OXFORD — Ole Miss opened preseason practice last week, with the Rebels embracing high expectations, both internally and externally.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello has Ole Miss at No. 20 in his way-too-early preseason rankings.
“In (Chris) Beard’s last four seasons at Texas Tech and his lone full season at Texas, his teams never ranked outside the top 20 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency,” Borzell wrote. “Last season in Oxford? No. 141 at KenPom, 12th in the SEC. That has to change. The additions of Dre Davis (Seton Hall) and Mikeal Brown-Jones (UNC Greensboro) are a good start.”
That’s not something Beard would argue. The second-year Ole Miss coach watched his team’s defensive metrics and offensive efficiency plummet in the second half of the season as the Rebels fell out of NCAA Tournament consideration.
Months later, with several veteran pieces back and joined by a strong transfer portal class, Beard is focused on building a tough, resilient team that can get Ole Miss back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since March 2019.
“It’s just really trying to improve,” Beard said. “That’s the bottom line. If I had to explain the strategy of practice in one sentence, it’s just trying to get your team ready to play and improve.”
Beard has an older team. Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield highlight the returners. Murrell, who averaged 16.2 points per game, declared for the NBA Draft and went through the entirety of the process before deciding to return for another season in Oxford.
“We’ve been in this situation before with players,” Beard said. “I was totally impressed. It was really cool to see to kind of watch and see and analyze. Matt played in the SEC all those minutes and that pro process starts two days later. I think he was in Miami doing his pre-draft and that goes for like six weeks. When he made the decision to come back, it was kind of a 99th hour deal because he was still gathering information.”
Beard instructed the veteran guard to take a couple of days off before beginning summer work with the Rebels. Murrell didn’t follow those instructions.
“He said, ‘No, Coach, I’ll be back pretty quick,’” Beard said. “Matt came back for one reason and that was to get Ole Miss into March Madness. He said it and now his actions are showing nothing but exactly what he said he would do. I’m super appreciative of Matt’s mindset.”
Murrell’s mentality, Beard said, lets him coach him hard. That has allowed him to set a tone in workouts, one that Beard hope leads to a tough team that can handle and overcome adversity.
“Most veteran players finally grasp that at some point,” Beard said. “‘We get it. We understand why this needs to be difficult and urgent and intense today because certainly we know what’s coming when we play in an SEC game here in a few months.’ …Growth happens when you’re uncomfortable.”
Thankful for football: Beard said he’s hoping his team can capitalize on some of the on-campus buzz Lane Kiffin’s football Rebels have created in the early part of the season.
“I think this is a really cool time to be on this campus right now,” Beard said. “Football, we all benefit from that. I’ve thanked Lane before. I’ve thanked the coaches. I thank the players when I see them. We’re all benefiting from what they’re building and what they’re executing currently. Whether it be the excitement of the fan base or the momentum in the Grove Collective with Walker (Jones) and his staff, we benefit. What we would like to do is do our part. We would like to return the favor.”
