For only the third time in Andy Kennedy’s 10 years in Oxford, Ole Miss won’t be playing in the post-season.
However, it’s not entirely fair to put that at Andy Kennedy’s feet. To a man, Kennedy did wizardry getting this group to 20 wins and a winning record.
The Rebels, however, as Kennedy admitted throughout the season, were not athletic enough. They didn’t shoot well enough. They couldn’t put the ball on the floor and score with any consistency. They had one consistent post player in Sebastian Saiz, although Marcanvis Hymon did give the Rebels some help down low throughout the year.
Mississippi guard Stefan Moody goes up for a layup in a previous game against Florida. (Photo by: Payton Teffner)
It stinks Stefan Moody’s last game isn’t going to be in the NCAA tournament or the NIT. He was one of the best — if not the best — players that ever put on a Rebel uniform. He was tough as nails. He could shoot the lights out, (and, to be fair, that was a definite possibility before the Pavilion) and he kept Ole Miss in some games that they probably shouldn’t have been in.
He’s gone, though. He’ll never play another game at The University of Mississippi. He’ll never walk out to another starting lineup at the Pavilion. Ole Miss has to find scoring elsewhere.
They’ll also have to replace Tomasz Gielo, Martavious Newby and Anthony Perez. Newby provided Ole Miss with a pretty decent perimeter defense, while Perez and Gielo had some big time buckets throughout their careers at Ole Miss.
The Rebels do return Donte Fitpatrick-Dorsey to the point guard position, along with Rasheed Brooks at shooting guard. Sebastian Saiz will return down low, as will Marcanvis Hymon. There were bright spots this year for the Rebels from freshmen guard Terrence Davis, as he may be one of the more athletic players on the team.
Deandre Burnett transferred from Miami this last season, and will likely be considered to replace Moody in the upcoming season.
Ole Miss needs Burnett to score from beyond the perimeter. Ole Miss shot only 34 percent.
Ole Miss signed combo guard Breein Tyree from New Jersey, who could immediately come in and compete for playing time. The Rebels also added two big men in Tyrek Coger from Cape Fear Junior College and 6-foot-10-inch forward Nate Morris, who will help down low.
It’ll be an interesting dynamic next season. Yes, Stefan Moody is gone, but Ole Miss may have more help offensively. They’ve added some pieces to the post to help Saiz and Hymon. They’ll likely add one to two post grad transfers to come in and help immediately.
The Rebels will have a decent non-conference slate in 2015, as they’ll play Memphis and Massachusetts in Oxford next year. While those teams weren’t successful in the 2016 season, the likelihood is that they’ll be better next year and could provide the Rebels quality win opponents before conference play. Ole Miss will also take part in the 2016 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, another opportunity to garner quality wins.
– Collin Brister
