Jarvis White (32) guards a USC-Aiken player during Friday’s game. Photo: Austin McAfee
The Ole Miss men’s basketball team will begin the regular season tonight as it hosts the Troy Trojans. The Rebels are coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history, as they won the SEC tournament and made it to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.
“My focus is on getting our guys prepared to play game one,” Kennedy said. “Now, it’s for real. Dress rehearsals are over.”
But Ole Miss will have to start this season without four of its top-five scorers from last season. Murphy Holloway, Reggie Buckner and Nick Williams graduated, and senior guard Marshall Henderson will sit out due to a suspension.
Henderson’s suspension began last Friday when the Rebels beat USC-Aiken 75-70 in overtime in an exhibition game. Ole Miss felt the loss of Henderson, the leading scorer in the SEC last year, as they posted an offensive efficiency rating of .91 points per possession.
Without Henderson, Ole Miss will be in need of offensive prowess. Junior guard LaDarius White has the expectations of becoming a go-to offensive player. White scored 13 points in the exhibition game, but it took him 13 shots to get there. He didn’t get to the free-throw line a lot either, as he went 1 of 2 from the stripe.
Sophomore point guard Derrick Millinghaus is the most aggressive offensive player Ole Miss will have. Millinghaus scored 15 against USC-Aiken. He got to the free-throw line nine times and didn’t have a turnover while playing a team-high 32 minutes.
Ole Miss is going to need multiple players to replace Henderson, and Kennedy is expecting sophomore forward Anthony Perez to step up.
“He’s got so much talent,” Kennedy said. “I want him to play to his size. Anthony’s 6-foot-9. He needs to play above smaller guards. Right now, he doesn’t play (at) six-nine, and that’s something we’re trying to emphasize.”
In the post, junior forwards Aaron Jones and Demarco Cox will see their first playing time in a game since their injuries in January. Freshman forwards Sebastian Saiz and Dwight Coleby will add depth up front. Sophomore forward Terry Brutus tore his ACL in the offseason and will miss the entire season, which leaves Ole Miss with just four healthy, scholarship post players for the season.
Troy, of the Sun Belt Conference, is coming off a 12-21 season. They lost two of their top three scorers from last season.
Senior guard Hunter Williams will lead the Trojans. He averaged 10.4 points per game last season and dropped 23 points and six assists in Troy’s exhibition win over Victory University. Along with Williams, senior guard Antoine Myers scored 19 on 8-of-11 shooting in their exhibition. Myers averaged eight points last season.
In the frontcourt, Tevin Calhoun scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, seven of them on offense, against Victory.
Troy won its exhibition by a score of 105-68.
Ole Miss and Troy will follow the women’s season opener against Jacksonville State, which begins at 5 p.m. The men are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss men’s basketball, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
— Tyler Bischoff
