Coach Barnes will not have a wide berth in his ability to turn the program around no matter how much the fans love their feisty ex point guard.  Barnes is not a Sergeant but he knows how to lead men as he was one of the best point guards this program has ever had.  But to win in the SEC you have to have talent and there has always been a problem trying to get players to come play in this state with not the most sterling reputation for education and civil rights.  Hopefully that is changing as Barnes is a black man and though it has only been a couple of years since the first black athlete got a scholarship here (junior forward Coolidge Ball by the way) things are progressing in Oxford. 

Barnes has already got one break when the best player on the team decided to forego playing in the pros for one more year at Ole Miss. Junior swing man Johnny Neumann is the real deal and is an offensive machine.  He loves to score and even more so loves the three-point line.  He will fire from the rafters and loves to be the man down the stretch.  He is a legitimate talent that can carry a team offensively for weeks at a time.  He is definitely the most talented offensive player the Rebels have ever had and the fans in Oxford love him.  They even go so far as to compare him to the Pistol down in Baton Rouge and the three times they met were all classics.  Neumann is not quite Maravich (who is?) but he is a damn good player when he is on the court  Here’s hoping Mr. Neumann decides to stay around for one more year because there are rumors he would leap to the next level prematurely.  That would be a mistake as he has only played 25 games of major college basketball and needs to get more experience at other facets of the game besides just scoring.  The offense is there but the rest of the game needs work and he could be a special player.  His recruitment out of Memphis two years ago by Cob Jarvis is akin to Olga Korbut on the uneven bars in 72.  It is the Big Bang to move this program out of the dark ages and into the light of modern college basketball.  Now he just needs to stay around for a while longer.  Even if Jerry doesn’t want him around. 

The Rebels had a group of offensive minded forwards to choose from.   Junior John Stroud is the most consistent and is a solid offensive force.  He had to play out of position some at the five (though he is tough enough for this spot) and was overmatched on the defensive end.  But offensively this was an advantage as he could really use his quickness and his nice mid-range touch to score.  He led the team in points and overall rebounding but is not exactly a force on the boards (the Rebels struggled all year rebounding) but he is solid at least on one end. Barnes has already stated that Stroud will be his power forward this year and he will not be moving him up to the 5 at all.  Stroud is a foul drawing machine and matches up with his 6’7 215 frame much better at the 4.  He is the primary option in the paint and his work down low sure opens up the perimeter for Neumann and company. 

Senior Joe Gibbon started at the three and can score and helps on the boards.  Gibbon is 6’4 and this lefty can stroke it but his future is on the baseball diamond.  Gibbon is the best pitcher on the baseball team and has already been drafted by the Pirates.  He will be joining them in the spring so that adds another obstacle to this team.  The Rebels have emphasized recruiting two sport athletes who want to play both sports ala some of the lower division teams.  This has been a huge benefit to the Rebels as they have got players that would not have sniffed coming to Oxford without this policy. Country Graham set the tone when he came here long ago to play football and basketball and became this program’s only All-American to date.  He also became the coach and realized that this policy was a way of getting some fine athletes to a school who was still lost in the Dark Ages as far as civil rights.  Cob Jarvis was his first big get as a great hitting wing man.  Jarvis was the main man here on both the court and diamond and handed the baton (no, they did not run track but they could have) to Gibbon.  Gibbon has been stellar.  Two years ago he led the team in scoring by a large margin with his smooth stroke and tough inside game.  But this kid also led the Rebels to the CWS as he that good of a pitcher, by far the best to ever come from Oxford and the Pirates are offering him some big bonus money.  It was no choice for Gibbon who hails from the basketball hotbed of Hickory.  He can also play the four but does not have the size to compete there but his skills like all of his peers who battled him for time are more like a soft three. This was an ongoing issue for the Rebels as they just did not have the size in the post.  And we are not just talking about height. 

There is one kid on the roster who has some size, well at least height, on the returning roster.  Junior Fred Cox goes 7’0 and a svelte 220 pounds and has improved dramatically since he got here from Bainbridge Indiana.  Cox has made it clear he would rather be on his farm back in Bainbridge but has done a good job of at least one thing.  He has added some weight since coming to Oxford to the tune of 30 pounds primarily through drinking beer and not having to get up at five in the morning every day.  Cox has not kicked in his true potential as he has barely played even though he is by far the tallest Rebel.  Barnes played with Cox and knows this big kid can play and has made it clear he is going to give him every opportunity to be his starting center.  It is not like Cox does not care and it is not competitive, he dominates some practices, but he does get pushed around a bit in the paint by some of the monsters in this league ie Bill Spivey and Neil Walk..  Added muscle will help and if the Rebels are to get out of the basement this year Cox will have to at least get 20 minutes a game and give this team a rim protector it so needs.  Sophomore Roger Steig is another center prospect for the Rebels from the Midwest.  Steig is not as tall but is much thicker at 6’9 235 but nowhere near as skilled offensively.  Steig spent most of last year on the JV but should get some minutes off the bench on varsity this year.  He sets a mean screen. 

Speaking of the post Senior Denver Brackeen was the number one option at center in his first year in Oxford.  He is another good offensive player who can board but at six seven (more like six four) was way overmatched on the defensive end.  The Rebels did give up over 90 points a game and may have been the softest team in the paint in a major conference.  Brackeen did all he could after being a big time get for Cob Jarvis last year.  Brackeen was the JC player of the year and chose Ole Miss over many suitors and had a solid year averaging over 12 points a game.   Brackeen has little chance of going to the next level (the Rebels have never had a pro player) but he will produce some points but his lack of height will keep him from getting an overabundance of minutes as Barnes moves forward with his new recruits.  Ball is also in the mix but like Brackeen is undersized for this league.  At 6’5 this trail blazer has played well when he gets on the court but is not going to play in front of Cox (his roommate by the way) or Stroud.  His legend is safe around Oxford as though he has been through the ringer with the racist A-holes in this conference (and the entire south for that matter) he loves this place.  Another midwestern kid, this Indianapolis kid plans on staying in town after he graduates.  That is if he does not get a shot at the next level which like most of his teammates that are not Seinfeld’s nemesis is a pipe dream.  Fellow junior Walter Actwood is another undersized post player (6’6) who will be in the mix and boards well but is not much offensively.  Seniors Ken Turner and Sterling Ainsworth are also returning but both barely played last year so this year does not look promising.  NO matter as Ainsworth is becoming a doctor in this Universities stellar medical college. 

The back court will have a bunch of moving parts especially if Neumann doesn’t hang around. Senior Don Kessinger is coming back for more but after last year’s abbreviated run might not get much PT.  Like Gibbon, Kessinger is a heck of a baseball player and has made it clear that is his future.  Kessinger may have the best glove West of Baltimore but he is a dang good two guard as well.  Still, this team is loaded on the wing so whatever Dandy Don brings before he leaves for the Cubs will be a bonus.  Jack Waters is another wing who fits better at the three and has played well in the past.  He was hurt for most of last year but this Bama kid will be back and looking to help.  He can score and is great on the boards so he could play.  Fellow senior Ron Coleman is in the mix and can score but has been stuck behind Neumann and Kessinger for a while.  That could all change rather quickly with Neumann’s decision and Kessinger’s future but there are already other kids in town waiting in the wings.  Literally.  Sophomores Elston Turner and Carlos Clark got some minutes off the bench in their first year in Oxford and brought different things to the table.  Both are pretty good defenders who can guard athletic wings. Turner played more often and finishes well and can go deep if needed.  He is a terrific board guy though he is not big.  He makes his living playing defense and is a leader but was stuck in the logjam at the wing position on this team.  Crawford played some weird lineups to get his best players in and Tuner was one of those so he ended up guarding either some pretty big guys or some pretty quick guys at various times and held his own.  Clark can get hot but is more of a solid contributor overall who does not make mistakes and is clutch.  Both of these cats have good size at 6’5 and 6’4 and have bright futures for the Rebels.  As you can see wing is the strength of this team (and more are coming) so even if Neumann leaves for brighter lights the Rebels will be fine.  But nowhere near as good offensively. 

Now for the real Blind Side of Mississippi basketball.  Point guard!  Barnes is a former point guard here who got by on quicks and smarts.  Sophomore Sean Tuohy at least had one of these qualities.  Oh and the kid can pass a little.  Tuohy led the conference in assists per minute and is a good floor general.  Problem he is too slow to guard anyone and has a weak jump shot.  This weakness has teams dropping off to help with other guys (usually Neumann) so Barnes would like someone with a little more oomph on his jump shot.  Someone like himself perhaps.  He has a bunch of kids coming in to challenge Tuohy for the quarterback role here (sorry Eli is not one of them) in both four year and JC kids.  But for now it is Tuohy’s job to lose  and this kid is if anything a guy that knows how to get what he wants.  Have you seen his wife?  Yes, take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson but please don’t take the girl. 

The ‘Ole Miss Rebels would have probably had a pretty good team if they had played in a different conference.  They won 11 games last year but all but three of these were out of conference.  They do have some talent and could improve but do not expect to see them anywhere near the pantheon of this conference any time in the near future.  They will be content knowing that the probably have the best-looking group of coeds in the country and a history of overcoming things.  Well at least one of these two are true.  Oh, and hopefully they get back the kid from Memphis who somehow has become a one word punchline for that comedian from the Big Apple.