"Kentucky has become to the SEC what Tom Hanks was to the movie Cast Away – it’s on an island by itself."

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Jon Rothstein of CBS and FanRag Sports Network, took some time this weekend to discuss the hot topics and questions surrounding the 2016-17 college basketball campaign.

It's not a college basketball article without Kentucky in it. Here's some of what Rothstein had to say:

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Will any team in the SEC legitimately challenge Kentucky?

It doesn’t look like it.

Florida appears to be the second-best team in this conference on paper, but the Gators’ roster has never collectively advanced to the NCAA Tournament and that also includes head coach Mike White.

Texas A&M meanwhile lost four key pieces – Anthony Collins, Alex Caruso, Danuel House, and Jalen Jones – from last year’s team that reached the Sweet 16. The Aggies have a promising sophomore class with Admon Gilder, D.J. Hogg, and Tyler Davis, but suffered a major blow when the NCAA ruled freshman point guard J.J. Caldwell ineligible for the 2016-17 season.

Bruce Pearl and Ben Howland have both recruited exceptionally well at Auburn and Mississippi State, respectively, but each of these coaches is probably a year away from fielding a legitimate NCAA Tournament caliber team.

With major defections at South Carolina up front and at Vanderbilt in both the back court (Wade Baldwin) and the interior (Damian Jones), it makes it seem as if those two programs are also both entering practice with questions at several different positions.

Kentucky has become to the SEC what Tom Hanks was to the movie Cast Away – it’s on an island by itself.

To read Rothstein's full article, click here.