‘We’d like to keep the Rebels hot’: SEC is crowded, but Kermit Davis likes Ole Miss’ chances in 2022-23
Kermit Davis was asked Wednesday at SEC Media Days the three metrics his Ole Miss Rebels needed to improve in order to rebound from a forgettable finish last season.
He wasted no time answering, as if Davis, entering his third season as Ole Miss head coach, had been stewing on the question ever since Ole Miss closed out the spring six games under .500 and missed the NCAA Tournament again.
The Rebels last got there in 2018, his debut season.
“We didn’t guard very well at all,” Davis said. “We didn’t protect the rim, and I think now with the analytics of threes and A-rim shots at the rim, that shot-blocking and rim protection is probably at the most premium it’s ever been in college basketball.
“Our pace has to pick up. We played against probably inferior talent in The Bahamas, but I could see our pace is much better. Some more possessions for our team, and then just got to be a lot better rebounding team. Two years ago we led the SEC in offensive rebound percentage and defensive rebound percentage in the same year, which hadn’t been done in this league in a long time.
“Those three things.”
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Davis attempted to address each issue in the off-season.
He drastically overhauled his roster with four high school signees and four graduate transfers, in a recruiting haul ranked as high as No. 12 in Top 25 team recruiting rankings. But whether he did enough remains to be seen, considering the SEC has arguably never been stronger.
KenPom recently projected a 16-13 (8-10 SEC) record for Ole Miss in 2022-23, which would be good for No. 49 nationally and No. 10 in the SEC.
“We’ve been to two postseasons in four years,” Davis said. “The COVID year, I think we were the last team out. There’s a lot of winning going on at Ole Miss, and we’d like to keep the Rebels hot with football and baseball doing what they’ve done.
“I like our team. It’s the best depth we’ve had since I’ve been the coach at Ole Miss. Got a good blend of a lot of different faces. Now, there’s a lot of coaches in this league that think they’re NCAA Tournament teams, too, but I think we’ve kind of set ourselves up with a good non-conference schedule.
“We feel good about it.”
Here’s everything else Davis had to say during the Rebels’ stop in Mountain Brook, Ala., in a video provided by Ole Miss Sports Production.
