SEC action starts for men’s basketball, the NFL has more hirings, Gator baseball loses a player and some college players decide to go pro in our Thursday Sports News And Notes…
** In SEC men’s hoops openers, Ole Miss gets its first road win at Tennessee in 22 years with a 93-88 win; Auburn tops Florida’s next opponent, LSU, 68-63; Mississippi State nips South Carolina 56-54 and Texas A&M pounds Arkansas 69-51. Kentucky plays Vanderbilt tonight.
** Speaking of Tennessee, a new coaching staff will lose many of the team’s best offensive players as quarterback Tyler Bray and wide receivers Justin Hunter and Cordarelle Patterson will leave school early for the NFL Draft. Meanwhile Georgia hired Mississippi State defensive coordinator Chris Wilson as its new defensive line coach and Alabama hires Colorado defensive coordinator Greg Brown as its secondary coach.
** The Gator baseball program will not have senior outfielder Tyler Thompson this season. He tore his ACL for the second time last season and will not play this year.
** ESPN is reporting that Jacksonville coach Mike Mularkey’s job might be in jeopardy. The team hired a new general manager from the Atlanta Falcons organization and he worked with Mularkey previously but the team’s assistant coaches have been given permission to look for new jobs.
** The Orlando Magic lose 108-105 to Denver; the Magic fall to 12-23 on the year.