OXFORD — The University of Mississippi men’s basketball program is struggling to take its next big step.
The Rebels’ season ended in the National Invitation Tournament for the fifth time in six seasons last week after a 96-93 loss to Illinois State. Ole Miss finished with a 20-14 record and an 8-8 mark in the Southeastern Conference.
That’s not necessarily a bad season, but there’s plenty of pressure on coach Andy Kennedy to finally build a team that can make the NCAA tournament. The Rebels haven’t been to the NCAA tournament in any of Kennedy’s six seasons and the program’s 10-year absence from college basketball’s premier showcase is the SEC’s longest.
This year’s moderate success could be a sign of better things to come. The Rebels managed to win 20 games despite the mid-season loss of leading scorer Dundrecous Nelson, who was kicked off the team in January after he was arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
A key reserve — guard Jelan Kendrick — also missed several games down the stretch because of disciplinary reasons.
“We’re a resilient team,” junior forward Murphy Holloway said. “We came through a lot of adversity.”
Ole Miss should return most of its team next season, including forwards Reginald Buckner and Holloway and guards Nick Williams and Jarvis Summers. The only major loss is 6-foot-9 senior Terrance Henry, who was one of the team’s most versatile players and gave the Rebels four productive seasons.
Summers, a 6-foot-4 guard, was one of the SEC’s best freshmen, averaging 10.2 points and leading the team in assists. Buckner and Holloway were a bruising combo in the paint, together averaging more than 18 points, 17 rebounds and nearly three blocks per game.
Kennedy feels he’ll have a group of physical, no-nonsense, defensive-minded players. Now he wants to make sure the Rebels are more efficient on the offensive end.
Ole Miss was among the SEC’s worst shooting teams this season, ranking 9th from 3-point range (31.6 percent) and last in free-throw shooting (60.3 percent). The Rebels made up for those deficiencies by being the second-best team in the SEC in both rebounding and blocked shots.
“We’ve got to get a little offensive pop,” Kennedy said. “We’re down three guards from where we started, and two of those guys (Nelson and Kendrick), I honestly thought would be 30-minute-a-game guys.”
Some other young players showed promise at the end of the season, including guard LaDarius White and forward Aaron Jones. White scored 25 points on 10 of 12 shooting from the field in the Rebels’ season-ending loss to Illinois State, and the 6-foot-6 freshman’s ability to score from behind the 3-point arc or by finishing around the rim should be useful next season.
“There’s a couple of kids who I expected to get the most value out of (the NIT) and (White) was one of them,” Kennedy said. “He’s playing better and better and better.”
The Rebels have already signed guard Martavious Newby and forward Anthony Perez-Cortesia, and Kennedy hopes they can come in and contribute immediately. Kennedy said he still might add a few players to the roster if the right opportunities arise.
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