Bruins will be a work in progress throughout November and December, which is OK; there's a lot of talent to mesh in one offseason. Indiana has its own pieces to incorporate but will arrive in 2012-13 much more fully formed, and it'll be the better team at the Legends Classic.

Whom others are picking:

Andy Katz: Indiana over UCLA
Jason King: Indiana over UCLA
Myron Medcalf: Indiana over UCLA
Dana O'Neil: Indiana over UCLA

John Isner might have to accomplish something otherworldly for his performance in the upcoming Olympics to become what he is best known for at London’s tennis venue: the historic grass courts of Wimbledon.

The former Georgia all-American forever etched his name into the sport’s history books in 2010, when he won an 11-hour match against Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon, finally clinching victory by a 70-68 margin in the fifth set.

Isner has hardly taken a break to prepare for the London Games, having gone deep into tournaments in each of the last two weeks -- first beating Lleyton Hewitt two weekends ago in Newport for his first ATP title of the year, then losing to U.S. teammate and doubles partner Andy Roddick last weekend in the semifinals in Atlanta.

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Allison Schmitt’s name is already well known within NCAA and U.S. swimming circles, but it is highly possible she is preparing to introduce herself to a much broader audience.

The Georgia all-American, who recently took first in both the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming trials, is one of American swimming's most promising medal candidates at the London Olympics.

“I’m a little more experienced now,” Schmitt said, looking back on her experience since the 2008 Olympics, when she earned bronze on the U.S. 4x200 relay team. “I know what to expect so I can plan for the obstacles that are going to happen or what’s going to happen that isn’t exactly on my plan and I can be more flexible with that. So I have a lot more confidence and I’ve raced a few of the international people that have already made their Olympic Games, so I’m pretty confident in racing them, too.”

Schmitt followed a somewhat unusual path to the London Games, taking the last academic year off to focus solely on training and competitions. She trained in Baltimore over the last year with swimming superstar Michael Phelps and coach Bob Bowman -- with whom she also worked before the 2008 Olympics -- and plans to return to Georgia after the Olympics to complete her final year of eligibility and finish her degree in psychology.

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As a three-time Olympic veteran, Reese Hoffa knows certain tricks of the trade.

For instance, the Georgia all-American and former world champion shot putter knows to carry a chair so he won’t be on his feet for the entirety of Friday’s opening ceremony, which could stretch as many as five hours. But the 34-year-old wants to appreciate that and as much of the London Games as he can, as this will surely be his final Olympics.

“I’m going to walk [in the opening ceremony] and I’m going to try to enjoy as much of the Olympics as I possibly can because I kind of know I’m not going to get another chance to do this again,” Hoffa said. “London, if there ever was a place in your Olympic dream career kind of thing, I couldn’t think of a better place.”

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Dozens of competing countries will not be as well-represented as the University of Georgia will be at the upcoming Olympics in London.

Not only will 26 former, current and future Bulldogs represent 12 different countries in London, but diving coach Dan Laak will serve as an assistant for the U.S. team and former five-time UGA Olympian Teresa Edwards will serve as the Chef de Mission, a liaison between Team USA and the Olympic organizers.

“We’ll all be watching the Olympics with a keener eye, knowing that so many Bulldogs will be competing,” Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said in a statement. “I think it’s great that we have current, past and future student-athletes participating in the Olympics, and there’s no question they will share a unique bond in London. It shows how special the Georgia programs represented are, in terms of their foundation, their tradition and their success in their arenas.”

Men’s tennis star John Isner is perhaps the best known of Georgia’s Olympic contingent, but he is not the only Bulldog who could make headlines in the coming weeks. Allison Schmitt will compete in four swimming events in London and might be UGA’s top medal hopeful. Eleven other Bulldogs swimmers -- plus diver Chris Colwill -- and 10 track and field competitors make up the bulk of the competitors with UGA ties.

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The Champion Gridiron Kings, which features 64 of the nation’s top skill-position football players, will be held this Friday through Sunday at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Check out the roster here. The championship game will be televised on ESPNU at 7 p.m. ET Sunday.