Barring a late salvo, the SEC basketball recruiting wars are over for 2003-04. On paper, at least, the rich got richer.

Five McDonald's All-Americans are coming into the league, three of them - Joe Crawford, Rajon Rondo and Randolph Morris - in Kentucky's spring signing haul. Even the hypercritics in Big Blue Land who have grouched about Tubby Smith's recruiting methods are mute.

Billy Donovan lured another McDonald's pick - Tennessean Corey Brewer - to Florida, where everybody wears shorts to class even in February. Donovan complemented him with three other top-100 prospects.

Alabama hopes to mount a second consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 run with a posse of perimeter reinforcements, highlighted by top-30 guard Ron Steele.

And Mississippi State bolstered its class with a late addition, snatching Birmingham power forward Walter Sharpe away from the Crimson Tide.

As for upward mobility, Arkansas helped itself with two top-50 additions. If only the big one, Al Jefferson, hadn't gotten away (to the NBA draft).

The Razorbacks, perhaps determined to get a Jefferson, landed junior-college point guard Dontell Jefferson in the spring.

LSU again benefits from home cooking. Last year it was Brandon Bass; this year it's McDonald's All-American Glen Davis. Baton Rouge produces more good players per capita than any city in the conference.

Vanderbilt might lack a hamburger all-star, but Kevin Stallings' class is considered solid, led by New Orleans' Shan Foster. Davis Nwankwo might turn out to be a nice spring pick-up.

Dennis Felton got busy at Georgia in the spring, adding three signees, including one from Morocco, to his two fall additions. Three of the five are in somebody's top 100.

Guard Toney Douglas is the gem of Auburn's class, a November gift from ousted coach Cliff Ellis to successor Jeff Lebo.

Of the recruiting services I polled, no one is overwhelmed by the results at Tennessee, South Carolina or Ole Miss. The Gamecocks might turn out all right if two juco additions contribute like Josh Gonner did last year.

The Vols created a stir by signing Jackie Butler in November. It turned out to be a hollow victory when Butler signed with an agent in April.

Of the various SEC signees ranked in the 100-to-200 range, perhaps none is more intriguing than UT's spring find, Kentucky "Mr. Basketball" Chris Lofton.

Based on national rankings for the Class of '04, your '05 SEC All-Freshman team will be Crawford, Rondo and Morris of Kentucky, Davis of LSU and Florida's Brewer.

That, of course, won't turn out to be the case.

For one thing, rankings aren't scientific. Auburn signee Douglas, for instance, is ranked 66, 85 and 140 by three different recruiting gurus.

For another, opportunity will trump talent. If you don't believe me, ask Levi Stukes or Todd Abernethy.

Of the eight players on the 2003-04 All-Freshman team, only four were among the top eight recruits based on rankings of the Class of '03: Bass, Gary Ervin, Ronnie Brewer and Olu Famutimi.

Renaldo Balkman of South Carolina, a player I liked a lot last winter, barely made the top 100 as a recruit.

Two other All-Freshman picks, Abernethy of Ole Miss and Stukes of Georgia, didn't even merit top-150 consideration. But they signed on for teams with immediate needs and made the most of it.

Seven freshmen ranked No. 100 or higher as prospects averaged at least 12 minutes a game last season. That includes UT's Dane Bradshaw.

But let's give the gurus credit. Fourteen consensus top-100 recruits entered the SEC last year. Discounting redshirts, only one, Kentucky's Shagari Alleyne, averaged fewer than 13 minutes a game.

AAU Time: The summer AAU circuit heated up this weekend. Nike had a big event in New Orleans. Reebok had a bigger one in North Carolina, Bob Gibbons' Tournament of Champions. UT's top targets were split between the events but since this is a quiet period for recruiting, college coaches can't attend.

Coaches go back on the road in the first week of July.

Erase Class of '05 Atlanta big man Alade Aminu off UT's recruiting board. He committed to Georgia Tech.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.