MILWAUKEE — It was in the early minutes of Ole Miss’ second-round NCAA Tournament showdown with Iowa State and Chris Beard was less than pleased.

His team hadn’t started well, and Iowa State was dictating pace and appeared to be the more dialed-in squad.

Beard, Ole Miss’ second-year coach, called guard JuJu Murray over towards the Rebels’ bench. Beard was intense. Murray, one of Beard’s first transfer portal acquisitions, lightly put his hand on Beard’s shoulder and appeared to say, “I got you.”

And that’s just it. Murray does get Beard, and as the rest of Sunday’s game at Fiserv Forum unfolded, it became quite evident that this Ole Miss team most certainly “gets” Beard.

“Give the guys credit,” Beard said Sunday night, minutes after the Rebels beat Iowa State, 91-78, to advance to the Sweet 16. “We’ve got a poised group. They allow me to be me, especially JuJu. He always calms me down. I thought we did a great job of executing the game plan for 35 of the 40 minutes, and the big part of the game plan was trying to take care of the basketball.”

Later, in Ole Miss’ victorious locker room, Murray was told of Beard’s comments regarding his ability to calm the former Little Rock, Texas Tech and Texas coach. Sitting next to his locker, I led the question with, “Chris said…”

“Chris Beard?” Murray said, his eyes getting big before he let out a little laugh. “Man, Coach Beard is a crazy individual. It’s a good crazy, though, because my two years of playing for Coach Beard, he’s got so much sense of urgency. He just wants to win. A lot of people see him yelling at you. He might have a smile on his face. That’s the type person he is. Coach Beard is super cool, somebody you can always talk to about anything. He’s always there for you. He always lets you know he’s going to be there for you. He just has a sense of urgency when it comes to winning.”

Beard is admittedly competitive, almost to a fault. His teams are tough, tenacious and prepared. Every practice has a purpose. Every meeting has meaning. I asked him Sunday to elaborate on his comment that this team allows him to be himself. Specifically, I wondered, has this team taken on Beard’s personality?

“I think, above all, I'm very competitive,” Beard said. “And I think, above all, I don't try to think of words. I don't really care about people's feelings that I have a relationship with. So with the players, it’s kind of a direct teaching. So, yeah, these players have allowed me to do that, just like as a coaching staff we have tried to reach the guys in the best way we can reach them. Some of these guys need that. They need the hard, direct message. Some of these guys need poise and confidence in moments.

“But I would say it's an accurate statement. These guys have allowed our coaching staff to coach them, and I think they have allowed each guy in our program to be the best version of themselves as individuals as well.”

Maybe it’s the magic of March. After a long, grueling season, teams find their identity near the end. The NCAA Tournament brings a bright stage and those bright lights expose flaws and force teams to either overcome them or see their season end.

“Every day he instills confidence in us,” said guard Davon Barnes, who transferred from Sam Houston and has emerged late this season as a defensive stopper and glue guy. “We all trust the work we put in, the process, day in, day out, the consistency of it, never taking each day for granted, trying to maximize our 24 hours. Every day we're just working, and we let the work show.

“I think it's everybody just buying in, coming in with all these transfers to Ole Miss, a lot of guys from different areas, different colleges, different teams. And once you get it all together, how we all bought into our roles and the game plan, what Coach had for us. And ultimately the results show, once everybody buys in, that we can win.”

“Buying in was definitely a big thing,” said guard Matthew Murrell, who elected to stay at Ole Miss after Beard replaced Kermit Davis. “In this world of transfers now, people transfer for certain reasons, but I feel like everybody that came to this program, we came to this program with one meaning. That’s to win. Most of the guys haven't been to the tournament to be able to make a run in the tournament, so it is special for all of us.”

Murray’s bond with Beard is special. Murray is from the Bronx. He was part of St. Peter’s Cinderella run to the Elite 8 in 2022 but he saw his role diminish a year later. Murray is an undersized, tough-as-nails guard who got hunted on the defensive end a year ago in his first go-round in the Southeastern Conference. He never considered leaving Oxford, even after a disappointing finish to the 2023-24 campaign. Instead, he embraced Beard’s tough love, dramatically improved his defense, learned how to share a backcourt with Virginia Tech transfer Sean Pedulla and became an extension of his coach on the floor.

On Friday, Murray will have a chance to return to the Elite 8. This time, he will playing for Beard, this time in the South Regional semifinal against legendary coach Tom Izzo and Michigan State. Beard took Texas Tech to the Elite 8 twice, including one trip to the national championship game. Murray would love to accompany Beard back to that stage, this time in Ole Miss colors.

“He gave me an opportunity of a lifetime,” Murray said. “I was just coming out of St. Peter’s. Just to be able to play in one of the best conferences we’ve seen in a long time, I’ll just always be thankful for Coach Beard. He gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, and I feel like him doing that and putting so much trust in me, I love him, man. I don’t know where I’d be right now if he didn’t give me this opportunity.

“Our relationship goes way past basketball. Way past basketball. That’s why when I see him going crazy, I just tap him on his back, tell him to calm down, give him a hug or something, dap him up or something. But he can definitely be himself around me because I know who he really is behind the scenes.”

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