From UM Media Relations:
OXFORD, Miss. – The offseason is officially over for Ole Miss men's basketball, which hits the floor in an exhibition against West Georgia inside SJB Pavilion on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and admission is free for all fans.
Ole Miss enters year five under head coach Kermit Davis, and will feature two of the most exciting guards in the SEC – junior Matthew Murrell and sophomore Daeshun Ruffin. This summer, the Rebels shined in Nassau as part of its foreign trip, where Ole Miss went 3-0 thanks to the superb play of sophomore guard James White.
Ole Miss will also sport eight brand new additions for the 2022-23 campaign. The Rebels added ESPN's 12th-ranked high school signing class for 2022-23 with top-100 signees No. 81 Malique Ewin, No. 97 TJ Caldwell, No. 98 Amaree Abram and fellow four-star high school signee Robert Cowherd.
Additionally, Ole Miss has added four transfers for the 2022-23 season: Jackson State graduate transfer Jayveous McKinnis (Forward, 6-7, 225, Brandon, Mississippi); Loyola New Orleans transfer Myles Burns (Forward, 6-6, 210, Houston, Texas); Louisiana transfer Theo Akwuba (Forward, 6-11, 225, Montgomery, Alabama); and Buffalo transfer Josh Mballa (Forward, 6-7, 220, Bordeaux, France).
Ole Miss will open the 2022-23 regular season next Monday, Nov. 7, against Alcorn State at 8 p.m. CT inside SJB Pavilion.
TIP-OFF NOTES
• Fifth year under head coach Kermit Davis, his 28th season as a head coach. Davis stands at 533-324 (.622) overall as a head coach, as well as 467-299 (.610) in 24 years as a Division I head coach. Davis is 64-61 through four years at Ole Miss with two postseason trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and the NIT in 2021.
• Ole Miss has beaten five AP Top-25 teams since Feb. 2, 2021: No. 10 Tennessee (Feb. 2, 2021), No. 10 Missouri (Feb. 10, 2021), No. 24 Missouri (Feb. 23, 2021), No. 18 Memphis (Dec. 4, 2021) and No. 25 LSU (Feb. 1, 2022). That Memphis win tied a school record four consecutive Top-25 wins before a narrow overtime loss at No. 18 Tennessee on Jan. 5, 2022 with a shorthanded roster due to COVID.
• Ole Miss has eight new scholarship players for 2022-23: four from the high school ranks and four transfers.
• Davis and the staff brought in ESPN's No. 12 high school signing class this year, including three ESPN Top-100 signees: No. 81 Malique Ewin (Forward, 6-10, 220, Lawrenceville, Georgia/Berkmar HS), No. 97 TJ Caldwell (Guard, 6-4, 190, Dallas, Texas/Faith Family Academy (Oak Cliff)), No. 98 Amaree Abram (Guard, 6-4, 190, Port Arthur, Texas/Southern California Academy), as well as fellow four-star high school signee Robert Cowherd (Guard, 6-5, 195, Grayson, Georgia/Southern California Academy).
• Senior transfer Theo Akwuba from Louisiana was the only player in the NCAA in 2020-21 to finish top-10 in blocks and offensive rebounds, finishing eighth nationally in total blocks (68), ninth in blocks per game (2.6) and ninth in offensive boards per game (3.8).
• Senior transfer Myles Burns led Loyola New Orleans to an NAIA national title in 2022, and was a four-time All-American for the Wolf Pack. Last season, he earned the Marques Haynes Award for most steals in all of college basketball with 152. The nearest Division I comparison to Burns in terms of combined offensive rebounds (151) and steals (152) was Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe at 179 offensive boards and 60 steals.
• Fellow senior transfer Josh Mballa from Buffalo has 29 career double-doubles, was ranked sixth in the NCAA at 3.7 offensive rebounds per game last season, and was MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2020-21.
• Ole Miss also added an in-state senior transfer Jayveous McKinnis from Jackson State, where he was a three-time SWAC Defensive Player of the Year.
• The Rebels return 51.2 percent of their scoring from last year, including 57.2 percent of all three-pointers made – 26.6 percent alone from junior Matthew Murrell and a combined 31.5 percent between Murrell and sophomore Daeshun Ruffin.
• Ole Miss will have two of the SEC's top returning guards for 2022-23 in Murrell and Ruffin – the top two recruits in program history, with Murrell ranking No. 39 and Ruffin No. 40 coming out of high school. Last year, the duo combined for 24.7 PPG, 5.1 APG, 3.1 SPG, shot a combined .408 from the field and .343 from 3PT.
• Murrell last year became just the third Rebel to ever go 5-of-5 from 3PT in a nearly flawless career-high 31 point game against Mississippi State. Murrell turned it on late in the season, ending the conference-only ranks second in three-point shooting (.426), third in threes per game (2.5), sixth in minutes per game (34.1), eighth in field goal shooting (.466) and ninth in scoring (15.5).
• Ruffin is returning from a torn ACL this past February after a Herculean 19-point effort to help push Ole Miss past No. 25 LSU on Feb. 1. Ruffin has been back in full contact since October 10. At the time of his injury, Ruffin was second in SEC-only steals per game (2.7), ninth in free throw shooting (.833) and 10th in assists (3.9).
• Last year, Ruffin was the first SEC Freshman of the Week at Ole Miss since 2011 after averaging 16.0 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals and shooting .792 from the free throw line in a three-game stretch from Jan. 24-29. On the year, Ruffin averaged 12.6 points, 3.4 assists, 2.3 steals, and he was on pace to break the Ole Miss freshman record for single-season steals set by Elston Turner in 1978.
• Senior Robert Allen is also recovering from a torn ACL suffered vs. No. 18 Memphis last season.
• Sophomore James White led the Rebels during their foreign tour to The Bahamas this past summer, averaging 23.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting 64 percent overall across three games played.
OXFORD, Miss. – The offseason is officially over for Ole Miss men's basketball, which hits the floor in an exhibition against West Georgia inside SJB Pavilion on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and admission is free for all fans.
Ole Miss enters year five under head coach Kermit Davis, and will feature two of the most exciting guards in the SEC – junior Matthew Murrell and sophomore Daeshun Ruffin. This summer, the Rebels shined in Nassau as part of its foreign trip, where Ole Miss went 3-0 thanks to the superb play of sophomore guard James White.
Ole Miss will also sport eight brand new additions for the 2022-23 campaign. The Rebels added ESPN's 12th-ranked high school signing class for 2022-23 with top-100 signees No. 81 Malique Ewin, No. 97 TJ Caldwell, No. 98 Amaree Abram and fellow four-star high school signee Robert Cowherd.
Additionally, Ole Miss has added four transfers for the 2022-23 season: Jackson State graduate transfer Jayveous McKinnis (Forward, 6-7, 225, Brandon, Mississippi); Loyola New Orleans transfer Myles Burns (Forward, 6-6, 210, Houston, Texas); Louisiana transfer Theo Akwuba (Forward, 6-11, 225, Montgomery, Alabama); and Buffalo transfer Josh Mballa (Forward, 6-7, 220, Bordeaux, France).
Ole Miss will open the 2022-23 regular season next Monday, Nov. 7, against Alcorn State at 8 p.m. CT inside SJB Pavilion.
TIP-OFF NOTES
• Fifth year under head coach Kermit Davis, his 28th season as a head coach. Davis stands at 533-324 (.622) overall as a head coach, as well as 467-299 (.610) in 24 years as a Division I head coach. Davis is 64-61 through four years at Ole Miss with two postseason trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and the NIT in 2021.
• Ole Miss has beaten five AP Top-25 teams since Feb. 2, 2021: No. 10 Tennessee (Feb. 2, 2021), No. 10 Missouri (Feb. 10, 2021), No. 24 Missouri (Feb. 23, 2021), No. 18 Memphis (Dec. 4, 2021) and No. 25 LSU (Feb. 1, 2022). That Memphis win tied a school record four consecutive Top-25 wins before a narrow overtime loss at No. 18 Tennessee on Jan. 5, 2022 with a shorthanded roster due to COVID.
• Ole Miss has eight new scholarship players for 2022-23: four from the high school ranks and four transfers.
• Davis and the staff brought in ESPN's No. 12 high school signing class this year, including three ESPN Top-100 signees: No. 81 Malique Ewin (Forward, 6-10, 220, Lawrenceville, Georgia/Berkmar HS), No. 97 TJ Caldwell (Guard, 6-4, 190, Dallas, Texas/Faith Family Academy (Oak Cliff)), No. 98 Amaree Abram (Guard, 6-4, 190, Port Arthur, Texas/Southern California Academy), as well as fellow four-star high school signee Robert Cowherd (Guard, 6-5, 195, Grayson, Georgia/Southern California Academy).
• Senior transfer Theo Akwuba from Louisiana was the only player in the NCAA in 2020-21 to finish top-10 in blocks and offensive rebounds, finishing eighth nationally in total blocks (68), ninth in blocks per game (2.6) and ninth in offensive boards per game (3.8).
• Senior transfer Myles Burns led Loyola New Orleans to an NAIA national title in 2022, and was a four-time All-American for the Wolf Pack. Last season, he earned the Marques Haynes Award for most steals in all of college basketball with 152. The nearest Division I comparison to Burns in terms of combined offensive rebounds (151) and steals (152) was Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe at 179 offensive boards and 60 steals.
• Fellow senior transfer Josh Mballa from Buffalo has 29 career double-doubles, was ranked sixth in the NCAA at 3.7 offensive rebounds per game last season, and was MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2020-21.
• Ole Miss also added an in-state senior transfer Jayveous McKinnis from Jackson State, where he was a three-time SWAC Defensive Player of the Year.
• The Rebels return 51.2 percent of their scoring from last year, including 57.2 percent of all three-pointers made – 26.6 percent alone from junior Matthew Murrell and a combined 31.5 percent between Murrell and sophomore Daeshun Ruffin.
• Ole Miss will have two of the SEC's top returning guards for 2022-23 in Murrell and Ruffin – the top two recruits in program history, with Murrell ranking No. 39 and Ruffin No. 40 coming out of high school. Last year, the duo combined for 24.7 PPG, 5.1 APG, 3.1 SPG, shot a combined .408 from the field and .343 from 3PT.
• Murrell last year became just the third Rebel to ever go 5-of-5 from 3PT in a nearly flawless career-high 31 point game against Mississippi State. Murrell turned it on late in the season, ending the conference-only ranks second in three-point shooting (.426), third in threes per game (2.5), sixth in minutes per game (34.1), eighth in field goal shooting (.466) and ninth in scoring (15.5).
• Ruffin is returning from a torn ACL this past February after a Herculean 19-point effort to help push Ole Miss past No. 25 LSU on Feb. 1. Ruffin has been back in full contact since October 10. At the time of his injury, Ruffin was second in SEC-only steals per game (2.7), ninth in free throw shooting (.833) and 10th in assists (3.9).
• Last year, Ruffin was the first SEC Freshman of the Week at Ole Miss since 2011 after averaging 16.0 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals and shooting .792 from the free throw line in a three-game stretch from Jan. 24-29. On the year, Ruffin averaged 12.6 points, 3.4 assists, 2.3 steals, and he was on pace to break the Ole Miss freshman record for single-season steals set by Elston Turner in 1978.
• Senior Robert Allen is also recovering from a torn ACL suffered vs. No. 18 Memphis last season.
• Sophomore James White led the Rebels during their foreign tour to The Bahamas this past summer, averaging 23.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting 64 percent overall across three games played.
