Ole Miss Basketball: Rebels might be gearing up for a strong season

Ole Miss basketball has reached the NCAA Tournament in just three of the last 19 seasons. Could a strong season be on the horizon in 2020-21, though? Maybe.

Ole Miss basketball quickly experienced a minor resurgence in the 2018-19 season when head coach Kermit Davis took the program to the NCAA Tournament in just his first year at the helm. While the Rebels were unable to put together a similar result during this past season, expectations are growing with each offseason addition ahead of this coming fall. Coach Davis obviously has some returning pieces to work with but has also been active in the transfer market.

Of course, Ole Miss will be losing star senior Breein Tyree to graduation this offseason and that is a major killer. Of the top players from last year’s roster, though, the next four leading scorers are all coming back. That means Devontae Shuler, KJ Buffen, Blake Hinson, and Khadim Sy, all of whom started the vast majority of contests and averaged at least nine points per game each, are set to don the uniforms once again.

Additionally, former Top 150 recruit Austin Crowley is also returning to the mix after filling the court for 17.1 minutes per game as a freshman. A Year 2 breakout from the 6-foot-5 guard would really help push Ole Miss over the edge.

Perhaps more importantly that the Rebels’ solid group of returning talent, Coach Davis has four highly-impactful newcomers that will be ready to take the court during this coming season and add more talent to the starting lineup as well as the bench.

The most recent immediately eligible addition to the roster comes in the form of Romello White. A 6-foot-8 forward who was a full-time starter at Arizona State for the last three years, White can fill a valuable role in the frontcourt at the “4” or as a small-ball “5”. Over the course of this past season, White averaged 10.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game on 56.9% shooting from the field for the Sun Devils. He was a highly-coveted graduated transfer and should slide into the starting lineup right away in Oxford.

Furthermore, Ole Miss was also able to secure a commitment from Rider graduate transfer Dimencio Vaughn. A 6-foot-5 guard capable of scoring at all three levels, Vaughn was named to the All-MAAC team during this past season after averaging 14.8 points, 6.6 rebounds. 1.9 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. He makes his impact on both ends of the floor and showcased his ability to be a solid shooter, in addition to finisher, as a junior.

These two were only recently added to the 2020-21 roster for Ole Miss by way of the graduate transfer market this offseason but the other two significant newcomers have been committed for a while. This includes Jarkell Joiner, who sat out this past season due to transfer rules, and incoming four-star freshman Matthew Murrell.

Joiner, who started his career at Cal State Bakersfield, is a 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 15.6 points per game while starting all 34 contests as a sophomore. He was named to the All-WAC Team for his efforts and is now ready to be a contributor for the Rebels, at least in a reserve role. He can be a solid scoring threat at all three levels and proved that by shooting 37.0 percent from three in 2018-19.

Murrell, though, is possibly the most exciting newcomer to the program. Ranked at No. 38 in the class by 247Sports Composite, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard from IMG Academy will be arriving with high expectations. Despite the amount of depth on the Rebels’ roster for this coming season, Murrell seems poised to potentially hold down a starting spot. He is a deadly shooter from beyond the arc and finishes well with either hand at the basket.

In summary, it is clear that Ole Miss features far more talent than some preseason rankings are giving it credit for. A couple of months ago, this team might have been expected to finish near the bottom of the SEC with hopes for exceeding those with a potential breakout from a returning piece or immediate stardom from Murrell. Now with the likes of Vaughn and White in tow, though, the Rebels can go a good 8-9 deep with their rotation.

Ole Miss now fits the mold of a preseason Top 45-ish team that should compete for an NCAA Tournament bid. Considering those previously mentioned potential breakouts for Shuler, Crowley, or a dominant start by Murrell, it wouldn’t be a shock for the Rebels to even outshine that prediction. This roster has talent, and Coach Davis is well-known for being a solid sideline general.