Kermit Davis identifies goals during summer practice periods

Kermit Davis’ Ole Miss team is getting to work ahead of their foreign tour in the Bahamas at the end of the month. While it’s not college competition, it’ll be a solid opportunity for the Rebels to get the ball rolling with playing together before the winter.

Davis spoke with the media about what his focus is with this team heading into these summer practices. He says the faster they can get their playbook implemented, the better off they’ll be.

“I think everybody in college basketball with a roster with eight new players and obviously you’re trying to build toughness together. That’s kind of what we’ve talked about…We’re just looking forward with the guys that we have on our team,” said Davis. “When you play on a foreign trip, you really start implementing and you start to speed your process up. I think it’s a good thing and it makes you better the quicker you get to five on five.”

Davis also says camaraderie and leadership will be a key focus for them. The Rebels lost Jarkel Joiner, Nysier Brooks, Luis Rodriguez, and Sammy Hunter this offseason. While they return Matthew Murrell, Daeshun Ruffin, Jaemyn Brakefield, and Tye Fagan and add the No. 39 class in On3’s 2022 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings, there’s a lot of team building that still needs to be done. Kermit Davis compared it to NBA teams not coming together and says he wants his team to avoid that problem.

“The biggest thing is our guys being together (and) leadership things. Lane (Kiffin) made a point. You can put all these kinds of super teams together in the NBA and sometimes they don’t work. It’s because they don’t mesh together,” Davis said. “There’s a lot of things about just getting good transfers and new young guys to play the returning guys and know how you play together, being a good teammates. All those kinds of things from on the floor and leadership has been a big focus.”

The Rebels will be looking for positive signs of life from their teams during their six day trip in Nassau. They’ll hope to take whatever they learn along the way into their November 7th opener against Alcorn State.