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Posted: Thursday November 07, 2002 4:38 PM Updated: Friday November 08, 2002 1:47 PM Ole Miss Rebels
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
Before last season began, not even Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes would have given his team much of a chance to play in the NCAA tournament. "I really couldn’t imagine as I looked across the league that we could be an NCAA tournament team," Barnes said. "We didn’t have that much experience as far as senior leadership. We had a lot of questions to answer." As it turned out, the Rebels answered those questions, much to the surprise and delight of Barnes. Despite losing leading scorer and rebounder Rahim Lockhart and point guard Jason Flanigan -- stalwarts from the previous season’s Sweet 16 team -- they won 20 games, carved out a 9-7 record and a third-place finish in the tough SEC Western Division, and earned their third trip to the Big Dance in Barnes’ four seasons. That the Rebels were ambushed in the NCAAs by a talented and undervalued UCLA team did little to dampen Barnes’ pride in his overachieving group. "I was really pleased," Barnes said. "Last season tells me more than anything that we have a good program. That’s the mark that you’ve arrived as a program -- when you can get to the NCAA tournament year after year. We were able to keep that continuity going last year." If Barnes can find a point guard after the departure of senior Jason Harrison (9.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 3.9 apg), there’s no reason to think the Rebels can’t continue their postseason tournament string. Ole Miss is one of only two teams in the SEC to post a winning record and play in a postseason tournament each of the six seasons. The other? Mighty Kentucky. "Point guard is a big question mark for us this year," Barnes said. "Since I’ve been here, we’ve never had a void there. This season, the point guard position is open. We’ve got several candidates that can fill the role." David Sanders (12.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.6 apg), a 6-foot-3 senior, might be the logical choice to start at the point. Though he’s a shooting guard by trade and shot an impressive 50 percent (36-of-51) from 3-point range a year ago, Sanders has spent time at the point in relief of Harrison.
If Sanders does play the point, 6-3 senior Emmanuel Wade (7.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.4 apg) can move into the shooting guard spot. Last season, Wade earned four starts and played in all 31 games, averaging 22.7 minutes. He shot a respectable 35 percent (28-of-79) from 3-point range. "If we are looking at a more experienced player at the point, then David would be the choice with Emmanuel at the off-guard," Barnes said. "We could go that way and have a veteran backcourt." Barnes can also call on a talented group of youngsters to either try their hand at the point or serve in backup roles. Justin Johnson (1.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg), a 6-0 sophomore, played in 30 games last season and started once. Freshmen Trey Pearson and Jonathan Loe, both recruited from Tennessee, come to Oxford with glowing credentials. The 6-3 Loe was actually on campus last season as he redshirted and practiced with the team. In 2000-2001 he helped lead Bartlett to the Tennessee Class AAA state championship, averaging 20.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.4 steals, and was runner-up for the state’s Class AAA Mr. Basketball award. Loe reminds Ole Miss coaches of former Rebel star Keith Carter because he’s a great athlete who can jump and get to the rim in a hurry. Loe isn’t quite the shooter Carter was at the same stage, but Barnes is excited about him. Barnes is also pleased to have signed the 6-4 Pearson from South Fulton (Tenn.) High School. Pearson averaged 29.5 points, 10.1 rebounds. 5.6 steals and 5.1 assists as a senior, earning Class A Mr. Basketball honors. He scored a game-high 30 points in the 2002 Tennessee-Georgia All-Star game and can play either guard spot. In 2001, Pearson set state tournament records for points in a game (50) and a quarter (23). "Trey is a true point guard and has all the tools to be a great point guard in this league," Barnes said. "We recruited Justin as a point guard, and after a year in our program, he could do a good job. Jonathan is more of a combination guard, but if he has to play the point, he could do so." Cavadas Nunnery (1.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg), a 5-9 sophomore, is a walk-on who might also push for playing time at the point. If Barnes is a bit concerned about the point guard spot, he has no such worries up front, where 6-8 Justin Reed, a two-time All-SEC pick and preseason Wooden Award nominee, returns for his junior year. Reed, a Parade All-American out of Provine (Miss.) High School, was perhaps the most heralded recruit ever at Ole Miss, and he hasn’t disappointed. Clearly one of the top players in the SEC, Reed blends athletic ability and work ethic to full effect. He attacks the rim with strength, and he’s a relentless rebounder. Reed has excellent offensive skills. He shot 48 percent from the field last season and also began to develop more of a face-up game, launching 29 3-pointers. He made just eight (27 percent), but his willingness to expand his range speaks volumes. Reed tops off the package with an ability to make free throws, a skill so many talented big men lack. Last season, Reed shot an impressive 78 percent from the free-throw line, third best in the SEC. He got to the line 141 times, second on his team, and made 111 free throws, enabling him to cash in on the pounding he takes in the post. "The power forward is a position we see as a strength this year, beginning with Justin," Barnes said. "With what he has done the past two seasons, Justin has a chance to have an outstanding year." Ole Miss has great depth at power forward. Behind Reed are senior 6-9 Richard Kirklin (1.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg), 6-7 sophomore Chris Rhodes (0.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg) and junior college transfer Lonnie Jackson. Kirklin played in all 31 games in 2001-2002 and earned four starts. He hasn’t been called upon to do much offensively, but has hit some clutch 3-pointers in his career and can also score inside. Rhodes played sparingly as a freshman, but Ole Miss coaches like his intensity and willingness to learn. Jackson, a 6-8 sophomore, is a transfer from Okaloosa-Walton (Fla.) Community College, where he played in just 15 games last season after fracturing his right arm in fall practice and re-injuring it during a dunk attempt in the season opener. Jackson is athletic, runs well and blocks shots, and could end up as Reed’s primary backup. Ole Miss can also go several players deep at center. Derrick Allen (8.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg), a 6-8, 238-pound senior, did a solid job after inheriting Lockhart’s starting position a year ago. Allen started 29 games and averaged nearly 26 minutes on the floor. He shot 53 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free-throw line. Without a true backup, Allen grew weary and his contributions lessened as the season progressed, but that won’t be the case this year. John Gunn, a 6-10 junior, returns after a medical redshirt season. A kidney ailment and subsequent surgery sidelined him, but he should be close to full strength again. Ole Miss picked up a bonus in the post when Shaun Holtz, a 6-8, 250-pound senior, walked on last season after transferring from Towson. It isn’t every day a hulking center with three years of Division I experience falls in your lap, and Barnes plans to make the most of it. Holtz, a native of Crystal Springs, Miss., played in 83 career games at Towson and averaged 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds. He also passed for 49 assists, blocked 73 shots and made 64 steals in his three seasons. Holtz can also shoot the 3-pointer -- he made 62 in career. His last season at Towson was his best -- Holtz averaged 11 points and 5.7 rebounds. As a sophomore, he scored a career-high 25 points against Maine. "Derrick played a lot of minutes for us last year," Barnes said. "But Shaun’s going to see time down on the block. And we’re excited to have John back. We are going to work John back slowly. When you have players like Derrick and Shaun, it gives you time to do that and get [Gunn] prepared. I don’t expect anyone to have to play 30-35 minutes a game this year." Aaron Harper (11.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg), a 6-7 junior, has the small-forward job locked down. Like Reed and Sanders, Harper also played high school basketball at Provine. The Provine Posse, as the three are called in Oxford, finished 1-2-3 in team scoring a year ago. Harper was third and also led the Rebels in 3-point goals made (83) and attempted (209) while shooting a solid 39 percent from behind the arc. "Aaron has really come along," Barnes said. "He is getting better and better every year, and that’s what excites me. His first year, Aaron was basically a 3-point shooter, and now he is putting the ball on the floor more. He is getting bigger and stronger and becoming more of a complete player." Backing up Harper is 6-7 sophomore Kendrick Fox (2.2 ppg, 0.9 rpg), who played in all 31 games last season and earned one start. Fox made 13-of-32 3-pointers, so the small-forward position should provide Barnes with a lot of firepower this season. Barnes has done an excellent job keeping Ole Miss basketball moving in a positive direction. Credit for much of the program’s resurrection belongs to former coach Rob Evans, but Barnes, Evans’ former assistant, has done an admirable job taking what Evans left him and making the Rebels a perennial postseason team. Ole Miss seems like a solid bet to return to the postseason in 2003. With a star in Reed and talented athletes the likes of Sanders and Harper, the Rebels have the skill to match most teams in the country. And with what could be the deepest bench in Barnes’ five seasons, Ole Miss will become a suffocating defensive team. The Rebels were already tough on the defensive end. Now that Barnes has the luxury to substitute more, Ole Miss can keep the defensive heat applied the entire game. "We have a good nucleus of returning players and some talented newcomers," Barnes said. "We not only have depth, but we have quality depth, quality talent and quality kids. If we can put it all together, we could be a great basketball team."
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