College Basketball: The SEC All-Twitter Team

To conclude our analysis of the SEC Basketball marketing, it's time to name our All-Twitter team. This is not simply a list of the most followed or most active on Twitter. That's not why you come here. This is a chance to recognize those who are doing an amazing job of sharing original insights. I'm looking for that perfect balance of quality and quantity. This is a recommendation on who you should follow. And it's open to any coach, school, or conference official.

Before I get going, click here if you'd like to follow everyone in SEC Basketball on Twitter. (Everyone I've been able to find - all the coaches, programs, and insider blogs). If you see someone who isn't included, please let me know and I'll get them dropped in.

Moving along, here we go. I hope you dig it...

SEC First Team All-Twitter. To make the First Team, I have to be willing to follow them myself. Sounds fair, huh?

Georgia Head Coach Mark Fox = SEC Twitterer of the Year.

Surprised? With only 366 followers, The SEC's Twitterer of the Year, is dwarfed by the numbers of his runner up. But there's something about his page that draws you in. He posts on his team in an authentic voice, has fun with it (even talking about snowball fights with the players), and is active. He even posts about always dunking on his birthday. Great leader, and very personal. You can check him out here.

Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari

Over 1 million followers.

Wow.

Coach Calipari has created a platform to message to the world from -- and hits a very passionate fan base with relentless, consistent updates. He posts multiple times each day, shares news on his team, and updates fans on where they can catch him or his squad next. I'd like to see him reference his website more, as we saw Keno Davis do at Providence. And I'd like to see a little more engagement with that monster fan base. But that's nitpicking. This is a case study in how to build and grow an audience... an empire even. Click in here.

Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan

Coach Donovan brings a lot of energy on Twitter (here). He's got a follower base of 5500, and has among the most passion of any coach I've come across thus far. A really nice job of being charismatic on Twitter -- I just wish he was a little more active.

Mississippi State Men's Basketball

M State uses Twitter to lead their program. And it's evident if you click in here. They only have 550 followers, but they bring a nice level of updates and energy -- led by Gregg Ellis. Want a simple example of taking a standard update of "Free Throw extends our lead" and making it fun? Check this:

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEEE FT by Jarvis. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUGGGE"

Ole Miss Assistant Coach Torrey Ward

Coach Ward's enthusiasm on Twitter (here) is nearly palpable. He updates you on their squad, shares articles, interacts with fans, and just brings it. The fact that he only has 145 followers is remarkable. I suggest you give him a click of your time!

SEC Honorable Mention All-Twitter Team

Tennessee Men's Basketball

The UT Basketball squad has a decent presence on Twitter -- live blogging through games and sharing articles on the squad. There's an inkling of fun coming (posting on players taking grief for their music preferences on the latest road trip), and if we get more of that - look out. It's updated very frequently, and they have just shy of 1500 followers. Link here.

South Carolina's Spurs Up Blog

The blog is killer. It's authentic and personal. The Twitter site shares posts, which is solid as it lets you know when you should check them out. Now, bring some of that personality of the blog into mini-Twitter posts and we're going somewhere! Roughly 550 followers, click in here.

Vanderbilt Men's Basketball

While mostly a collection of in-game mini updates, Vanderbilt pumps this Twitter feed right into the basketball site, gaining nice visibility for their stream of updates. Just shy of 400 followers.

Tennessee Head Coach Bruce Pearl

Bruce Pearl is one of the most bold coaches out there. I think you almost have to be to lower your guard and wear one of those bright orange suits for games. And the fun side of Coach Pearl shows up on the UT Athletics site as well. His Twitter following amounts to a small army of 11,400+ followers. And he updates fairly regularly... What I'd like to see though is for him to lower his Twitter guard and just have fun, just be himself. Add that to his big following and you get a Twitter juggernaut. Link here.

SEC Hoops

In what looks to be the SEC's basketball Twitter account, you get regularly updated on scores and articles on all 12 squads. It's solid, though missing some of the fun I'd expect from this conference. 2,800 followers, link here.

That's it. I hope you dug this wrap up. If you'd like to follow the whole SEC (all coaches, conference sites, team sites, and team blogs), click here. Oh and if you want to get all these Digital Team updates, click here to follow me on Twitter.

Check back tomorrow - I'm going to hit you with the coolest things in College Basketball in the month of December.

Andy