Chris Beard received 'good news' regarding Ilias Kamardine's process to get to Ole Miss
The entire Ole Miss men’s basketball roster has been in Oxford for the Summer, minus one player. French transfer guard Ilias Kamardine is still working through his process of officially getting to campus.
Throughout the entire Summer workouts third-year head coach Chris Beard has provided updates on Kamardine’s status, acknowledging it is more of a government and red tape issue.
With a month out before Ole Miss starts its Fall semester for the 2025-26 academic year Kamardine is still not in a practice uniform inside the Touhy Center. On Wednesday Beard was asked by Rebel Grove and once again provided another status update, noting he received “good news” on that front this week.
“Progressing well. Actually got some good news this week in terms of (Kamardine’s) academic component, his eligibility,” Beard said. “One thing that is a challenge, not just for us at Ole Miss but around the country, is it’s always been a challenge, you know, giving the guys the I-20s so they can get the visas.”
The Marseille, France native has been working on getting that I-20 document, which is a document required for international students applying for a F-1 student visa to study in the United States. It serves as a ‘Certificate of Eligibility’ and is issued by a U.S. educational institution to confirm the student’s acceptance and eligibility for F-1 status.
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“I’m not a political guy, I don’t know much,” Beard added. “But I know that in today’s political climate, what’s going on the world with these I-20s and visas at the different embassies around the country. They’ve always taken a while. It’s always been a stressful time to get your player here as soon as possible. So we have some challenges in that way, too. But we’re no different than a lot of other teams around the country that are relying on international players.”
Kamardine is a 6-foot-5 combo guard and former MVP and tournament champion at the FIBA U20 Eurobasket. Kamardine declared for the 2024 NBA Draft last spring after a season averaging 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals. He played both guard spots for Vichey and flashed craftiness as a ball-handler.
Kamardine averaged 8.0 points, 2.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds in the EuroCup this season.
“But short answer, it’s going well. Ilias has done everything he’s supposed to do,” Beard said. “It’s in kind of other people’s hands now but we hope for him to be in Oxford sooner than later. We’re hoping he gets here real soon.”
