Rebels pick up commitment from Moody

Ole Miss' search for an eventual replacement for Marshall Henderson led the Rebels on a familiar path and to a familiar place.

On Thursday, the Rebels landed a commitment from former Florida Atlantic standout Stefan Moody, who left the Owls after a star-crossed freshman season and transferred to Kilgore (Texas) Community College.

Henderson began his college career at Utah before transferring to Kilgore College, where he earned national junior college player of the year honors.

Moody, a 5-foot-9 combo guard from Kissimmee, Fla., averaged 15.7 points per game as a freshman at Florida Atlantic, earning Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and third-team all-conference honors in the process.

Moody made 52 three-pointers at FAU, making 35.4 percent of his shots from behind the arc and 81.5 percent of his free throw attempts.

Attempts to reach Moody this week have been unsuccessful.

"I think they did a really good job of painting a picture for Stef, not comparing him to Marshall but creating a similar role when he gets to campus to score and create and be a big part of what they're doing and using his own personality," Kilgore coach Brian Hoberecht said.

Moody left Florida Atlantic in July due to academic deficiencies. The (South Florida) Sun-Sentinal reported Moody was suspended for three games in December for what was originally reported as academic reasons. However, the newspaper reported FAU coach Mike Jarvis later admitted that the suspension was drug-related Hoberecht said late Thursday he was not aware of any issues beyond academics.

"Stef has been a great person, handled himself at Kilgore in a first-class manner. I think the people at Ole Miss will fall in love with him very quickly with his personality and how hard he plays. I don't foresee their being any issues at all," Hoberecht said.

Moody visited Ole Miss last weekend and was spotted on the sideline prior to the Rebels' football win over LSU.

"Without question, I think Ole Miss has done a really quality job and has been the most consistent school in Stef's recruiting process," Hoberecht said. "They developed a bond and a relationship with Stef that is really, really tight."