The 1983 movie “Trading Places,” starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Akyrod, was a comic farce built on the premise of a homeless scam artists and a pampered commodities broker places as part of a bet by a couple of sinister millionaires.
If you were to recast the movie with Kermit Davis Jr. and Ben Howland and use basketball as the backdrop, the movie would look a lot like Saturday’s game at Humphrey Coliseum between Davis’ Rebels and Howland’s Bulldogs.
The 1983 movie was a comedy, but Saturday’s remake was no laughing matter for about 10,000 of the 10,021 who crowded into the Hump for the Saturday matinee.
In what was a thoroughly entertaining game played in an electric atmosphere, Ole Miss scored the game’s last four points for an 81-77 win.
To appreciate the significance of what is happening, a little background is required.
When Davis was named as the Rebels coach in 2018, he took over a team that was living in a refrigerator box and panhandling pocket change. Ole Miss finished runner-up in 20 games last year and finished dead last in the SEC.
The prospects weren’t any better going into this season. Ole Miss was pegged to finish 14th the preseason poll, which some people thought might be a little high, even in a 14-team league.
Mississippi State, by comparison, was supposed to be the state’s up-and-coming program. In his fourth season, Howland, with a roster filled with talented veterans and highly-touted newcomers, were picked fourth in the league, a dark-horse contender for the SEC title.
That was the story-line as recently as a week ago, at any rate.
Yet today, it is Ole Miss that is at the top of the standings and it is the Bulldogs, who through two SEC games have played defense just good enough to almost win, who are at the bottom.
Even early in the season, it was pretty obvious that the prognosticators had misjudged the Rebels. Davis has never been in the habit of finishing last. In fact, in 16 years at Middle Tennessee State, his previous job, Davis had just one losing season.
Until a week ago, Davis has proved that the Rebels weren’t terrible at all.
Now? Suffice to say, folks are starting to look at Ole Miss much differently.
The Rebels are l3-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference after Saturday’s win. More importantly, they’ve already won two road games, which are pure gold.
A week ago, State was 12 -1 and No. 14 in the country. Today, the Bulldogs are 12-3 and 0-2 in the league. This is not what was expected, either.
When the Top 25 poll comes out Monday, the Rebels and Bulldogs will trade places. Ole Miss will be in, the Bulldogs will be out.
Lest Rebel fans are tempted to pop the champagne corks or Bulldog fans are contemplating renting their garments and sitting in ashes, it’s wise to note that the basketball season is still in the opening act. There are likely to be a few plot twists along the way. Outrageous fortune and fickle fate may wait just around the corner.
But for today, it’s shaking up to be one heckuva story, especially the role Kermit Davis Jr. is playing in this drama.
Kermit Davis Jr. attended both the first and most recent game at Humphrey Coliseum. In 1975, he was a teenager watching his dad, Kermit Davis Sr., coach the Bulldogs to a win over Indiana State.
The younger Davis had no divided loyalties then. He didn’t Saturday, either.
Davis, who went on to play at Mississippi State, admitted that returning to Humphrey Coliseum did conjure up a few old memories.
“I hadn’t been in Humphrey for a long time, I really haven’t,” he said, ‘but some things run through your mind as a kid who grew up in this building. It was a little strange.”
Admittedly for Bulldog fans, losing to Ole Miss is about as pleasant as getting dentistry performed by a blacksmith. But even the most grudge-bearing Bulldog can spare a kind thought for Davis, a MSU alumnus, who has paid his penance for ancient sins.
Those most surprised by the Rebels’ sudden ascendancy, are perhaps unfamiliar with Davis’ journey to Ole Miss.
He had his first head coaching job by age 28 (Idaho) and by 30 landed a big-time job at Texas A&M. He was a young rising star in the profession.
But his one year at Texas A&M in 1990 was a disaster, ending in a recruiting scandal that landed the Aggies on probation and very nearly ending his career as a head coach. Davis eventually landed at Middle Tennessee and seemed destined to finish his career in the mid-majors.
But Davis bloomed where he was planted. Over 16 seasons, he led MTSU to seven postseason tournaments, a run punctuated by his upset win over second-seeded Michigan State in 2016.
When Ole Miss parted ways with Andy Kennedy, opportunity at long last knocked for Davis.
Davis, now 59, hasn’t looked back, either. Not even Saturday. Especially not Saturday.
“I have so much respect fro Mississippi State and their program,” Davis said. “But you know, it’s amazing how the good Lord, he puts you in places you’re supposed to be. My path is exactly right for Ole Miss. It’s a special place. We absolutely love it. I’m at the place I need to be at.”
No, Saturday was no fond trip down memory lane for Davis.
He’s not going in that direction.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is ssmith@cdispatch.com.
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