McCready: Disappointing season must be lesson learned for Davis, Rebels

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Kermit Davis coaches during the Rebels' SEC Tournament loss to Georgia Wednesday in Nashville. (Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)

Ole Miss’ season, one that began with hopes of a return to the NCAA Tournament, is over.

The end was overshadowed, obviously, by the COVID-19 virus, one that threatens to stop the very tournament the Rebels failed to qualify for.

But it ended, nonetheless, on Wednesday night with a loss to Georgia in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, begging a series of questions.

What happened?

The easy answer is Ole Miss couldn’t close out close games. The Rebels had a chance on Nov. 23 at Memphis but lost by one point. Then Ole Miss blew double-digit leads on Jan. 7 at Texas A&M, versus Arkansas four days later, again against LSU on Jan. 18 and at home against Auburn on Jan. 28. The Rebels’ 1-7 start in Southeastern Conference play was an absolute killer. It was also symptomatic of several deficiencies the Rebels never truly solved.

Late in games, Ole Miss’ offense became stagnant. Shot selection was an issue. The ball stopped moving. Instead of driving to the basket, the Rebels settled for perimeter shots. When they didn’t fall, the results were disastrous.

Defensively, coach Kermit Davis openly worried about his team’s toughness as early as November. His concerns came to fruition. The Rebels struggled to get stops, got beat on critical 50-50 balls, couldn’t come up with key rebounds and simply let games get away late.

Sophomore forward Blake Hinson had a blood disorder prevent him from participating in much of the preseason. He never really found a consistent stride, and his inconsistency was often a problem. Sophomore forward Luis Rodriguez broke his foot during shoot-around hours before the Rebels beat Penn State in Brooklyn on Nov. 27. He never returned. His toughness and physicality were badly missed.

In early February, the Rebels reeled off consecutive double-digit wins over South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi State to pull to 4-7 in the SEC, feeding hopes that a strong finish was in the offing.

Then those late-game troubles emerged again. Ole Miss blew a late lead at Kentucky, wasting two opportunities to take the lead in the final minute, and then lost by three at Missouri. A blowout loss to Alabama, a close loss at Auburn and a 25-point setback at Mississippi State were part of a 2-3 finish, giving Ole Miss a 6-12 SEC mark and the 12th seed in the SEC Tournament.

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Georgia Bulldogs guard Anthony Edwards (5) works against Ole Miss Rebels guard Blake Hinson (0) during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. (Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)
What now?

Breein Tyree’s storied Ole Miss career is over. He won’t be the only defection. I had intended to make the trip to Nashville Wednesday to work on the stories that are developing deep on the Rebels’ roster. Will Devontae Shuler return for his senior season or will he leave early, presumably to make money in Europe as a professional? Jarkel Joiner will take Tyree’s scholarship and top-50 prospect Matthew Murrell will be in Oxford, ready to make an immediate impact on the backcourt.

Do the math. Even if Shuler returns, someone has to go. Program insiders have said the Rebels will be active in the grad transfer market and aren’t finished at the high school level either. That means some underclassmen are leaving early. Unfortunately for Ole Miss, there are several candidates.

Franco Miller and Carlos Curry were non-factors in their second seasons in the program. Antavion Collum played a big role for a stretch in February but he finished the year in the doghouse. Junior college transfer Bryce Williams had a disappointing season, and his return isn’t a sure thing, per sources.

Another junior college transfer, Khadim Sy, showed signs, especially late, of being an impactful SEC player. He’ll be counted on next season. Hinson and KJ Buffen will be juniors and Ole Miss desperately needs them to take another step forward in their respective developments. Austin Crowley and Sammy Hunter were underwhelming as freshmen, but they are almost certainly returning. Shon Robinson redshirted and he’s expected to play a significant role next season.

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Ole Miss Rebels guard Devontae Shuler (2) scores in the lane during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Bridgestone Arena. (Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)
What about the big picture?

This is sports, and when things go badly, we must play the blame game. For Ole Miss, that’s complicated calculus. Is Davis on the hot seat? No, and not just no, but hell no. Davis is an excellent coach, a perfect fit at Ole Miss. This team didn’t reflect his personality, something he admitted on a few occasions. The bet here is that changes moving forward.

However, it’s fair to question Davis and his staff’s evaluations. There’s no denying they made mistakes with this class. There are too many dead spots on the roster. That won’t work in this league, certainly not at a program like Ole Miss, where the, ahem, resources aren’t in place to land five-star talents.

Again, Davis is an elite in-game coach. At Middle Tennessee, he could take yours and beat his and take his and beat yours. The SEC is a different creature. The coaches are too good and the talent is too elite to lean on in-game coaching.

Davis’ next team will be tougher. It will be more physical. It will be more resilient. After covering Davis for two years, I’d simply bet on it.

However, the Rebels have to get more talented, more athletic, more explosive and more skilled. Otherwise, none of the other stuff will matter.

If Davis and the Rebels learned nothing else over the course of 32 mostly disappointing games, they learned that.

At least they better have.

SOURCE: McCready, Neal. "McCready: Disappointing season must be lesson learned for Davis, Rebels." RebelGrove.com, 11 March 2020, https://olemiss.rivals.com/news/mccready-disappointing-season-must-be-lesson-learned-for-davis-rebels