As the final buzzer sounded Tuesday night at The Pavilion, what came to a close was not only the contest with Georgia Tech, but another season of Ole Miss basketball. A season that started (unofficially) in August finally finished three-quarters of the way through March. Although this wasn’t the postseason run the Rebels envisioned, it was still an opportunity. It still extended the season two weeks. It still gave experience to the majority of Rebels who will be back on the court next fall. It gave Sebastian Saiz one last time to salute the home crowd. Basically, NCAA Tournament or not, it mattered.
After all, Ole Miss finished its season with two of its final four wins over teams who beat Duke, and almost a third. And, ironically enough, as the Rebels took the court Tuesday night, the Blue Devils were probably watching – just from their respective couches.
The Rebels of March looked drastically different from the Rebels of November. The brightest stars of the postseason run, Breein Tyree and Terence Davis, sat nestled on the bench to start the year. As Tyree recovered from an ACL tear and Davis started showing signs of explosion, they eased their way into the lineup – and the hearts of the Rebel faithful.
Although both are technically undersized for their positions, they don’t play like it. Davis’ tenacious, “I don’t care if there’s four defenders back. I’m coming for their neck,”-style of play quickly garnered him a spot in the starting lineup.
Sophomore Terrance Davis charges toward the rim during Ole Miss’ 74-66 loss to Georgia Tech in the National Invitation Tournament. Davis, who averaged 1.8 points per game his freshman year, nearly averaged 15 points per game this year and is expected to play a key role in next year’s team. (Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
At the preseason press conference, Andy Kennedy said he expected contribution from Terence Davis in an eighth/ninth man role. Davis shattered those expectations, asserting himself as the Rebels’ most lethal offensive threat. He transformed himself from a kid who averaged 1.8 points a game freshman year to someone who averaged 15 the next, casually dropping 30 on Syracuse – at the Carrier Dome, in the postseason.
The same could be said for Tyree, whom Andy Kennedy compared preseason to a mini Russell Westbrook. He seized the reins as floor general in December and never looked back. Fans will always remember his emphatic poster jam on Mississippi State forward Aric Holman in February. Tyree drove to his right, rose up like he would just lay it in, then quickly flipped his wrist and threw it down on Holman’s head. Holman is 6-foot-10. Tyree is 6-foot-0. Seems like he just needed a little bit more cowbell. State’s got 55-20; we’ve got Tyree.
Often the criticism of this program is its sustained mediocrity-kind of greatness-kind of not-ness. The common retort to proclaiming Andy Kennedy as the winningest coach in school history is his dismal NCAA Tournament pedigree. In 11 years as head coach, Kennedy has only reached the Big Dance twice, never making it past the round of 32.
But truthfully, it doesn’t matter. His NCAA Tournament appearances came in 2013 and 2015 – if Ole Miss makes it next year, that’ll be three times in six years. Kennedy’s had 20 wins in nine of 11 seasons, won 63 percent of all games and has made it to the postseason eight times.
The intangibility of Kennedy’s resume is the fascinating part, though.
The Dean of SEC Basketball has never brought in a top 50 recruiting class. In fact, his past four classes have been ranked 59, 94, 53 and 72, respectively. So how does Kennedy consistently produce 20-win campaigns, sans the presence of blue chip recruits? He is a wizard at finding hidden talent on the transfer market. The two most polarizing offensive threats of the last decade, Marshall Henderson and Stefan Moody, were both transfers. Cullen Neal and Deandre Burnett? Transfers. Kennedy’s ability to find a diamond in the rough is the silver lining on a coaching career that has enjoyed a prodigious amount of success. Not to mention, he finally has a suitable building to play in and recruit with. The benefits of of The Pavilion have already shown in recruiting, and it will take a little time for it to blossom on the court.
With that being said, Kennedy needs to make the tournament next season. The zenith of Ole Miss basketball is upon us, and with this immense hype around the program comes a surplus of expectation, as well.
As aforementioned, Ole Miss basketball isn’t losing much to graduation. It’ll return five of its top six scorers, its top three 3-point shooters and will only lose 55 minutes of nightly game action. Sure, Ole Miss will miss Sebastian Saiz. The big Spaniard was a force on the low block and the defensive glass. With an arsenal of moves and an insatiable appetite for double-doubles, replacing Saiz will be difficult. But for all of Saiz’s greatness came his inefficiencies, as well.
Saiz’s body screamed power forward, but his position read center. Because of this, he was a liability on defense when matched up with taller, stronger bigs. In addition, his offensive game was rather sedentary; for Sebas to thrive, he needed post touches, which impeded the offense’s ability to play fast.
To clarify, this isn’t meant to slander Saiz – he’s an all time Rebel great and arguably one of the top players to ever come through Oxford.
Replacing the Spaniard is Polish 7-footer Dominick Olejniczak. Olejniczak arrived in Oxford last August but was forced to sit out this year because of NCAA transfer rules. In his time at Drake University, Olejniczak (whom Kennedy calls “Big Dom”) showed flashes of elite rim-running ability and mature footwork. He plays offense facing the basket and is a fantastic screener – giving Ole Miss’ offense an added dimension it hasn’t seen in years.
In addition to the return of most of the 2016 team, Kennedy bagged his first-ever top 50 recruiting class. The class includes two players, JaMarko Pickett (No. 47) and Devontae Shuler (No. 99), rated in the ESPN top 100. It also owns a commitment from three-star guard Parker Stewart.
In years past, Kennedy’s rotations have often been on the shorter end of the spectrum, playing anywhere from six to eight guys a night. Those times are over. With only 55 minutes to replace and three new game-ready bodies to replace them with, Kennedy will have quite a few perplexing lineup decisions to make come next fall. But that’s a good problem to have if you’re a basketball coach.
Success on the hardwood is typically defined by wins and losses, conference titles and trophies.
There’s an old phrase saying, “Life is nothing more than two dates and a dash; what you do in that dash is all that matters.” The same can be applied to Ole Miss and Kennedy’s tenure as head coach. By all accounts, the summation of his time in Oxford is not eye-popping, but Kennedy’s success is different. Like the idea of the dash, what Kennedy has done is reinvigorate a program from the ground up.
Kennedy has established a culture of winning within this organization. There’s a legitimate buzz surrounding the team, and the burgeoning excitement of next year will only increase as the summer months wane. For now, Kennedy and the Rebels will soak in the past 36 games, breathing in the success of victory and exhaling the sting of defeat. The road to next March begins now.
