The preseason hoops polls (updated)

South Carolina gets a bit more preseason respect from the writers than the coaches in the basketball polls, both out today.

The AP writers poll has the Gamecocks 13th among the “also receiving votes” crowd, or a total of 38th.  The Gamecocks got 28 votes, or voting points. (If you don’t know, you get one point for a 25th-place vote, two for a 24th, and so on.)

The coaches’ poll is also out, and South Carolina got one vote. And no, Darrin Horn is not a member of the voting panel, so that means someone out there is at least showing the Gamecocks some favor. If you go by rankings, then South Carolina is 54th.

Really, the rankings aren’t bad, considering USC didn’t make the tournament last year, and there are 342 teams in Division I. Plus, it’s just a preseason poll, and you know how those usually turn out.

A few quick impressions and observations:

- The SEC has quickly recovered in the respect department. In the coaches’ poll, you’ve got No. 5 Kentucky, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 18 Mississippi State and Vanderbilt is fifth in also receiving votes. Florida, Mississippi and USC make it seven teams garnering votes.

And in the AP, Kentucky is No. 4, Tennessee at No. 10, Mississippi State is No. 18 and four schools (the same additional four as in the coaches’ poll) also got votes.

I think you could make an argument for Kentucky being higher, while Tennessee might be too high. It’s tough to really peg Mississippi State until you know whether Renardo Sidney will be eligible. (As for John Wall, Kentucky sounds pretty confident that at worse he’ll miss a few nonconference games.) And I’ve been on record for awhile saying I think Vanderbilt will be pretty good.

- Florida, which was actually picked behind USC in the SEC East, got more votes than South Carolina in each poll. That shows that the Gators, even after missing the NCAA tournament the past two years, still get a lot of deference.

- Clemson is No. 24 in both polls. Boston College, which USC visits on Dec. 30, got six votes from the AP and four from the coaches. Western Kentucky, another nonconference opponent for the Gamecocks, got a couple votes from the AP.

- Oklahoma seems underrated. Guard Willie Warren is back, and coach Jeff Capel has that program rolling.

I also don’t see how UCLA doesn’t make either poll. Maryland would be in my top 25 (and because of Greveis Vasquez, not my diploma).

-  Georgia Tech might be too high. Yes the Jackets have Derrick Favors, but that’s quite a leap from the bad team they were last year.

North Carolina at No. 4 in the coaches? I know the recruiting was great and they’ve got Ed Davis, but really, No. 4? The No. 6 ranking in the AP is more accurate, but still a bit high.

I’m also not buying Texas as the nation’s third-ranked team quite yet.