McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts presented by Harry Alexander
1. Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta visited Ole Miss late last week to take a look at the Rebels’ facilities and talk about the vacant head coaching job.
Matta, assuming he’s healthy, would be a splashy hire for Ole Miss, one that would give the program a strong dose of credibility.
From speaking to industry insiders, I’d be surprised if Matta ends up in Oxford after the coaching carousel stops turning. Matta is still being paid by Ohio State, isn’t desperate for a gig and has told people a year away from coaching has done wonders for his health. A second year off, he’s told friends, might do more wonders. Bottom line: It’ll have to be a great fit for Matta to jump back in, and Matta is concerned about the ability to attract high-level prospects to Ole Miss. Kudos to Ole Miss for pursuing Matta, and it's certainly interesting that chasing Matta sent a message inside the industry that Ole Miss has an open checkbook with which to make this hire.,
Another former coach taking a sabbatical of sorts is former Marquette and Indiana coach Tom Crean. His name has come up in connection with the Ole Miss job, and it’s my opinion Crean has talked to the Rebels about the job in Oxford. However, it is widely anticipated Georgia will fire Mark Fox after the Bulldogs are eliminated this week in St. Louis and then turn its attention to Crean.
The coach most often connected to Ole Miss inside the industry rumor mill is Middle Tennessee’s Kermit Davis. Davis is interested in Ole Miss, and it’s my opinion that interest is very mutual. However, things could get interesting if Ole Miss can’t lock Davis up quickly. For example, if Auburn moves on from Bruce Pearl due to the FBI investigation, he’ll leave a talented roster behind, and Davis’ name would certainly come up on the Plains. More intriguing is a possible falling of the dominos that could see Pittsburgh fire Kevin Stallings and re-hire Ben Howland, thereby opening Mississippi State for Davis, an MSU alumnus and lifelong fan.
Steve Forbes’ star has lost some luster in the wake of East Tennessee’s three-game losing streak, but he remains a coach to watch at Ole Miss and elsewhere. Florida-Gulf Coast’s Joe Dooley, one source said, could also get prominently into the mix in Oxford if things fall right.
Ole Miss has made privacy and confidentiality a priority, so it’s certainly possible there are or will be surprise candidates. It’s also possible the ongoing FBI investigation could cause chaos and create unforeseen openings nationally that change the coaching landscape.
Ole Miss’ season will almost certainly end no later than Thursday, so Ross Bjork and Co. are about to be officially on the clock, looking for a coach who can breathe much-needed oxygen into a program starving for life, not to mention an identity on either end of the court.
Along those lines, don't completely rule out Florida coach Mike White. If Ole Miss does indeed have an open checkbook, White remains someone to at least watch. The Gators are on a winning streak right now, and some of the rhetoric from disgruntled Florida fans has cooled. It's my somewhat educated opinion the Ole Miss job is White's if he wants it. It's also my opinion that White has not yet told Ole Miss no. Now, that could be because White would prefer Ole Miss move on and not force him to tell his alma mater no, or, I suppose, it could be White feels the pull of home enough to at least think about things.
The Gators are headed back to the NCAA tournament, so White has time to sort things out. In the end, I know no one who thinks this all ends with White back in Oxford, but again, until he publicly closes that door or until Ole Miss makes a hire, don't completely remove the former Rebel point guard from the list of possibilities.
2. The Matt Insell era at Ole Miss ended on Friday, a day after the Rebels were defeated by Missouri in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville.
The Rebels were 1-15 in SEC play this season, though they did beat Florida in the first round in Nashville on Wednesday. There were rumblings of major problems off the floor as well. Sources told RebelGrove.com several players complained about excessive verbal abuse. The environment inside the program, several sources told RebelGrove.com, was caustic all season and only got worse as the losses piled up.
The fact that Mississippi State has built an elite national title contender during the same timeframe Insell failed to gain any momentum didn't help his cause. Ole Miss now goes searching for a coach who can compete with a Mississippi State program that lost the national championship game last season and is 32-0 entering this afternoon's SEC championship game against South Carolina.
3. Ole Miss lost to Vanderbilt on Saturday, 82-69, ending the regular season 12-19 overall and 5-13 in the Southeastern Conference.
The Rebels finished in last place in the league and will face South Carolina on Wednesday night at 8:30 in the first round of the SEC tournament in St. Louis. The winner of that game will face Arkansas in the late game on Thursday night.
Ole Miss interim coach Tony Madlock and guard Terence Davis talked about Saturday’s game and the Rebels’ SEC tournament approach late Saturday.
4. Here are my round-by-round predictions for the proceedings in St. Louis:
First Round:
Vanderbilt over Georgia
South Carolina over Ole Miss
Second Round:
Texas A&M over Alabama
Missouri over Vanderbilt
LSU over Mississippi State
Arkansas over South Carolina
Quarterfinals:
Auburn over Texas A&M
Missouri over Kentucky
Tennessee over LSU
Florida over Arkansas
Semifinals:
Missouri over Auburn
Tennessee over Florida
Championship Game:
Tennessee over Missouri
5. At the end of last season, Jordan Ta’amu sat down with Phil Longo and told him he was staying at Ole Miss and he planned to compete for the starting quarterback job, regardless of Shea Patterson’s decision.
Patterson, as you likely know by now, decided to transfer to Michigan. That did nothing to impact Ta’amu’s approach.
“When Shea left, I don’t think his attitude changed,” Longo said. “He just started preparing for the spring and to his credit, just to show you what kind of person he is, he has helped mentor and teach Matt Corral, the new quarterback, since the day he got here. So have the other guys. It just kind of shows you what kind of team we have right now.”
Ta’amu has been one of the top performers through the first week of Ole Miss’ spring practices, leading what should be an explosive passing attack.
“He’s really good mentally,” Longo said. “It’s been interesting to watch in the first three practices, he’s made great decisions and kind of just picked up right where he left off at the end of the year. It’s great to be able to hone in on the real little things to get better at, and that’s where he is right now. We just want him to play the game faster, make decisions faster, get the ball out and take pressure off our O-line. That’s our focus right now.
“It’s just comfort level. I think it’s typical for a guy who started six games and played in eight of them. He just has that confidence. Things happen easier and much simpler for him. The game is much slower. He’s not only improving the things he needs to do but he’s helping me prepare some of the other guys.”
For his part, Ta’amu said he’s feeling more comfortable now than he has since he arrived at Ole Miss.
“(It is) just knowing the defense a lot better and getting that connection with the receivers back and everybody getting on the same page,” Ta’amu said. “Reps is the main thing for us. Just being on that field and getting that connection with the ones. Just playing our hearts out. That’s pretty much it. That’s all we’ve been doing is speed and tempo and that’s what we encourage our guys to do. Getting that done early – it looks kind of rough the first couple days, but as spring ball progresses it’s going to look pretty nice.”
Ta’amu said he’s focusing on his leadership skills this spring, knowing his role in that department will be critical. Other than that, he’s working on improving the little things that can be the difference between solid and great.
“Just knowing the game a lot more it’s a lot easier for me to make all my reads out there,” Ta’amu said. "It’s just in-game experience helping me out. Ever since I came in the game I feel like I have more command and now that I’m starting in the spring I just know I’ve always got to compete out there and I’m not going to take it easy. It’s just really good because everyone listens and everyone respects me.”
6. Both Longo and Ta’amu had high praise for Corral following Saturday’s practice at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
“Matt is extremely talented,” Longo said. “He has a huge arm. He just needs to make the transition. That’s what he’s doing right now — from the high school game to the speed of the college game. It’s nothing different than for any other mid-year freshman trying to get it going in the spring. We’re not helping him by slowing down. He’s got to try to get on the train at the speed that it’s leaving. At the end of the day, that’ll be for his benefit. For Practice 3, for a freshman who was in high school in December, he’s doing just fine.”
“He’s a great kid,” Ta’amu said. “He’s still young and learning and making little mistakes just like I did when I came in the spring. But he’s learning fast. He’s a bright kid.”
7. No position on Ole Miss’ depth chart is scarier than linebacker. The Rebels were thin there last season, and now DeMarquis Gates and Tayler Polk are gone, leaving a plethora of question marks and unproven players in their wake.
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff said Saturday the most impressive linebacker so far has been veteran Detric Bing-Dukes.
“He’s got more awareness now,” McGriff said. “You can see what a difference a year is making with him.”
McGriff said redshirt freshmen Josh Clarke and Zikerrion Baker have been pleasant surprises so far this spring.
“You can see the group collectively getting better,” McGriff said. “It was good to see them get out here (Saturday) in pads. I can’t wait to see video and see the fits.
“Right now we don’t have a group of starters. We’re all training right now to find out what’s going to be the best mix and who’s going to come out the tunnel first. That’s what spring ball is all about — to find out who can do it once you get out there in game situations.”
8. McGriff also addressed some other topics pertaining to the Rebels’ defense Saturday. McGriff said he’s been impressed with freshman defensive end Charles Wiley.
“He’s improved a lot in the weight room,” McGriff said. “You can see his body’s changed a lot. We want to try him out there at defensive end. The last three sessions, he’s had some good training sessions. We’re looking for him to take the next step. The one thing you can’t do is get down on a true freshman. We have to remember he’s a true freshman. His body’s muscled up and he looks more lean. We’re hoping his performance matches it. It’s a lot of difference when you go to Year Two.”
McGriff is also excited by what he’s seen from sophomore cornerback D.D. Bowie.
“Bowie is doing fine,” McGriff said. “He’s just got to improve his endurance. Bowie’s got big-time talent. He’s long. He can run. He’s very athletic. He’s got to improve his awareness and know exactly what to do, get in the classroom more, but he’s doing fine. …When you’re not a bigger guy, you don’t want him to take a ton of reps and wear his body down, but man, he’s offered some tight coverage out there in spring ball. He’s been spot-on. He’s been glued to receivers. He’s the guy that has the skill set that can match hips and win in man-to-man coverage. We’ve just got to make sure we train him enough but monitor him enough to get him to the games.”
Overall, McGriff said, he wants to see his unit improve its football intelligence and become a more physical group.
“If we can improve our awareness and intelligence, that improves our speed,” McGriff said. “We’re going to play faster. We’ll be a lot more mature and we can populate the football. If we can recognize the formation, have a lot more awareness and play smart, then we’ll be a faster defense and we can eliminate those explosive plays.
“I want us to be more physical, a more aggressive defense. The only way you can do that is you have to have a lot of confidence and endurance.”
9. Former Ole Miss running back Jordan Wilkins was in Indianapolis over the weekend for the NFL Scouting Combine. Wilkins’ former position coach, Ole Miss running backs coach Derrick Nix, said he believes his former pupil has a bright future on Sundays.
“It was kind of a four-year, five-year progression for him,” Nix said. “He was always a talented guy. We never wanted to have him sit out, but he sat out that year, and I think it helped him mentally and physically. The mental part, it helped him watch film and he was actually the scout team running back for our defense that year and I think it helped him tremendously, setting up blocks and knowing what’s going on with his job to help him perform better to go along with that talent he is.”
Nix also said he doesn’t believe Wilkins is limited to a certain style or to a particular role at the next level.
“Jordan is an every-down back,” Nix said. “I think he can fit with everybody. He’s big enough to run between the tackles. He has enough speed to give you the long ball. He can catch out of the backfield. He’s a willing pass-protector and he’s shown the ability to make guys miss, so probably the only thing for Jordan is showing consistency and doing it again.”
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss football practice, basketball, baseball and all the coaching searches this week. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully to you _ for your reading pleasure:
Joe Ingles might look like a math teacher, but he's critical to the Utah Jazz's playoff push - NBA
Thunder All-Star Paul George has never been better
Brewers infielder Nate Orf found unexpected love while babysitting for a teammate
Unprecedented regression leaves Jason Heyward, Cubs in a precarious position
https://nypost.com/2018/03/03/the-5-mlb-contenders-whose-windows-can-slam-fast/
Tom Crean new job: Year of learning from best in sports ...
Which NBA Player Would You Least Like to Get Dunked on By?
RIP to Roger Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute mile