Marshall Henderson takes the court during Square Jam. Photo: Austin McAfee, The Daily Mississippian
The Ole Miss men’s basketball team (1-0) hits the road this weekend, as it travels to Conway, S.C., to take on the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina (1-1) Saturday evening.
The Rebels relied on a career-high 28 points from junior guard Jarvis Summers in their season-opening win over Tory, but this weekend’s matchup is about the return of the Southeastern Conference’s scoring leader from last year in senior guard Marshall Henderson.
“I’ve seen what he can do,” Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy said to reporters Wednesday. “Last year, we played 36 games, and that’s really what I’m judging him on more so than this past week. I’m hoping that him being a senior and him having gone through the experience he went through last year, that he’ll be much more equipped to handle all the things that will be thrown at him on Saturday.”
This road matchup will be a good test for an Ole Miss team that is replacing two of its top three scorers from last season.
“It’s a great challenge for us,” Kennedy said. “Any time you take a young team, and that’s what we are predominantly, we’re still playing with a lot of young guys. You put them in front of hostile fans. I’m anxious to see how we respond to that environment.”
Having Henderson back in the lineup will help, but getting Summers along with sophomore point guard Derrick Millinghaus more involved will be a key for the Rebels going forward. Junior forwards Aaron Jones and Demarco Cox as well as freshman forwards Sebastian Saiz and center Dwight Coleby can get Ole Miss some easy buckets, but Millinghaus, who scored 13 in the season opener, is the most likely candidate to step up as the second-leading scorer.
The Chanticleers are led by freshman guard Elijah Wilson, who scored 15 points in a loss to the Zips of Akron in the season opener and 16 points in a win against Guilford.
The Rebels shot 56 percent from the free-throw line on Friday night and 35 percent from the floor. Kennedy deemed those unacceptable numbers and said that they need to improve going forward.
Tipoff for Saturday’s contest is set for 6 p.m.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss men’s basketball, follow @thedm_sports on Twitter.
— Tyler Carter
tcarter@go.olemiss.edu
