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‘Like I never left’: Al Pinkins is relishing his Ole Miss basketball return

Ben Garrettby: Ben Garrett05/16/23SpiritBen
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Ole Miss assistant coach Al Pinkins

In this edition of the Rebel Yell Hotline, Chuck Rounsaville, Yancy Porter, Gary Darby and Gordon Ford are joined by Ole Miss men’s basketball assistant coach Al Pinkins to discuss his Rebel return and the early returns for head coach Chris Beard in his first few months on the job.

“It’s felt like I never left,” Pinkins said. “The people here, the community, the outreach when we took the job (and) visiting with people who were here the last time I worked here. This is a great place — small community where everybody knows everybody. My kids play sports here, which is a big part of this community. 

“It really felt like I never left once I got back here.”

LISTEN: What’s the holdup with Keon Coleman? And Chris Beard stays hot.

Ole Miss continued its recruiting hot streak with the addition of Oklahoma State transfer Moussa Cisse on Sunday. 

Cisse joins a completely overhauled Rebel front court. Other additions include Western Kentucky transfer Jamarion Sharp — who, like Cisse, is a 7-footer. Actually, Sharp (7-5) is the tallest player in college basketball.

Pinkins will coach the bigs at Ole Miss — just as he did in leading Murphy Holloway and Reginald Buckner, among others, as an assistant under former Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy. Pinkins spent last season at Texas Tech. He also coached for the Red Raiders under Beard. Beard took the Red Raiders to the 2019 national championship game.

Veteran forward Jaemyn Brakefield is back, too. Brakefield is a one-time five-star and transfer from Duke. Even more, Ole Miss recently committed 2023 three-star Cam Barnes and re-committed four-star forward Rashaud Marshall.

“To compete in the SEC, you’ve got to have length and you’ve got to have athleticism,” Pinkins said. “That’s what this league’s all about. We’re going to recruit really athletic guys that can dribble, pass and shoot.

“We’ve been pretty successful at it up to this point. Couple of more pieces we have to add to bring this team whole, but we feel good about the recruiting class and the guys that are coming back.”

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