The Ole Miss men’s and women’s basketball teams participated in the third annual Square Jam on Friday night.
“What a great time it is to be an Ole Miss Rebel,” said men’s basketball coach Andy Kennedy, speaking to the crowd before the start of the event. “I hope we can continue the momentum that Hugh (Freeze) and his team have created around here.”
Six brand new players for the men’s basketball team and eight new players for the women’s side made their debut on the Ole Miss hardwood. Square Jam represented the start of a new season for Ole Miss hoops.
Kennedy mentioned how excited he was for fans of Ole Miss hoops to see these new faces and to see the potential and skill that these players can bring to the court.
“I think it’s good for our guys to kick off the basketball season, even though we have been practicing for a couple of weeks,” Kennedy said. “I appreciate the effort the university puts in to acknowledge the work put in by both the men’s and women’s teams.”
Women’s basketball coach Matt Insell, who experienced Square Jam for his second year, was really excited for his players to be part of it.
“The girls really enjoy it more than anything,” he said. “This is for them. This is what it’s exciting for them having a good time.”
The Square Jam was kicked off by a skills challenge, resulting in junior Gracie Frizzel knocking off freshman Keira Golden on the women’s team.
The 3-point competition involved four teams, with the teams of Gracie Frizzel and LaDarius White advancing to the final against Terrence Smith and Toree Thompson. Frizzel and White went on to win a close final by the score of 27-25.
The excitement began with everyone’s favorite event: the slam-dunk competition.
Contestants Stephan Moody, Roderick Lawrence, Dwight Coleby and John Crnogorac attempted to wow the crowd.
Moody and Lawrence advanced to the final round, where Moody won with some crowd-pleasing dunks to take home the crown.
Andy Kennedy is fond of this event and hopes his players can feel motivated going forward into the season.
“It’s a jump off; it is a good encourager,” he said. “We are in the grind day in and day out, and this is a good reminder that basketball season is right around the corner.”
“It’s exciting. I like it a lot, “ senior newcomer M.J. Rhett said. “At my old school, we didn’t do anything like this; it’s a big difference here, and I like it.”
The Ole Miss men’s and women’s teams open up the season Nov. 14. The women’s team plays against Grambling at 11 a.m., and then M.J. Rhett and the men’s team follow up with Charleston Southern at 6 p.m.
