Ole Miss struggled offensively in its exhibition last Friday against the sixth-ranked team in Division II, USC-Aiken. The Rebels posted a points per possession of .91. Last season, only their loss at Mississippi State was worse on offense.
Some offensive struggles should have been expected without senior guard Marshall Henderson’s 20.1 points per game, which should make the overtime exhibition win less of a concern since Henderson will provide an immediate fix to those struggles. But to have that much trouble scoring against a Division II team is concerning for finding that second offensive weapon.
Not only dealing with Henderson’s suspension, the Rebels are also replacing their second and third scoring options from last season, and Ole Miss lacked assertiveness offensively. No one on the floor has ever been more than the fourth offensive option for Ole Miss.
This is where sophomore guard Derrick Millinghaus will be key. He is constantly looking for his shot. Millinghaus posted the second-highest shots per 40 minutes on the team last year at 14.09. His usage rate was also second-highest at 22.83. He is the one player who never appears to be timid with the ball.
He will shoot, he will score, he will create opportunities for teammates, but he will also make mistakes, all due to his speed.
“I’ve always wanted him to play fast,” head coach Andy Kennedy said of Millinghaus. “He’s small. Anytime you’re (5-foot-10), you’ve got to be the lowest-playing guy on the floor and you’ve got to be the fastest-playing guy on the floor.
“A lot of times he didn’t play as fast as I thought we needed him to in order to be successful.”
Millinghaus’ speed and assertiveness are exactly what Ole Miss will need to turn to without Henderson, as well as when opposing defenses go out of their way to neutralize the shooter.
Junior guard Jarvis Summers is the starting point guard. While he can create off the dribble, he is best suited at initiating the offense and being a complementary scorer via a catch-and-shoot or penetration. But Ole Miss can play the two point guards together. Against USC-Aiken, Summers and Millinghaus shared the floor for over 13 minutes.
While both payers are most effective when they are the point guard as opposed to a wing, they are still two of the top, most trusted players on this team. Never playing them together would result in getting just 40 total minutes from them, but playing alongside each other allows Ole Miss to get more minutes from two of its best players.
While Millinghaus can be inefficient and out of control with the ball, he is the best option Ole Miss has for a go-to scorer without Henderson and as a No. 2 option.
If he can turn his one-on-three shot attempts in the lane into passes to open shooters, Ole Miss could have an effective slasher as its second offensive weapon.
Looking at the frontcourt for offensive answers, Ole Miss could have a potential threat in freshman forward Sebastian Saiz. Overall, he was passive, as was the entire team, against USC-Aiken. But he showed flashes.
Saiz set a lot of ball screens, and he managed to turn one into a beautiful 15-foot jumper when Millinghaus hit him with a pass following the screen. That duo has the potential to play a two-man game to produce points in a simplistic way.
Saiz also showed the potential to be a quality roll man after the ball screens. Although Ole Miss didn’t torch Aiken with the pick-and-roll, Saiz rolled to the basket and created the potential for an easy scoring chance, pending the defenses’ decisions.
Ole Miss will need to find some offense when it takes on Troy this Friday in the season opener without Henderson and again in January when Southeastern Conference play gets started. But they will need another way to score the ball even with Henderson on the court. Millinghaus or Saiz, or a combination of both, could be the missing ingredient in the Rebel offense.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss men’s basketball, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
-Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
