Live! From the Pavilion: Beard ‘doesn’t anticipate’ Ole Miss being done in fall signing period
The fall signing period for college basketball recruiting opened on Wednesday. Ole Miss signed two players.
The headliner was John Bol, this second-highest recruit signed by the Rebels in program history. The On3 Industry Ranking, which weighs the rankings of the fourth major recruiting services, had Bol as a consensus four-star prospect. He was ranked as the No. 49 player in the nation.
On3 alone had Bol at No. 55 overall, as well as the No. 8 center in the country. He chose the Rebels over, among others, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Missouri. The other signee was Brazilian guard Eduardo Klafke. His additional offers included Creighton and Xavier.
“Definitely never done,” first-year Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said Thursday. He was meeting the media in advance of the Rebels’ Friday showdown with Eastern Washington at 7 p.m. CT. Ole Miss opened the year with a win over Alabama State on Monday.
“Recruiting is always kind of expect the unexpected. Recruiting’s a 12-month deal, so these are the first two on the board in the fall period. We’re actively in a lot of situations not only for the fall period but the spring period. Never done with recruiting. It’s just an ever-turning world. Every single day our staff spends time recruiting, even on the day we have games.
“I don’t anticipate us being done with this fall period.”
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The 7-foot-1 Bol is widely considered an elite shot-blocker and rebounder.
He was ranked as the top player in Georgia by ESPN.
Klafke is a combo guard from the prestigious NBA Academy in Latin America. He consistently played above his age in Brazil, including U19 games as a 17-year-old. He’s a proficient scorer and capable on and off the ball.
The early NLI signing period runs from November 8-15.
“These are two guys that can play at the highest level,” Beard said. “These are two SEC talents, two Top 25-team talents. Two guys that should play after college one day. Both guys are skilled. Both guys have some identity on the offensive and defensive side of the floor. They’re good players.
“Secondly, we think they’re our kind of guys. They’re guys that love basketball. They’re no-backup-playing guys. They’ve dedicated themselves to this game at young ages. Their college decisions were very important to them because they both have dreams and aspirations of playing basketball even after college. That’s something we always look for in recruiting: Is this a lifestyle, or just something they love to do? Are they committed to being great or they just enjoy playing a game? We’re convinced both these guys love the game (and) they’re addicted to the work, so they fit our culture.
“Thirdly, we feel like they really fit what we’re trying to do here at Ole Miss. I’ve never seen recruiting as stockpiling talent. Recruiting’s about putting a puzzle together, and we feel like both Klafke and Bol will have chances to play major roles early in their careers based on their talent, love of the game and the way they play fits us perfectly.”
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