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Ole Miss Rebels (2001: 27-8)

The following team preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the nation's most comprehensive look at this and all Division I teams, be sure to order the 2001-02 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.

Program overview

It's a good thing preseason predictions mean absolutely nothing. If they did, basketball coaches at Mississippi would be coming and going like pizza delivery men at an all-day, all-night fraternity party.

Since the SEC expanded to 12 teams during the 1991-92 season, the Rebels have been picked at the bottom or near the bottom of the Western Division every year. But what's real and what's perceived are two entirely different things.

Rod Barnes, in his fourth season as the Ole Miss head coach, has taken what his former boss, Rob Evans, started and elevated it to an even loftier perch.

Last season was a magical ride. The Rebels won a school-record 27 games, garnered the program's third SEC West title in the last five years and went to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

Keep in mind, too, that Ole Miss has never been confused for hoops nirvana. The interest, facilities and tradition leave much to be desired.

Don't tell that to Barnes, who has his alma mater in pretty exclusive company. Mississippi is one of only three SEC teams that has made five consecutive postseason appearances (four NCAA and one NIT). The other two are Arkansas and Kentucky.

During the last five years, Ole Miss' three SEC West titles are the most of any team in that division and tied for tops in the conference overall with Kentucky.

The Rebels return just two starters from last season's Sweet 16 team, but seven players from the regular rotation a year ago are back. Barnes believes deeply in playing a lot of players, too.

What's more, he has proven in his three years at Ole Miss that there's a certain continuity about the program. When Evans left, there was no drop off. The system now is pretty much the same as it was under Evans.

Backcourt

Jason Harrison might be one of the smallest players in college basketball, but he clearly has one of the biggest hearts. The Rebels' lone senior, Harrison will take over the point-guard duties on a full-time basis now that Jason Flanigan is gone.

Harrison, accustomed to taunts from opposing fans concerning his diminutive 5-5 frame, is the ultimate pest with his on-the-ball defense. He's also adept at penetrating defenses and has handed out 100 assists in each of his last two seasons. The last Ole Miss player to do that was Barnes during the 1987 and '88 seasons.

Barnes believes the strength of his team this season will be on the wings. He has a nucleus of returning perimeter players who've played quality minutes. Junior David Sanders is back at the shooting guard spot after starting 28 games there last season. He's an explosive player who needs to be a little more consistent with his shot. He shot just .219 from three-point range a year ago.

What Sanders does best is get to the hoop. One of the top athletes on the team, he's ultra quick and excels in the open court. He's also one of the team's top finishers on the fast break.

The Rebels will never be known for their abundance of jump shooters, but small forward Aaron Harper gives them great range from the perimeter. He was third on the team in scoring last season and returns as the Rebels' top three-point threat. His size (6-7) makes him a difficult cover, especially when he has his stroke going from the perimeter.

Although he didn't make the SEC's All-Freshman team a year ago, Harper probably had the numbers. His 63 three-pointers were the third most for a single season in Ole Miss history.

Emmanuel Wade and freshman Justin Johnson will also fill key roles in the backcourt.

Frontcourt

Justin Reed came to Ole Miss last year as perhaps the most heralded recruit in school history. He did nothing to dispel that distinction on the court.

Like Sanders and Harper, Reed also hails from Provine High School in Jackson, Miss. He and Harper combined to form the best one-two freshman punch in the league last season.

Reed started in 32 of 35 games and rarely played like a freshman. He was voted the 2001 SEC Freshman of the Year by the coaches and the SEC Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press.

Junior John Gunn will get the first crack at replacing Lockhart in the post. But in reality, Barnes will look to three players to fill that void: Derric Allen, Richard Kirklin and Gunn.

Barnes likes Gunn's skill level. He just doesn't have much experience. Versatile enough to play center or power forward, Gunn is pretty mobile for a big man.

Gunn was behind to start last season. He missed the second half of his freshman season with mononucleosis. That illness slowed his progress in the offseason.

Physically, Allen is probably the closest thing the Rebels have to Lockhart. He's big, physical and not adverse to mixing it up in the middle. Of course, Allen has yet to play in his first SEC game. He did not play last season after battling tendinitis in his knee. Allen received a medical red-shirt for the 2000-01 season and still has two years of eligibility remaining.

The most athletic of the Rebels' post players, Kirklin could also play power forward if needed. He runs the floor well and can also defend on the perimeter.

Bottom line

Barnes thinks Ole Miss has safely established itself as one of the top 50 basketball programs in the country. His goal now is to make the Rebels a top 30 team.

"There is a group of top 15 programs in the country," Barnes said. "They can recruit anybody anytime. Everybody knows them. The next 15 are schools that can compete with those schools ... That's what we're trying to establish, that top 30 position for this program.

"The top 30 programs have a chance every year to go deep into the NCAA tournament."

The Rebels are gunning for their sixth consecutive postseason appearance. Even without Lockhart and Flanigan, another trip to the NCAA Tournament seems well within their reach, especially if Reed, Harper and Sanders develop the way Barnes thinks they will.

Moreover, no other coach in the SEC gets as much out of their players as Barnes, the ultimate overachiever when he played for the Rebels.

"I've always told them that the little things are what count," Barnes said. "That's the way I tried to play. I wasn't going to out-jump anybody. But as long as you take good shots, shoot a good percentage and play as a team, you're going to win a lot of games.

"Our kids have bought into what we're doing."