BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? LSU head coaches Trent Johnson and Van Chancellor and senior All-Southeastern Conference players Tasmin Mitchell and Allison Hightower will be speaking to regional and national media members on Thursday at 2009-10 SEC Basketball Media Day in Birmingham, Ala.
LSU is part of the second session of Tipoff 2010 and is paired with Mississippi State and Vanderbilt from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Birmingham Marriott. Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky are in the first session from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The rest of the conference participates in the afternoon.
Johnson, Chancellor, Mitchell and Hightower are scheduled to do interviews with the SEC Network, ESPN, ESPNU and Fox Sports Net that the networks will use during the season. This season represents the first year of the SEC’s 15-year milestone television agreement with ESPN.
Several media members from across the Southeast and nation will also be in attendance. SECSports.com will provide transcripts and archived video and audio after each session.
The Lady Tigers were favored to win the SEC regular season title for the first time in the 20-year history of the media poll on Tuesday. LSU garnered 12 first-place votes while Tennessee was second with six. The Lady Tigers return nine letterwinners and four starters from their 2009 NCAA Tournament team.
Hightower will address reporters on Wednesday as the SEC Preseason Player of the Year. The 2009 State Farm Honorable Mention All-American led LSU with 14.9 points per game as a junior. She heads into her senior year on watch lists for the Wade Trophy and John Wooden Award.
The LSU men’s team is selected to finish fourth in the SEC Western Division standings. Johnson, the 2009 SEC Coach of the Year, enters his second season with the Tigers after leading them to an SEC regular season title in his first year.
Mitchell, an All-SEC first team performer a year ago, is on the league’s preseason second team. He averaged 16.3 points per game as a junior and is on pace to shatter the school’s career record for minutes played. Mitchell turned down the NBA Draft to return for his senior season.
SEC Tipoff 2010
Thursday, Oct. 22 at Birmingham Marriott
Session I (8 a.m.-10 a.m.)
Alabama ? Head coaches Anthony Grant, Wendell Hudson; Mikhail Torrance, Ericka Russell
Georgia ? Head coaches Mark Fox, Andy Landers; Albert Jackson, Ashley Houts
Kentucky ? Head coaches John Calipari, Matthew Mitchell; Patrick Patterson, Victoria Dunlap
Session II (10 a.m.-12 p.m.)
LSU ? Head coaches Trent Johnson, Van Chancellor; Tasmin Mitchell, Allison Hightower
Mississippi State ? Head coaches Rick Stansbury, Sharon Fanning-Otis; Jarvis Varnardo, Marneisha Richards
Vanderbilt ? Head coaches Kevin Stallings, Melanie Balcomb; Jermaine Beal, Merideth Marsh
Session III (1:30-3:30 p.m.)
Auburn ? Head coaches Jeff Lebo, Nell Fortner; Lucas Hargrove, Alli Smalley
Ole Miss ? Head coaches Andy Kennedy, Renee Ladner; Terrico White, Bianca Thomas
Tennessee ? Head coaches Bruce Pearl, Pat Summitt; Tyler Smith, Angie Bjorklund
Session IV (3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.)
Arkansas ? Head coaches John Pelphrey, Tom Collen; Rotnei Clarke, Charity Ford
Florida ? Head coaches Billy Donovan, Amanda Butler; Chandler Parsons, Steffi Sorensen
South Carolina ? Head coaches Darrin Horn, Dawn Staley; Devan Downey, Lakeisha Sutton