Chris Beard has only been in Oxford for two seasons and the results have already been quite notable. Last year, Ole Miss was part of historic success for the SEC and was certainly pulling its own weight, tying for 6th place in that tough race. Not only that, those Rebels made the Sweet Sixteen for just the second time in program history and as a program are trending in a fantastic direction.
What’s unfortunate here is that not as much momentum will carry over as a very senior-laden lineup will return a very small portion of last year’s talent. Standouts like Jaemyn Brakefield, Matthew murrell, and Sean Pedulla are off to the next chapters of their careers leaving Malik Dia as the lone notable returner. As a senior, Dia should be even more formidable in the Rebels’ frontcourt but reinforcements are coming in all forms.
A decent freshman class pairs nicely with a transfer class full of new talent for Ole Miss. The backcourt gets a new look with Kentucky’s Travis Perry and Louisville’s Koren Johnson, while former High Point star Kezza Giffa should be a major factor. Another Louisville addition in James Scott adds a major presence in the paint while former LSU power forward Corey Chest has potential in the longterm as well.
The one addition that really caught eyes was AJ Storr and he’s certainly a well-traveled athlete. A 6-6 guard from northern Illinois that attended four different high schools, Storr moves onto his fourth college after prior work with St. John’s, Wisconsin, and Kansas. He showed promise with the Red Storm before a coaching change and then averaged 16.8 points and 3.9 rebounds as a star for the Badgers, getting Second Team All-Big Ten honors.
This season isn’t just important for Ole Miss but for Storr as well, as he hopes to bounce back off a disappointing campaign with the Jayhawks. Storr saw his production take a massive step backwards, starting only a couple of games and seeing far fewer minutes while at Kansas. He established himself as a productive scorer and phenomenal athlete and he’ll need to regain that form for Ole Miss to remain successful in an SEC packed with talent.
With what this team lost in the offseason, Ole Miss needs Storr to put up the kinds of numbers he was showcasing with Wisconsin. He was a major grab from the transfer portal even after that downturn with Kansas and that potential is why there could be excitement in Oxford again this season. All of these new faces in new places could mean anything when it comes to chemistry but Storr playing like an All-SEC wing would go a long way to getting Beard’s group back in the Big Dance.