Cover photo by Bobby McDuffie, Ocean Springs
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2013 FOOTBALL PREVIEW - 1
REBEL
GAMEDAY
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GREAT SCOTT... >>>>>>>>> Jeff Scott scored on a 75-yard touchdown run with 1:07 left, and Ole Miss rallied twice to beat Vanderbilt 39-35 in a wild season opener for both teams. “I knew we had to make something happen,” Scott said. “Last year, it was very painful. They came back. It was basically the same situation. We didn’t want to go through that again and feel that pain. We can’t. It is a long ride back home.” Photo by Greg Pevey, RebelNation™ Magazine REBELNATON MAGAZINE - 3
HORNS HOOKED. . >>>>>>>>> Rebel QB Bo Wallace started a 2nd half Ole Miss scoring barrage on this 15-yard TD run in the 3rd quarter. The touchdown put the Rebels ahead for good 24-23 and the Rebels never looked back. Ole Miss scored 30 unanswered points to run past the Longhorns 44-23 in front of the third largest crowd (101, 474) at Darrell K. Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. With the win, the Rebels improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1989. - AP Photo/Michael Thomas) 4 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
REBEL
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Volume 1, Issue 3 November/December 2013 Published by Pevey Publishing, LLC Publishers Greg Pevey, Publisher Mendy Pevey, Chief Financial Officer Editors Anita Beth Adams, Jake Adams Featured Columnists Jake Adams, Steven Godfrey, Bob Lynch Contributing Writers Jake Adams, Seph Anderson, John Davis Contributing Photographers Ole Miss Athletics and Media Relations, J.T. McCoy, Bobby McDuffie, Greg Pevey, and Members of Rebel Nation Advertising Sales Greg Pevey greg@omrebelnation.com Jake Adams jake@omrebelnation.com
The Basketball Preview COMMENTARY 10 JAKE ADAMS Sweet November 11 BOB LYNCH Ole Miss basketball is going Global
FEATURES 8
FinsUp! Rebel fans from across the country throw up the ‘Fin’
12 The Strategist? How football prepared Jesse Mitchell for a legal career Rebel Nation Magazine™ is published bi-monthly by Pevey Publishing, LLC to promote the athletic programs, fans and businesses affiliated with the University of Mississippi in an informative and entertaining manner. Contributions of articles and photos are welcome. All submissions are subject to editing and availability of space. Rebel Nation Magazine™ is not responsible for the return or loss of, or for any damage or any other injury to, unsolicited manuscripts, unsolicited artwork or any other unsolicited materials. Photographs, comments, questions, subscription requests and ad placement inquiries are invited! Return envelopes and postage must accompany all labeled materials submitted if a return is requested. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Rebel Nation Magazine™ are those of the authors or columnists and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, nor do they constitute an endorsement of products or services herein. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Pevey Publishing, LLC is not affiliated with any institution, college, university, or other academic or athletic organization. Subscriptions are $24 (1 year, 6 issues) or $40 (2 years - 12 issues). Make checks payable to Rebel Nation Magazine™ and mail to: P.O. Box 5842, Brandon, MS 39047 or subscribe online at www.rebelnationmagazine.com.
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48 STEVEN GODFREY Welcome Back, Marshall Mania
14 The History of the Egg Bowl A look at one of college football’s fiercest rivalries 18
Evan Swindall The success of the Rebel offense rests on the shoulders of the QB of the offensive line
20
C.J. Johnson The star defensive end talks recruiting and his goal of becoming one of the SEC’s best defenders
22
Rebel Strong Strength coach Paul Jackson and his staff have turned one of the least physical football programs in the SEC into one of the toughest in the country
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2013-14 BASKETBALL PREVIEW Rebels look to return to the NCAA Tournament
34 Player Profiles: Jarvis Summers and LaDarius “Snoop” White 36
Women’s Hoops Preview New coach Matt Insell wants to restore pride to the women’s basketball program
38
Rebel Legends: SEAN TUOHY Rebel great talks Ole Miss athletics, The Blind Side, Hugh Freeze and the upcoming basketball season
40
Raising the Roof Keith Carter wants to take Ole Miss basketball to new heights - again
42
Beauty Queen Kaitlyn Kennedy is making the most out of her life as a coach’s daughter
RebelNation™ Magazine P.O. Box 5842 • Brandon, MS 39047 Phone: 601-503-7205 • Fax: 601-992-2885 email: greg@rebelnationmagazine.com www.rebelnationmagazine.com
To Contact REBEL NATION MAGAZINE™ > LETTERS, STORY IDEAS AND PHOTO SUBMISSIONS • Email Rebel Nation Magazine™ at greg@omrebelnation.com or mail to Rebel Nation Magazine™, P.O. Box 5842, Brandon, Mississippi 39047. Letters should include writer’s full name, address and telephone number and may be edited for clarity and space.
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TO SUBMIT PHOTOS: Rebel fans, this page is for you! Submit your “FinsUp” photos to be published in each issue of RebelNation™ Magazine. Put your photos on our Facebook page (facebook.com/ omrebelnation) or email them directly to greg@ omrebelnation.com. Please include the names of those featured in the photo, location taken and hometown.
From Todd Sandroni and the gang
From Ajax Diner
From Archie Miller and Eric Davis, India
From Mallory and Carlye Washington 8 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
From Eli Kent
From Mt. LeConte, TN
#REBELNATION
From Dauphin Island
From Matt Williams
From Tyler Kirk
From Kim Crocker and Pam Kopf at Vanderbilt Stadium
From Rebel the Bear
From Michael Woods
Best Birthday Cake Ever!
From The Griffin Family
Greg and Paige Rhodes Tipps REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 9
JAKE’S TAKE
>>>>>
Follow Jake Adams on Twitter® @omrebelnation
Sweet November
JAKE ADAMS
Co-Publisher Editor-In-Chief
N
ovember in Mississippi - there’s nothing like it. Hunting season is in full tilt, the holidays are upon us and college football is at its peak. Weekends will be filled with family and friends and of course...football. Each weekend the games will take on more and more meaning as the overall season records and conference races take shape. November is a special month and it’s what college football is all about. In recent years, Ole Miss played Arkansas and LSU this month and gave us some incredibly exciting games and wins that we’ll treasure for the rest of our days. And rarely does an Egg Bowl go by where another memorable moment - be it good or bad doesn’t happen. Many of our best memories of Ole Miss football come from the month of November. There’s no reason to think that will be any different this year. For Ole Miss, this November means home games against Arkansas, Troy and Missouri. Arkansas will be looking to redeem itself under new coach Brett Bielema after falling to the Rebels last year. The Missouri Tigers enjoyed a hot start to the season and will be in the running for a bowl game when they visit Oxford. That game could easily have bowl implications for both teams. There’s sure to be a chill in the air on those autumn evenings inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Coffee and hot cocoa will be popular drinks in the Grove. You may even
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Photo by RebelNation
need a blanket on occasion, but that’s exactly the way football is supposed to be, isn’t it? I’d trade a sweaty shirt for the chills and a blanket any day. And then as the ultimate cap to the season there’s that Thanksgiving night showdown with Mississippi State on ESPN. No matter what record the Rebels and the Bulldogs take into that game you can bet the Battle for the Golden Egg will mean everything to both teams, both coaches and, of course, us. Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen will want revenge after suffering his first loss to Ole Miss last year, and he’ll be looking to take back some of that recruiting momentum Hugh Freeze built up over the last two seasons. Mullen knows continued success in college football is all about buzz, and he’ll be looking to make some of his own this Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, Hugh Freeze and Co. want to erase any doubt which team is the “it” team in the Magnolia State. With continued recruiting success, a second straight Egg Bowl win may accomplish exactly that. There may even be some bowl hopes riding on the game, but at the time of this writing it’s too early to tell. But that’s the thing about the Egg Bowl, winning records go out the window. This one is all about that Golden Egg and bragging rights. If you aren’t in Starkville you’ll be glued to your flatscreen watching every play and cheering like you were. There’s nothing more treasured in a rivalry than bragging rights and we’d like to hold onto those another year. Going to
school or work is more fun if Ole Miss wins. It just is. Top all that off with some of grandma’s Pumpkin Pie a la mode and Thanksgiving is sure to please. Football isn’t the only excitement in store for us this November. Ole Miss tips off its 2013 basketball season November 1st against South Carolina-Aiken. Home games against Troy, Mississippi Valley State and North Carolina A&T follow. The defending SEC Tournament Champions return three starters including the exhilarating Marshall Henderson. With his free-shooting style and giant on-court personality, Henderson is sure to liven up those weeks between football games. The weekend after the Egg Bowl, the Rebel basketball team participates in the Barclays Classic in Brooklyn, New York, where they will face Georgia Tech and either Penn State or St. John’s. Those juicy early-season matchups could make worlds of difference to the RPI come March and you won’t want to miss a shot. November is a big month. That’s why we gave you this big magazine. It’s full of articles about men’s and women’s basketball, the Egg Bowl and stories about legends from the past, like basketball greats Sean Tuohy and Keith Carter and former All-SEC defensive tackle Jesse Mitchell. We hope you enjoy this exciting issue.... and this exciting month. Hopefully, it will be a November to remember. Hotty Toddy! - RN
Follow Bob Lynch on Twitter® @RedCupRebellion
RED SOLO CUP
>>>>>
Ole Miss basketball is going Global
BOB LYNCH
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Guest Columnist
eing the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebel basketball program cannot be easy. The university’s soon-to-bereplaced facilities are years behind their SEC counterparts, the program’s tradition is not exactly one of excellence, and recruiting to Oxford, Mississippi against the likes of Florida, Kentucky, and even Memphis has proven very difficult. And yet, Andy Kennedy seems to be doing well enough. He has taken underrated high school stars such as Chris Warren, junior college transfers such as Marshall Henderson, and some of Mississippi’s homegrown talent such as Ladarius “Snoop” White and created consistently competitive basketball teams. He even led his team to an SEC Tournament title and an appearance in the big dance, where they knocked off the 5-seed Wisconsin Badgers before falling to LaSalle in the third round. Surely you haven’t forgotten that, right? But even with these successes, recruiting top-caliber blue chip high school basketballers has been consistently difficult in Oxford. Why go to Ole Miss, which doesn’t have a legacy of putting players into the NBA, when top flight guys can go to North Carolina, UCLA, Indiana or Kentucky? This is why, along with his aforementioned “diamonds in the rough” recruiting strategy, Andy Kennedy and his staff have gone global with their recruiting. This season, Ole Miss will boast four players who are not Americans on its roster, and all of
them could contribute to what Rebel fans hope will be another NCAA tournamentworthy basketball season. Sophomore forward Anthony Perez is a native of Venezuela. At 6-foot-9, he’s got the length to be a cog in Kennedy’s fast-paced offensive scheme. He had some injury issues last season, but still saw action in 30 games. He averaged 1.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in roughly seven minutes a game off of the bench. His importance to the team will be amplified this year, since forwards Reginald Buckner and Murphy Holloway have graduated. Joining Perez this season as foreign-born Rebels are three talented freshmen: Dwight Coleby, Janari Joesaar, and Sebastian Saiz.
But even with these successes, recruiting top-caliber blue chip high school basketballers has been consistently difficult in Oxford. Why go to Ole Miss, which doesn’t have a legacy of putting players into the NBA, when top flight guys can go to North Carolina, UCLA, Indiana or Kentucky? Joesaar is a native of Estonia who moved to Kansas as a high school student. As a member of the Estonian U18 national team, Joesaar averaged 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game from his small forward spot. He is an aggressive scorer who moves well for his size and could contribute immediately as a wing or small forward in the Rebel offense off of the bench. Sebastian Saiz, a teammate of Joesaar’s at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, is a native of Spain who made a name for himself both domestically and on the international stage. Like Joesaar, he too played a vital role for his home country’s national team, something which is quite significant considering how dominant Spain is in all levels of international play – except when playing the United States, of course. As a
member of the Spanish squad, Saiz averaged just under ten points and rebounds a game in only 20 minutes of play. He is a double-double possibility every time he touches the floor at that level. His play was even impressive enough to garner significant praise from ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla and CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, with the former calling him an NBA prospect and the latter suggesting he would make an immediate impact. Obviously, it would be premature to suggest he could be such for the Rebels right away, but the potential cannot be ignored. Saiz is a healthy 6-foot-9 and 233 pounds, already making him one of the thicker big men on the Rebel roster. If he can rebound against SEC competition as well as he can against international competition, then he will be relied upon heavily this season. The third foreign born Rebel freshman is center Dwight Coleby, who was rated as one of the top prospects in the State of Mississippi last season. Coleby played high school basketball at the Piney Woods School in Rankin County, where he was nothing short of impressive. Of the members of this freshmen class, Coleby was the most heavily recruited, with offers from Mississippi State, Georgia and Memphis, among many others. He has a size similar to Saiz but plays more like a true center and less like an attacking power forward. He averaged a doubledouble for Piney Woods, scoring 18.9 points and hauling in 13.2 rebounds per game. He also averaged three blocks per game, which could prove invaluable to a team needing a big defensive presence with the departure of the Rebel program’s all-time leading shot blocker, Reginald Buckner. These players, unlike their American counterparts, do not have the luxury of early exposure to college recruiting. Things like basketball camps, AAU teams and simple proximity allow American talent to be recognized several years before they’re even eligible to make a college decision. For Ole Miss, that makes this recruiting strategy See GLOBAL – Page 43 REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 11
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
The Strategist How football prepared Jesse Mitchell for a legal career BY JAKE ADAMS
RebelNation™ Magazine
J
esse Mitchell is the consummate strategist. At the age of 17 he knew he wanted to go to law school. As a highly recruited linebacker from Moss Point with an older brother already playing at LSU, Mitchell wasn’t thinking about the next four years. He was thinking about the rest of his life. “A friend gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever received,” Mitchell said. “He told me to consider staying in state because then people in the state will already know who you are, you will have an advantage when it comes to decisions and it is between you and an out of state guy. Plus you’ll create a rapport and relationship with people throughout the state that will last you well after football is done. And of course Ole Miss was a no-brainer after meeting with Jackie Sherrill and David Cutcliffe.” There was another reason Mitchell wanted to go to Ole Miss. It had a great law school, and Mitchell knew even at the age of 17 he wanted to go to law school. His teacher, who also happened to be the sister of former Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat, thought he had all the critical thinking and communications skills of a lawyer and encouraged him to pursue a legal career. Mitchell took her advice to heart. Even his accounting major was selected with law school in mind. “The reason I majored in accounting was a lot of lawyers I knew had accounting backgrounds and it is one of the best majors that they allocate the highest points to when they are considering law school admission,” Mitchell said. Mitchell’s singular focus on going to law school is even more impressive when one considers that he was an All-SEC defensive tackle. 12 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
Photo courtesy Ole Miss Athletics
Mitchell’s Ole Miss career spanned from 1999 to 2003, the same years as legendary Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning. Mitchell has a lot of great memories from his time as a Rebel, but his favorite is from the 2002 Independence Bowl when Ole Miss faced Nebraska. “They felt they were above the Independence Bowl and came to Shreveport with their nose high in the air, thinking they were just going to come out there and beat us just by showing up,” Mitchell recalls. “We started off the game and I remember coach Driesbach was calling a bunch of different defenses and had us moving around. He was coaching a little bit too much and they were moving the
ball on us. When we went back to the sideline, I picked up the phone and talked to graduate assistant Walker Jones and I said, ‘Walker, tell him to let us play face to face, we can beat these boys with base defense. They are taking us out of the play with all of these schemes.’ There was a debate about it, next series went on, same thing, moving us around. So I called up the coach and said, ‘Coach, just please, let us run base defense three times, and see if we can do it.’ That time he did, and the next three plays were tackles for losses. That was one of my biggest games, lining up against Richie Incognito who is the starting right guard for the Miami Dolphins. He was supposed to be big
“I love to talk and I like people,” Mitchell said. “Helping people is what we do. And the one thing I realized in law school and when I started practicing law the same attributes and work ethic you have in the way you approach football also works for the practice of law - do your study, know your opponent better than they know themselves, know what they want to do before they do it, outwork them and execute. Doing those things has served me well in law.”
Photo courtesy Jesse Mitchell
and bad, but I wore him out!” Mitchell had some great years as a Rebel, but his knees couldn’t hold up against the strain of SEC play. When the NFL combines came around he couldn’t even participate in the running drills. But that didn’t stop the Baltimore Ravens from signing him to a free agent deal. Mitchell lasted eight games before his knees gave way for the last time. Fortunately for Mitchell, he had that life plan to fall back on. Mitchell immediately started studying for the LSAT and preparing for his life after football. By the next fall he was a first year student at Ole Miss Law School. After graduating, Mitchell worked as a litigator for one of the South’s largest law firms and participated in complex litigation in some jumbo-sized cases before deciding to
take the plunge on his ultimate goal - opening his own firm. Jesse is the founding partner of The Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC, in Ridgeland, Mississippi. And it turns out law really has been the perfect fit he thought it would be back when he was that 17-year-old recruit from Moss Point. “I love to talk and I like people,” Mitchell said. “Helping people is what we do. And the one thing I realized in law school and when I started practicing law the same attributes and work ethic you have in the way you approach football also works for the practice of law - do your study, know your opponent better than they know themselves, know what they want to do before they do it, outwork them and execute. Doing those things has served me well in law.” “I have handled a lot of different cases,
business litigation, securities litigation, personal injury but the case I’m the most proud of was a wrongful death case. My client’s mother was killed by a guy who fell asleep driving an 18 wheeler. I saw how distraught she was when she first came to me but was able to get her a result that went beyond her expectations, and not only that but it gave her some closure emotionally. That was the first time I really saw exactly how what I do can really make a difference, and how the hard work and months and years you put in a case really affects a client. The main thing she wanted was an apology and we were finally able to put them in a position where they had to accept liability and I got the guy on the phone who owned the company, got him in the room to face her and give her a face to face apology. And that was what she wanted the whole time. It was very satisfying.” Mitchell still takes time from his busy law practice to stay active at Ole Miss. He has served on the University of Mississippi Alumni Association Board of Directors and the University of Mississippi Law School Board of Directors. Mitchell has also provided color commentary for television broadcasts of the Ole Miss spring game. Mitchell is currently the president of the University’s M-Club, an organization Mitchell holds very dear. “The M-Club helps our current athletes and ex-athletes to just stay connected and be a good source for the university,” Mitchell said. In fact, Mitchell proudly reported that the MClub recently presented the University with a $1 million check for the Forward Together campaign. “I was very excited to be a part of that,” he said. It sounds like Mitchell’s strategy is really paying off - for everyone. - RN REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 13
EGG BOWL
Photo by RebelNation™ Magazine
Ole Miss leads series 61-42-6 Year.........Score......................................................................................................... Site 1901...........Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 0.....................................................Starkville 1902...........Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 0.....................................................Starkville 1903...........Tie: Mississippi State 6, Ole Miss 6.....................................................Oxford 1904...........Ole Miss 17, Mississippi State 5....................................................Columbus 1905...........Mississippi State 11, Ole Miss 0...................................................... Jackson 1906...........Ole Miss 29, Mississippi State 5...................................................... Jackson 1907...........Mississippi State 15, Ole Miss 0...................................................... Jackson 1908...........Mississippi State 44, Ole Miss 6...................................................... Jackson 1909...........Ole Miss 9, Mississippi State 5........................................................ Jackson 1910...........Ole Miss 30, Mississippi State 0...................................................... Jackson 1911...........Mississippi State 6, Ole Miss 0........................................................ Jackson 1912................................................................................................................... Did not play 1913................................................................................................................... Did not play 1914................................................................................................................... Did not play 1915...........Mississippi State 65, Ole Miss 0..........................................................Tupelo 1916...........Mississippi State 36, Ole Miss 0..........................................................Tupelo 1917...........Mississippi State 41, Ole Miss 14........................................................Tupelo 1918...........Mississippi State 13, Ole Miss 0..........................................................Oxford 1919...........Mississippi State 33, Ole Miss 0...................................................Clarksdale 1920...........Mississippi State 20, Ole Miss 0.................................................Greenwood 1921...........Mississippi State 21, Ole Miss 0.................................................Greenwood 1922...........Mississippi State 19, Ole Miss 13.................................................... Jackson 1923...........Mississippi State 13, Ole Miss 6...................................................... Jackson 1924...........Mississippi State 20, Ole Miss 0...................................................... Jackson 1925...........Mississippi State 6, Ole Miss 0........................................................ Jackson 1926...........Ole Miss 7, Mississippi State 6.......................................................Starkville
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1927...........Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 12........................................................Oxford 1928...........Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 19...................................................Starkville 1929...........Tie: Mississippi State 7, Ole Miss 7.....................................................Oxford 1930...........Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 0.....................................................Starkville 1931...........Ole Miss 25, Mississippi State 14........................................................Oxford 1932...........Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 0.....................................................Starkville 1933...........Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 0..........................................................Oxford 1934...........Ole Miss 7, Mississippi State 3........................................................ Jackson 1935...........Ole Miss 14, Mississippi State 6..........................................................Oxford 1936...........Mississippi State 26, Ole Miss 6.....................................................Starkville 1937...........Mississippi State 9, Ole Miss 7............................................................Oxford 1938...........Ole Miss 19, Mississippi State 6.....................................................Starkville 1939...........Mississippi State 18, Ole Miss 6..........................................................Oxford 1940...........Mississippi State 19, Ole Miss 0.....................................................Starkville 1941...........Mississippi State 6, Ole Miss 0............................................................Oxford 1942...........Mississippi State 34, Ole Miss 14...................................................Starkville 1943................................................................................................................... Did not play 1944...........Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 8..........................................................Oxford 1945...........Ole Miss 7, Mississippi State 6.......................................................Starkville 1946...........Mississippi State 20, Ole Miss 0..........................................................Oxford 1947...........Ole Miss 33, Mississippi State 14...................................................Starkville 1948...........Ole Miss 34, Mississippi State 7..........................................................Oxford 1949...........Ole Miss 26, Mississippi State 0.....................................................Starkville 1950...........Ole Miss 27, Mississippi State 20........................................................Oxford 1951...........Ole Miss 49, Mississippi State 7.....................................................Starkville 1952...........Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 14........................................................Oxford 1953...........Tie: Mississippi State 7, Ole Miss 7................................................Starkville 1954...........Ole Miss 14, Mississippi State 0..........................................................Oxford 1955...........Ole Miss 26, Mississippi State 0.....................................................Starkville 1956...........Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 7..........................................................Oxford
1957...........Tie: Mississippi State 7, Ole Miss 7................................................Starkville 1958...........Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 0..........................................................Oxford 1959...........Ole Miss 42, Mississippi State 0.....................................................Starkville 1960...........Ole Miss 35, Mississippi State 9..........................................................Oxford 1961...........Ole Miss 37, Mississippi State 7.....................................................Starkville 1962...........Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 6..........................................................Oxford 1963...........Tie: Mississippi State 10, Ole Miss 10............................................Starkville 1964...........Mississippi State 20, Ole Miss 17........................................................Oxford 1965...........Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 0.....................................................Starkville 1966...........Ole Miss 24, Mississippi State 0..........................................................Oxford 1967...........Ole Miss 10, Mississippi State 3.....................................................Starkville 1968...........Tie: Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 17.................................................Oxford 1969...........Ole Miss 48, Mississippi State 22...................................................Starkville 1970...........Mississippi State 19, Ole Miss 14........................................................Oxford 1971...........Ole Miss 48, Mississippi State 0.....................................................Starkville 1972...........Ole Miss 51, Mississippi State 14........................................................Oxford 1973...........Ole Miss 38, Mississippi State 10.................................................... Jackson 1974...........Mississippi State 31, Ole Miss 13.................................................... Jackson 1975...........Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 7...................................................... Jackson 1976...........Mississippi State 28, Ole Miss 11*.................................................. Jackson 1977...........Mississippi State 18, Ole Miss 14*.................................................. Jackson 1978...........Ole Miss 27, Mississippi State 7...................................................... Jackson 1979...........Ole Miss 14, Mississippi State 9...................................................... Jackson 1980...........Mississippi State 19, Ole Miss 14.................................................... Jackson 1981...........Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 17.................................................... Jackson 1982...........Mississippi State 27, Ole Miss 10.................................................... Jackson 1983...........Ole Miss 24, Mississippi State 23.................................................... Jackson 1984...........Ole Miss 24, Mississippi State 3...................................................... Jackson 1985...........Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 27.................................................... Jackson 1986...........Ole Miss 24, Mississippi State 3...................................................... Jackson
The Battle for the
Golden Egg BY SEPH ANDERSON
Contributing Writer Photos courtesy Ole Miss Athletics and RebelNation™ Magazine
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1987...........Mississippi State 30, Ole Miss 20.................................................... Jackson 1988...........Ole Miss 33, Mississippi State 6...................................................... Jackson 1989...........Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 11.................................................... Jackson 1990...........Ole Miss 21, Mississippi State 9...................................................... Jackson 1991...........Mississippi State 24, Ole Miss 9.....................................................Starkville 1992...........Ole Miss 17, Mississippi State 10........................................................Oxford 1993...........Mississippi State 20, Ole Miss 13...................................................Starkville 1994...........Mississippi State 21, Ole Miss 17........................................................Oxford 1995...........Ole Miss 13, Mississippi State 10...................................................Starkville 1996...........Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 0..........................................................Oxford 1997...........Ole Miss 15, Mississippi State 14...................................................Starkville 1998...........Mississippi State 28, Ole Miss 6..........................................................Oxford 1999...........Mississippi State 23, Ole Miss 20...................................................Starkville 2000...........Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 30........................................................Oxford 2001...........Mississippi State 36, Ole Miss 28...................................................Starkville 2002...........Ole Miss 24, Mississippi State 12........................................................Oxford 2003...........Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 0.....................................................Starkville 2004...........Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 3..........................................................Oxford 2005...........Mississippi State 35, Ole Miss 14...................................................Starkville 2006...........Ole Miss 20, Mississippi State 17........................................................Oxford 2007...........Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 14...................................................Starkville 2008...........Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 0..........................................................Oxford 2009...........Mississippi State 41, Ole Miss 27...................................................Starkville 2010...........Mississippi State 31, Ole Miss 23........................................................Oxford 2011...........Mississippi State 31, Ole Miss 3.....................................................Starkville 2012...........Ole Miss 41, Mississippi State 24........................................................Oxford *--forfeited to Ole Miss by NCAA
hen the Rebels and Bulldogs meet at Scott Field Thanksgiving night, it’ll be the 110th meeting between the two programs and the 86th battle for the Golden Egg. In the storied series, Ole Miss leads alltime at 61-42-6 and is 55-25-5 in Egg Bowls. However, it was Mississippi State that dominated the instate rivalry (18-5) from its inception on October 28, 1901 through the 1925 matchup. Like any other college football rivalry, the Egg Bowl is rich in tradition. From the story of its inception to coaching supremacy to memorable victories, history behind the annual affair between Ole Miss and Mississippi State reads like a classic novel. Even better, it’s a story that keeps growing in lore with each passing season.
Origins of the Golden Egg
Having dropped 13 straight to the Bulldogs entering the 1926 contest, Ole Miss finally got back on the winning track with a 7-6 victory at Scott Field on November 25, 1926. Joyous after the big win, many of the Rebel faithful took to the field with their eyes on the goalposts. As would be expected, maroon and white fans took great exception and a melee broke out between fans from the two schools. As heated and intense as the annual affair had become after the events of 1926, an Ole Miss activities fraternity (Iota Sigma) proposed the idea of creating a trophy to go to the winning team each season. More than anything, the hope behind the idea was to alleviate any future post-game brawls between opposing fans and create a new tradition. The idea was approved by both institutions, and the gold-plated, early 1926-sized football trophy was officially born. On November 25, 1927, the first “Battle for The Golden Egg” took place in Oxford. In commanding fashion, the Rebels pulled off a second straight win over the Bulldogs and were presented with the Egg Bowl at midfield. It was a special day for the red and blue. REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 15
EGG BOWL
Vaught Dominant in Egg Bowls
As storied a coaching career as John Vaught had at Ole Miss, his supreme dominance in Egg Bowls ranks up there with even the most amazing of his accomplishments. Despite not being from Mississippi himself, Vaught instantly realized just how important the annual Egg Bowl contest was to Rebel coaches, players and fans at-large. The famed coach once told Sports Illustrated’s Joe David Brown, “To an out-of-state boy, for example, a game with Mississippi State will be just another game. But a Mississippi boy knows all about the fierce rivalry between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. It’s a personal thing. What it boils down to is that we want a defeat for Ole Miss to hurt the individual. Hurt him bad.” Beginning with a win in 1947, the legendary coach reeled off 17 consecutive Egg Bowl wins to begin his famed Rebel career. When the clock struck zero in his final Egg Bowl, he 16 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
had outscored the Bulldogs by a combined score of 603 to 203 over his career.
Memorable Rebel Victories
Facing off for the 86th time when the two clubs meet this season, there have been countless classic Egg Bowls over the past 85 years.
The Phantom Interference Call (1981)
John Fourcade played at Ole Miss from 1979-82 and helped direct the Rebels to three wins in four Egg Bowl contests. Fourcade’s favorite Egg Bowl was actually his last one and rightfully so. After all, he scored the game-winning touchdown on the final play from scrimmage to give Ole Miss a 21-17 victory. “Whether you are playing high school, college or in the NFL, you always dream of making that play to win the game with no time left on the clock,” said Fourcade. “So that one
sticks out. It was a great way to end my college career, walking in for that touchdown on my final college play for the Ole Miss Rebels.” “We gave it all we had for 60 minutes while Mississippi State only played for 59 minutes and 30 seconds. A lot of folks don’t remember, but Mississippi State decided to kick a field goal at the end of the game and left me 30 seconds on the clock. That was plenty of time for us.” Of course, MSU fans have a different take on that Egg Bowl in 1981 and it’s an argument that still lasts today. Before Fourcade and the Rebels got in position for the game-winning touchdown, an alleged phantom pass interference penalty was called on the Bulldogs in their own end zone, which set the stage for Fourcade’s heroics on the very next play. “In my eyes, hell yea it was pass interference,” said Fourcade with a laugh. “But maybe that official was an Ole Miss fan and gave us one. The question we need to ask MSU is why their coach decided to kick a field goal and leave me 30 seconds to work with (laughing). I was happy they kicked that field goal on third down and that was actually one of the biggest mistakes of the game. I know coaches sometimes kick it on third down in case something happens instead of kicking it on fourth down. But it came back to haunt them.” “One thing that is rarely mentioned was the penalty State got for kicking the ball,” said Fourcade. “After that penalty in the end zone, one of their guys kicked the ball out of frustration and the ball got moved from the two yard-line to the one.” “We lined up in the wrong formation on that touchdown. We didn’t have a tight end on one side and the guy flanked out wide. We ran the 38-option goal line but we still walked in. I remember before that play walking to the sideline saying ‘this is the end for me and no one is touching the ball but me’.”
ton Bowl, Ole Miss ultimately finished the 2003 season with 10 wins for the first time in 32 years.
Freeze Focuses on First Egg Bowl (2012)
Hugh Freeze’s first Egg Bowl as head coach proved to be one of the most memorable. Entering the 2012 Egg Bowl at 5-6, having suffered disappointingly close losses to Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and LSU earlier in the year, Freeze and Co. had to beat State in order to go bowling for the first time in two years. Having proclaimed to his players after a 2011 Egg Bowl win that they would never lose to that Ole Miss again, Rebel coaches, players and fans alike had a vendetta out for Bulldog head coach Dan Mullen. En route to a 41-24 victory and eventual BBVA Compass Bowl berth, “Feed Moncrief ”
As noted, Fourcade made the most of the opportunity and walked off the field that day in Jackson with the Egg Bowl Trophy lifted high above his head. He began his college career knowing little of the Egg Bowl but exited the rivalry with a great understanding of that game. As have many before him and as many will after him.
The Immaculate Deflection (1983)
In a windy game in which the Rebels once trailed 23-7 heading into the fourth quarter, Ole Miss took back the lead with an interception and two fumble recoveries. Now, leading 24-23 towards the end of the game, Mississippi State made a strong push for a game-winning score in the final minutes of the contest. When the Bulldogs reached the Rebel 10-yard line with under a minute remaining, State kicker Artie Crosby trotted on the field to attempt a game-winning field goal. What appeared to be a kick heading straight between the goalposts was knocked down short by the strong winds and Ole Miss claimed the Golden Egg.
The Stand (1992)
A home Egg Bowl for the Rebels, the 1992 matchup featured two 7-3 rivals jockeying for bowl position. It was a game in which the Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first half before Ole Miss would battle its way back. Finally ahead by a score of 17-10 late in the final quarter of play, Mississippi State had multiple chances to tie the game up before the end of regulation. However, the Rebel defense wouldn’t allow any such thing to happen.
In the end, the Ole Miss defense successfully held State out of the end zone 11 times in the final minutes of the game and reclaimed the Golden Egg once again.
Peterson’s Two-Point Conversion (1997)
Trailing by a touchdown in the final minutes of play in Starkville, Ole Miss quarterback Stewart Patridge engineered a 64-yard drive which resulted in a 10-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Andre Rone. The score pulled the Rebels within a single point of State. Opting to go for the win and two-point conversion on the road, Patridge found wide receiver Cory Peterson in the middle of the end zone to give the Rebels a 15-14 win. The victory moved the Rebels to 7-4 and earned them an invite to take on the Chad Pennington-Randy Moss duo in the inaugural Motor City Bowl, a game the Rebs would go on to win 34-31.
Eli’s Last Egg Bowl (2003)
Having dropped an all-important home game to the LSU Tigers the week prior, a senior Eli led the Rebels into Starkville for his regular season finale. If Ole Miss could pick up a win at Scott Field, the Rebels would likely head to a New Year’s Day bowl game with a chance to claim 10 wins for the first time since 1971. At a wet and rainy Davis Wade Stadium, Manning threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns to help the Rebels blank the Bulldogs 31-0. Sending Jackie Sherrill out of Starkville on a bitter note, the 9-3 Rebels went on to earn a Cotton Bowl bid. In knocking off Oklahoma State in the Cot-
Photo by RebelNation™ Magazine
became the official anthem at the stadium behind wide receiver Donte Moncrief ’s impressive 173-yard, three touchdown performance. Further, Mullen’s video clip telling his team how they’d never lose to the Rebels again made its way to the jumbotron at VaughtHemingway Stadium. The rest is history.
There’s More to Come
Between the enthusiasm Mullen has helped pumped back into the rivalry and the forward progression of the Ole Miss Rebels under Freeze in short time, there’s ample reason to believe the immediate future will provide for more memorable Egg Bowl battles. If the future reads anything like the past, fans of both schools are in for a treat. - RN
REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 17
OFFENSIVE SPOTLIGHT
EVAN SWINDALL The success of the Rebel offense rests on the shoulders of the QB of the O-line
Photo by Greg Pevey
BY JOHN DAVIS
Contributing Writer Photos by RebelNation™ Magazine
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le Miss’ success on offense this season, and since coach Hugh Freeze arrived in Oxford, is a credit to quarterback Bo Wallace, running back Jeff Scott and wide receiver Donte Moncrief. But all of their success is owed at least in part to center Evan Swindall. The 6-foot-4, 301-pounder has been a mainstay — he’s started 24 straight games heading into the Auburn game — on the line for good reason. Regarded as a technically sound center, Swindall’s role in Freeze’s uptempo offense can’t be diminished. Not only does he have to snap the ball every play, he has to call out the signals and blocking assignments very quickly. His durability – Swindall has been in on almost every snap – is also a key to an offense that was averaging 38 points per game following the win over Texas. In the words of Wallace, his value to the team is near priceless. “He’s huge. He’s making all the calls up there and getting everyone on the same page. Luckily every game I’ve played in my career I’ve been able to play with Evan. He’s done a great job,” Wallace said. “I can’t remember a time where he hasn’t been in. That’s tough for an o-lineman and doing what he does for this team.” Jeff Scott has put up big numbers this year. He had 164 yards against Texas and was averaging 9.4 yards per carry. His 75-yard touchdown run against Vanderbilt garnered the win for the Rebels and all of it, he said, was because of blocking, started by Swindall. “He’s very important to us. He’s one of our leaders. He’s the one that is always touching the ball every single play. He’s making audibles, changes and giving us different calls
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and letting us know what kind of different defenses are there. He plays a very important role for this team,” Scott said. “He’s been doing a tremendous job, an outstanding job. I have all the faith in the world in him. He’s just as important as the quarterback.” Swindall was recruited and signed by former Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt but his biggest accomplishments have come under Freeze and his offensive line coach, Matt Luke. Swindall is a humble guy, like most linemen are, and he downplays his importance, a bit, when talking about himself. “I’m the guy that has to snap the ball but my role, I feel like, is helping everybody. I’m
trying to get everybody on the right page with the calls. I’m trying to protect Bo and run block for Jeff so he can make those points,” Swindall said. “As an offensive line, we don’t get noticed as much but it’s good just to be there and help everyone else, a support role kind of thing.” Guards Justin Bell and Jared Duke, who has stepped in for the injured Aaron Morris, are two guys that Swindall depends on for help, both from a blocking standpoint and for relaying him information. He’s also been high on the play of freshman sensation Laremy Tunsil, who has become a starter at left tackle. “If I can’t see something, they’ll help me
and point things out. We’re snapping with a cadence, so my head is down and they call things out just as much as I can now. They’re getting the hang of (the offense) just as much as I am,” Swindall said. Being on a team that goes faster is something Swindall was exposed to during his high school playing career. His father, Perry, used the no-huddle spread offense to score points
when Swindall was in high school. The main difference between the two offenses was that in high school, Swindall got plays called off a wrist band. “I didn’t know how the new offense would be because I was used to a wrist band and we would just check the play and go. It wasn’t a two-minute drill type thing. But I love it now that we’re here. I feel like I’m much more
conditioned than other teams,” Swindall said. “We ran 87 plays at Vanderbilt and 75 against SEMO. We’re leading the SEC in plays run and I think it’s working for us.” Perry Swindall, who now coaches Oxford’s eighth-grade football team, has seen a change for the better from his son since Freeze and Luke were brought in. Perry admitted he doesn’t really study much of what his son is doing from an x’s and o’s standpoint, but he has noticed how much better he is as a person. “I think he was really excited when the new staff came in because that was the type of offense he had always played in since he was in the seventh grade. He had always played in an up-tempo, fast-paced offense that is very center oriented. The center has to make a lot of calls and a lot of decisions, so as a player, he absolutely loves the offense and playing for Coach Luke and Coach Freeze and Coach (Dan) Werner,” Perry Swindall said. “He’s always been very complementary of everything they’ve said and done and the way they coached has been very good for him and very satisfying for him as a player because it fits his personality. Coach Luke is a technician and Evan is a technician and I think he’s responded well to Coach Luke’s guidance. I personally love the way Coach Luke is as a coach. I also know that Evan has been pleased with the way that Coach Luke and the staff treat players and their expectation level.” “There is a tremendous amount of expectations that are placed on the kids by this staff and Evan really enjoys that and appreciates that,” Perry Swindall added. “I think he thinks it’s a lot more meaningful existence with what they’re trying to bring. There is a lot more character development and I think he’s really appreciative of that.” Ole Miss’ offense has been able to wear opposing defenses down as the game moves on and Swindall thought that was evident in the second half of the Texas game. “I think because I’m not as tired as I was in the past, I think it helps,” Swindall said. “We’ve been together as a line for a while. I think we work well together, I think we’ve got a chance to be a really good group because we are so tight. The offensive line, we’ll all hang out. They come over to my house and stuff like that.” Getting off to a fast start this season and being ranked was a big deal to Swindall. “This is the first time since when, ‘89, that we’ve been 3-0. It’s good for Rebel Nation, it’s good for us,” Swindall said. Swindall has already graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in Human Resource Management. “I’m shocked that it’s my senior year. Time has flown by. It seemed like just yesterday that I was in the dorms. I love it here; it’s been a great journey,” Swindall said. - RN
REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 19
DEFENSIVE SPOTLIGHT
C.J. johnson Star defensive end talks recruiting and his goal of becoming one of the top players in the SEC BY JOHN DAVIS
Contributing Writer Photos by RebelNation™ Magazine
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here was a point in C.J. Johnson’s life where he had several hundred friends. When you’re the star player of a high school football team in a town the size of Philadelphia, everyone you meet knows you on a first-name basis. Add in the fact that you’re a legitimate 6-foot-3, 225-pound blue-chip linebacker, and the attention only increases. For Johnson, who is midway through his junior season at Ole Miss, being a top prospect had its advantages and disadvantages once he made the call from Mississippi State to Ole Miss. It was midway through his senior year and late in the recruiting process when Johnson, a five-star prospect in most recruiters’ eyes, decided that Starkville wasn’t the best town for him to live in for four or five years. Instead of putting on maroon and white, he chose former Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt and the Rebels. Shortly after the decision, like minutes and hours as opposed to days and weeks, Johnson went from being loved by the Mississippi State faithful to the object of their anger, all because he spurned the Bulldogs for the Rebels. “That was probably the very first time in my life that I realized it was going to be very hard to please everybody. I had people back in my hometown that were really close to me that are Mississippi State people and when I go home now I rarely ever see them. I rarely even talk to them. There were a lot of people that turned their back on me but that’s life,” said Johnson, adding it’s tough to just push losing friends off to the side in favor of choosing the school that is desired. “I felt, at the time I made the decision, that it was the best one for me. I really don’t look back on it at all but it’s not easy to forget about it. It’s actu20 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
ally pretty tough because you have all types of people nagging at you and quite a few people in your family that you might want to make happy. You have to realize that you can’t make everybody happy and ultimately have to do it on your own.” Johnson’s high school coach, Teddy Dyess, saw what the recruiting process did to him and how it literally changed his life. “It was tough on him and I think it’s tough on any 17-year-old kid to have to go through that. If you had to classify Philadelphia as an Ole Miss-Mississippi State town, it’s probably more Mississippi State than anything else,” Dyess said. “When CJ did de-commit from
Mississippi State, there were a lot of hurt feelings. There were a lot of things said by adults that they really didn’t mean but when you’re dealing with a 17-year-old, I think that hurt C.J. I think that it made him feel left out or abandoned because there were some people that had some bad things to say that probably if they could go back wouldn’t have said it.” Another Mississippi State commit — Houston’s Chris Jones — went through a similar deal as Johnson. Jones ended up sticking with MSU on signing day, and Johnson recalled what he told Jones when he came to Oxford last January.
“When he came on a visit, I had a chance to talk to him about it. I just told him that ultimately you have to make a decision that’s best for you,” Johnson said. “All of that stuff, it really doesn’t matter. It’s all about what you feel in your heart and the school you really desire to go to.” In the end, Dyess felt like while choosing Ole Miss may have lost Johnson some friends, it really started him on the path to becoming a grown man. “The one thing with C.J. is he started his second game of his freshman year for us. I saw
wasn’t going to let him play in the first game,” Dyess said. “He came in to my office after the first game, almost in tears, and said what do I have to do to get on the field? I remember our defensive coordinator at the time said ‘Well, we’re short of d- linemen, you’ll have to play defensive line.’ That kid as a ninth-grader was 180 pounds and he played the one technique (inside as a shaded defensive tackle). Then as a sophomore we moved him back to defensive end where he’s playing now. We were kind of struggling his sophomore year and about
the maturation process from ninth to 10th- to 11th- to 12th-grade. That was one of the biggest parts of the maturation process when he went through that. C.J. was a kid growing up, coming through the program, that thought everybody was his friend. He thought that he had a huge circle of friends but in real life you don’t have that many friends,” Dyess said. “I think that was the first time in his life that C.J. finally saw, ‘Hey not everybody is for me, not everybody is my friend. They only like me because I’m going to Mississippi State or because I’m going to Ole Miss’. I think he realized just who his true friends were at that point.” Johnson played for Dyess his entire career — Dyess first came to Philadelphia just before Johnson’s freshman season — and Dyess talks highly about the type of team player he is, and just how versatile and valuable Johnson is to a defense. “He didn’t come out in the spring when I first got here. His dad had passed and I usually have rules to where if a kid doesn’t come out for the spring, they can’t come out for the fall. I told my coaches I was going to make an exception for this kid and he showed early in his freshman year and said ‘Coach, I want to play.’ I let him come on out. Part of the deal was he had to do some make-up and I
the sixth ballgame that year we moved him to middle linebacker. It was just like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders. He really started to mature because by his senior year, we had started moving him around and using him in different roles,” Dyess added. “He played middle linebacker. He played defensive end in pass-rush situations. We lined him up on the hash and played him at safety. We had to move him around because everybody was going to know where he lined up at if we didn’t.” Much like high school, teams know where Johnson is and Dyess, who keeps up with every game, knows that will continue based on what he saw in the Rebels’ 44-23 win over Texas. “Going into the Texas game, I’ve watched him now for seven years, and coming out of that, I thought that was the best I’ve seen him play at, ever. I say that from the standpoint that C.J. is always going to make plays where he can run somebody down,” Dyess said. “Now, C.J. is making plays where somebody is running right at him. That was one of his weak points. It was in high school. People would run right at him. But against Texas, that was the first time I had seen him do that.
It looks like he’s worked and corrected that and he made plays run right at him.” Johnson talked about his move from linebacker to defensive end recently and how much he enjoys it. “I am glad that I made the switch but I’m still not quite where I want to be as a football player. I just know that there are a lot of things I have to get cleaned up,” Johnson said. “I want to be the best, to be the best defensive end in the SEC. I still have a long way to go but it’s a process. You take it all one day at a time.” Dyess, who believes to this day that Johnson has more than enough speed to play linebacker in the SEC, thinks that the future is bright for him to become an even better end. “C.J. loves playing defensive end. He likes playing down and he’s done a great job playing down. He’s also 245 now, he’s not 225 and playing there. He’s finally getting big enough and strong enough to play that spot,” Dyess said. “C.J. graduated young. You have some guys that graduate when they’re 19. C.J. was either 17 or had just turned 18. He’s still a young kid as far as this development stuff goes and males mature later a lot of times. I think you’re going to see C.J. be a 260-pounder before it’s all said and done and I think that’s where he needs to be at.” On the field, Johnson, who had five tackles against Texas, appears to be strong figure who likes to hit but off the field, Dyess said he has a great, tender heart, one of the things people don’t know about him “Believe it or not, he listens to country music. He fishes. Probably the biggest thing people don’t know about C.J. is he is very loving. He has a huge heart. Like after the game the other night, I texted great job, love you. He texted back thanks coach, love you too,” Dyess said. “He’s a 20-year-old male that’s a junior at Ole Miss and he doesn’t mind telling his old high school coach that he loves him. He probably wouldn’t want anybody to know that but he does, he has a huge heart and he’s just a very, loving caring kid.” Johnson called the win over Texas, and being ranked No. 21, a reward for all the hard work the team has put in. “It shows that we’re trying to take our program to the next level,” Johnson said, who was still trying to get back healthy after suffering an injury in the spring. “I’m just focusing on having a good season and doing what I can and contribute to our football team.” Johnson has one more season to help the Rebels achieve that lofty goal. After that, he would like to play in the NFL or even be a coach. “It would be a great opportunity to play in the NFL. You would be very blessed to play in the NFL,” Johnson said. “My dad was a coach and I’ve always had a passion for coaching so if the NFL doesn’t work, that would be my next job.” - RN REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 21
REBELSTRONG
COACH’S CORNER
From L to R, Dominic Studzinski, Tony Randolph, Paul Jackson, Matt Shadeed, Anthony Crosby.
Paul Jackson and his staff have turned one of the least physical football programs in the SEC into one of the toughest in the country BY JOHN DAVIS
Contributing Writer Photos Courtesy Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
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le Miss strength and conditioning coach Paul Jackson doesn’t have any hobbies other than making the Rebels a more fit and physical team. Well, he does read books, but all of them are related to his field. Jackson is regarded as one of the best strength coaches in the nation and in just 18 months, he’s been able to transform one of the least in-shape Rebel teams into a group that is now wearing down opposing units on the field. “I need to stay on top of my game and become a better coach and it’s something that interests me,” Jackson said about reading fitness books that are geared at new,
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cutting-edge strength techniques. “I’m also getting into the leadership type books and business model books so that I can try and apply it to managing my staff as well as leadership of the team.” Some fans don’t realize how much time Jackson spends with the team during the year. He is the one coach on staff that is with the players in the offseason, training them to be better, and prior to the start of summer drills, he is watching them in football related situations, giving reports back to head coach Hugh Freeze and others on staff. “The biggest jump for this team came last winter and spring. That January 2012 up until before that camp, that’s when I saw the biggest jump. This year, it was nice because we stayed in shape. I talked about it last year. They didn’t play in a bowl game before that January 2012 period so they got bad out of shape,” Jackson said. “This past year we played in a bowl game so we got to stay in shape a lot longer, we got to continue to train so that when we came back this January, we were able to get back in shape quick. We’ve been in shape all year which is nice because you don’t have to stress about that. You can focus on other things instead of just try and stay in shape. You get to do more tweaking to the program because we stayed in shape.” “I really liked the 7-on-7 workouts that they did on their own. It’s still not the quality of work that I think we can do, but they’ve never done it,” Jackson continued.
“It should look just like a practice that the coaches are at. It wasn’t to that level but there was a lot more participation in it this year and it was crisper, it was done better.” In order to keep the Rebels in great running condition, Jackson has used various studies and lifting techniques geared at speed to his advantage. He said that the new trend in lifting involves unilateral exercises that focus on one arm or one leg. “I think the science is actually catching up to the trends. Normally it’s the other way around but now they are actually starting to do studies on things that people call sports specific in terms of the different jumps, the
tioning. The strength stuff is lagging behind a little bit. Our big kids are young so they’re still getting used to it all. For an SEC football team, I still think our strength is a little below average, definitely not where I want it, but it will get there,” Jackson said. “(Freshman offensive lineman) Daronte Bouldin and Robert Nkemdiche are babies and once they grow, they’ll come on. (Nkemdiche) is as strong as he looks, he’s a tank, but a lot of the things you see out of him, just like on the field, is he’s out of control at times. He’s not always doing the right thing and it’s the same way in training. His effort is so high and he trains that way but sometimes he gets out of control and we need
ing, I get frustrated, but in the bigger scheme, it’s a good thing and we get to handle that and hopefully it carries over to the season,” Jackson said. “Going through it in games, there is no way to duplicate that experience, so some of the battles that we won this year as opposed to last year, that creates an attitude and a belief in your team. I’m happy that we won the games but I’m thrilled that we got to go through that experience, on the road, against a bigger program like Texas where we got down and came back. They continued to play hard and stayed positive and the things we tell them to do are re-inforced because we came out of there with a W.” Heading into the season, Jackson saw the biggest jump from his players in the way they interacted with each other. He said they were taking coaching from each other during workouts, a good sign this team had finally
Photo by RebelNation™ Magazine
different lifts that we are doing,” Jackson said. “They used to not do studies on those and they’re doing more research on that short, fast stuff, especially with things being more about tempo. They’re doing their running a lot differently and we’re studying that and getting good feedback on that. In the weight room, the new thing is all this single-leg work. I think that’s one of the better new trends with the kettle bells and stuff. Your core is strengthened through those exercises so that’s been something I’ve tried to stress.” As the summer drills gave way to daily practices, Jackson did another study of where the Rebels are as a team, from a speed, conditioning and strength standpoint. “I really like where we are with our condi-
to harness that in the weight room and really make him a good lifter and not just strong.” Ole Miss opened the season with a comefrom-behind win over Vanderbilt. Against Texas, the Rebels also found themselves down at the half only to blaze through the second half en route to a 44-23 win. Jackson thought those two results were made possible by a stronger mental approach that is a direct result of a stronger overall team in the weight room. “We challenge them all the time. We talk about getting in good habits, championship habits. What is your body language when you’re tired? What are you like when we ask you to do an extra rep? Those are all teaching points and a lot times when it comes to train-
given in to being more selfless. “Last year if I got on a kid, they could take it and bounce back but they didn’t really like accepting that from a teammate. Coach Freeze always says you have to submit to the team and how difficult that can be for a competitive young man to submit to someone else or admit that they’re wrong,” Jackson said. “These guys are brought up listening to coaches and last year I didn’t really see a lot of them coaching each other up lifting with me and during camp. This year I saw much more of that taking place which is where leadership starts to develop. We still need more and we as coaches need to do more to find future leaders and groom them. We’re working on things to do that but that was probably the biggest difference I saw in this team and last year’s team and why I think we’re going to be a better team.” - RN REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 23
2013-14 basketball preview
Photo by Bobby McDuffie, Ocean Springs, MS
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REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 25
SEASON PREVIEW
Ole Miss REBELS
QUICK FACTS > Coach: Andy Kennedy Arena: C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum Capacity: 9,061
2012-13 Record: 27-9 Overall, 12-6 SEC, 16-1 Home, 6-6 Away, 5-2 Neutral Tournament: NCAA, 3rd Rd.
BY JAKE ADAMS
RebelNation™ Magazine Photos by Bobby McDuffie
I
t took Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy seven long seasons and several frustratingly close misses before finally crashing Ole Miss’ way into the NCAA Tournament with an SEC Tournament Championship last year. It was the year Kennedy had been waiting for his entire coaching career and the one Ole Miss fans had longed for since 2002, the last time the Rebels made it into the Tournament. Now the Rebels just want to get back because the only thing better than going to the NCAA Tournament is going back to the NCAA Tournament. “They got a taste of it,” Kennedy said. “Now they are anxious just to get more. I have played in the NCAA Tournament and I have coached in the NCAA Tournament, and I can talk about that but until our guys experienced it for themselves I am not sure at times they knew exactly what it meant. Now that we have experienced the opportunity to cut down the nets in Nashville and advance in the NCAA Tournament, I think there is an internal expectation from them to get 26 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
back there, which as a coach you like to see.” With one of the league’s most experienced backcourts, including enigmatic SEC-leading scorer Marshall Henderson, the Rebels stand a good chance to get back. Henderson, a senior, and juniors Jarvis Summers (9.1 ppg, 3.8 assists) and LaDarius White (6.4 ppg, 3.0 rebounds) have made the SEC rounds, and certainly know what it will take to give Kennedy another 20-win season. “In the backcourt we are probably bringing back as much experience and production as we have probably brought back in any of my time here when you think about minutes played and wins produced and numbers accumulated collectively,” Kennedy said. But Kennedy was careful to
HEAD COACH ANDY KENNEDY qualify that statement with “if Marshall gets back.” Henderson was suspended in the summer for violations of team rules, but he practiced with the team in the preseason. While school officials don’t talk publicly about what’s going on with Henderson or what his violations were, it’s clear he is on a very short leash. He hasn’t let out a Tweet since his suspension and has successfully avoided making headlines or being captured in party-going viral photographs. In
other words, so far, so good. Ole Miss and Henderson both have everything riding on Henderson staying out of trouble. While Henderson is great at shooting lots and lots of threepointers, his game needs further development and his dream of playing in the NBA won’t come to fruition without another good or possibly even better season. Ole Miss, meanwhile, will only go as far as Henderson can take them. “He is the SEC leading scorer and the SEC Tournament MVP
MARSHALL HENDERSON
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JARVIS SUMMERS
so he obviously had a significant impact on our team last year,” Kennedy said. “How that impacts in year two remains to be seen but he obviously is a very important player and he certainly is a guy that is capable of putting up big numbers offensively every time he plays.” Henderson averaged 20.1 points per game last year making an SEC record 138 3-pointers. Henderson attempted 394 3-pointers and shot them like there was no tomorrow. In doing so he led Ole Miss to a 27-9 record (12-6 SEC) and a conference tournament championship, but not without plenty of controversy both on the the court and off. On the court it was about his shot selection - or lack thereof. NBA great Lebron James famously Tweeted that Henderson had “the greenest light in basketball history.” Whether Henderson took too many shots was certainly a source of debate, but it was difficult to stop him because sometimes it seemed the more unrealistic the shot, the more likely it was to go in.
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LaDARIUS “SNOOP” WHITE Henderson was one of the biggest stories in basketball because of that shot selection and also for his on-court antics and checkered past that included time in prison for a probation violation and a history with drugs. Henderson seemed to have overcome that past until this past summer’s suspension and news that he had been arrested in Oxford and found to possess traces of drugs. (Importantly, Henderson was not charged with possession). One thing about Henderson is certain. He’s the lifeblood of the team, and that’s why everyone associated with Ole MIss is hoping he is able to stay out of trouble and on the floor. The big question about the Rebels is in the front court. Ole Miss must replace career leaders in blocks and rebounds in Reginald Buckner and Murphy Holloway. Kennedy plans to fill those big shoes by a committee made up of juniors Aaron Jones and Demarco Cox and a pair of 6-foot-9 inch true freshmen in Dwight Coleby and Sebastian Saiz. “Obviously we lose some valuable experience in Buckner and Holloway, but I think we’ve got the personnel to get it done by committee up front.” Kennedy said. Jones (6-foot-9, 220 pounds) was one of the Rebels’ top players off the bench in 2013 before suffering a torn ACL against Kentucky in late January. He averaged 2013 FOOTBALL PREVIEW - 29
DERRICK millinghAUS
3.5 points and 16 minutes per game. Despite limited minutes and missing the final 16 games, Jones still finished second on team with 32 blocked shots. Ole Miss will need all of those they can get out of Jones now that Buckner is gone. Kennedy says Jones seems to have recovered nicely. “He is as bouncy as ever,” Kennedy said. “He is an energy guy and he is an athletic guy. He was about 208-210 and he is at 223 now, so he actually used the time to get bigger and stronger and my hope is that as he continues to get more comfortable, he will be bigger and better.” Cox has struggled with foot injuries the last two seasons. At
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Photo by Greg Pevey, RebelNation™ Magazine
Anthony PEREZ are SEC ready. Saiz, a native of Spain, averaged 9 points and 9 rebounds per game in last summer’s U-19 World Championships and Kennedy thinks that experience will pay dividends. Key bench players for the Rebels will be point guard Derrick Millinghaus, who hit the winning shot against Missouri in the SEC Tournament, and 6-foot-9 forward Anthony Perez who played in 30 games as a freshman and averaged 1.7
points per game. Strength of schedule shouldn’t stand in the way of Ole Miss’ NCAA hopes this season. The Rebels play Georgia Tech and one of Penn State or St. John’s in the Barclays Classic, NCAA Tournament team Kansas State and Middle Tennessee State as part of a non-conference schedule that is among the toughest one of Kennedy’s teams have every played. If Ole Miss can knock off a couple of those and get past that 20-win mark, look for less debate about the Rebels Tournament credentials in March. But Kennedy says getting to the NCAA Tournament is less about strength of schedule and more about winning those everimportant conference games. “We have been pretty close to getting in prior to last year and a number of years and to me it has always come down to the fact that we just didn’t handle our business in the league play,” Kennedy said. “A loss here, a loss there, whether it be down the stretch or in the SEC Tournament, may have been the deciding factor on the outside looking in.” - RN
>>>> SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN by John Davis
Photo by RebelNation™
Now that we have experienced the opportunity to cut down the nets in Nashville and advance in the NCAA Tournament, I think there is an internal expectation from them to get back there, which as a coach you like to see.” - Andy Kennedy 6-foot-8, 276 pounds Cox is a big body the Rebels desperately need on the inside. After two foot surgeries the last two offseasons the question is whether his foot is ready for a full sea-
son of action. Kennedy thinks a new, stronger screw in that foot should have done the trick. And then there’s the new freshmen - Coleby and Sebastian Saiz. Kennedy believes both
Ole Miss opens with Troy and then faces Coastal Carolina on the road. The Rebels take on Kansas State in early December and then host Oregon, a team that advanced to the Sweet 16 last year, three days later. Overall, the Rebels’ non-conference slate is a tough one based on how those teams fared last year. It should be helpful from an RPI standpoint, and if the Rebels can hold their own in the SEC, the schedule should be a benefit when it comes time to select atlarge teams for the NCAA Tournament. “We felt like when we put the schedule together that we wanted to create opportunities. That’s what it’s about, we wanted to create quality opportunities for wins in the non-league because once you get into league play, it’s going to be a blood bath regardless of who you play or what league you’re in. When you have 18 league games, it’s a long season,” Kennedy said. “There are going to be a number of quality opportunities throughout the SEC season but of course we have no control of who we play, when we play or when they come. In the non-league, we challenge ourselves early. We’ve got an early tournament just after Thanksgiving in New York against a quality Georgia Tech team out of the ACC and then we play either Penn State out of the Big Ten or a Big East opponent in St. John’s. “We’ve got an early road test at Kansas State as part of the SEC-Big 12 challenge. We then come home and host a team that’s coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in Pac-12 member Oregon,” Kennedy added. “We play Middle Tennessee State who won their league and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. We play Dayton, we go to Western Kentucky, so we have a number of challenges in our non-league and hopefully they will be opportunities that we can take advantage of.” - RN
REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 31
Ole Miss BY THE NUMBERS 2013-14 SCHEDULE
Nov. 1......... South Carolina-Aiken Nov. 8....................................Troy Nov. 16............@Coastal Carolina Nov. 22.............. MS Valley State* Nov. 26.........North Carolina A&T* Nov. 29...................Georgia Tech* Nov. 30......Penn State/St. John’s* Dec. 5................... @Kansas State Dec. 8...............................Oregon Dec. 14... Middle Tennessee State Dec. 18............ Louisiana-Monroe Dec. 22..............................Mercer Dec. 30......... @Western Kentucky Jan. 4................................ Dayton Jan. 9................................ Auburn Jan. 11...................... @Miss. State Jan. 15................................... LSU Jan. 18............... @South Carolina Jan. 22...................... @Vanderbilt Jan. 25........................ Miss. State Jan. 29......................@Tennessee Feb. 1.................... South Carolina Feb. 4......................... @Kentucky Feb. 8.............................Missouri Feb. 11.........................@Alabama Feb. 15.......................... @Georgia Feb. 18........................... Kentucky Feb. 22..............................Florida Feb. 26...........................Alabama Mar. 1...................... @Texas A&M Mar. 5......................... @Arkansas Mar. 8.......................... Vanderbilt Mar. 12-16 SEC Tournament (Atlanta) * - Barclays Center Classic - Bronx, New York
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2012-13 STATS
TEAM STATISTICS SCORING Points per game Scoring margin FIELD GOALS-ATT Field goal pct. 3 point FG-Att 3-point FG-Pct 3-pt FG made per game FREE THROWS-ATT Free throw pct. Free throws made per game REBOUNDS Rebounds per game Rebounding margin ASSISTS Assists per game TURNOVERS Turnovers per game Turnover margin Assist/Turnover ratio STEALS Steals per game BLOCKS Blocks per game ATTENDANCE Home games-Avg/Game Neutral site-Avg/Game
UM 2779 77.2 +10.3 977-2230 .438 238-735 .324 6.6 587-866 .678 16.3 1400 38.9 +1.4 450 12.5 409 11.4 +4.0 1.1 297 8.3 185 5.1 103,142 17-6067 -
OPP 2409 66.9 865-2122 .408 241-771 .313 6.7 438-660 .664 12.2 1351 37.5 472 13.1 552 15.3 0.9 208 5.8 117 3.3 120,236 12-8478 7-2643
Roster 0 Jerron Martin - G 6’1”/165 (Fr.) Prince George’s County, GA
1 Martavious Newby - G 6’3”/210 (So.) Memphis, TN
3 Derrick Millinghaus - G 5’10”/172 (So.) Schenectady, NY
4 Demarco Cox - C 6’8”/276 (Sr.) Yazoo City, MS
5 Cade Peeper - G 6’2’/185 (So.) Collierville, TN
10 LaDarius White - G 6’6”/211 (Jr.) McComb, MS
11 Sebastian Saiz - F 6’9”/233 (Fr.) Madrid, Spain
13 Anthony Perez - F 6’9”/213 (So.) Cumana, Venezuela
21 Will Norman - G 6’5’/213 (Jr.) Lafayette, LA
22 Marshall Henderson - G 6’2”/177 (Sr.) Hurst, TX
23 Dwight Coleby - C 6’9”/236 (Fr.) New Providence, Bahamas
24 Janari Joesaar - F 6’6”/208 (Fr.) Tartu, Estonia
25 Terry Brutus - F 6’6”/237 (So.) Spring Valley, NY
SCORE BY PERIODS Ole Miss Opponents
1st 2nd 1254 1490 1160 1232
OT Totals 35 2779 17 2409
32 Jarvis Summers - G 6’3”/186 (Jr.) Jackson, MS
34 Aaron Jones - F 6’9”/220 (Jr.) Gautier, MS
REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 33
PLAYER PROFILE
Keepin’ the Faith
Ole Miss’ Jarvis Summers and LaDarius “Snoop” White’s faith keeps them in sync on and off the court By JOHN DAVIS
Contributing Writer Photos by RebelNation™ Magazine
J
arvis Summers and LaDarius White aren’t just teammates at Ole Miss. Their relationship extends way beyond that. Even though Summers grew up in Jackson and White, better known to Ole Miss fans as “Snoop” grew up in McComb, the two have been very close for several years. The relationship started back when the duo played AAU hoops for the Jackson Tigers. Summers, the Rebels’ 6-foot-3 point guard, and the 6-6 White, a small forward, hit it off traveling to those various summer tournaments together. “We’ve been tight since day one. We’ve known each other since middle school,” Summers said, who played with White for three summers before hooking back up in Oxford. “We’ve been like brothers ever since.” “We have a great bond,” White added. “He’s like my blood brother. We connect like blood brothers, for real.” The close bond is evident on the court when the Rebels play each game. Even though Summers hasn’t been able to lob a pass to White for an alley-oop dunk, he knows what to expect when he passes White the ball. “Every time I pass it to him, he shoots it. We just give each other that look like we know what it is, what’s about to happen,” Summers said. Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy is glad the two have such a great bond. This year, he’s expecting even bigger things from them as juniors. “They are promiment figures moving forward for the program and being from Mississippi and being so close to each other in Jackson and McComb. There is a lot of connection between those two,” Kennedy said. “I think typically, you know what you’re dealing with when a kid becomes a junior. He’s been through the struggles. He has a better understanding of the demands at this level and both of those guys have been tremendous, intregal parts of us winning 47 games over the
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LaDarius “Snoop” White
last two years. “From Jarvis who has always been steady, steady, steady to Snoop who had his ups and downs as a freshman and who emerged into a consistent performer last year, especially down the stretch when Jarvis when down with a concussion,” Kennedy added. “We asked Snoop to run the point in the (SEC) championship game and he came through for us time and time again. Those guys, their roles have changed. Those guys understand it, they’ve been through this before and it’s time for them to take some ownership and that’s what Snoop and Jarvis have attempted to do.” Last season, Summers averaged 9.1 points and 3.4 assists per game for the Rebels. He started 31 of the 36 games the Rebels played last year and was one of the team leaders, even if he wasn’t as vocal as a player like Murphy Holloway. Most of his confidence, and leadership traits, stem from his relationship with God and his weekly devotion as a Christian. “I’m a real church person. I really believe in God and what he has for me is going to be good in the future. That’s why I just pray every day and take it day by day,” said Summers, who came to Ole Miss with a strong bond with the Lord that has only been enhanced since his arrival. “Me, growing up, that’s all my parents did was keep me in church. Well my mom and grand momma but I went to church every Sunday. “Having a relationship with God gives me extra strength and an extra boost and motivation because there are times that you go through things and the
Jarvis Summers
“Having a relationship with God gives me extra strength and an extra boost and motivation because there are times that you go through things and the only thing you can do is just pray to God, that he can take all the stress away,” Summers continued. “I feel like we’re real spiritual about the Lord with this team. I feel like when we go through things we can talk to each other and just try to lift each other up.” only thing you can do is just pray to God, that he can take all the stress away,” Summers continued. “I feel like we’re real spiritual about the Lord with this team. I feel like when we go through things we can talk to each other and just try to lift each other up. “By me being a leader on the team, I can go to anybody on the team and be like the big brother for the team. Whenever they’re going through things, I can be the one they talk to when they feel like not talking to anybody else.” White agrees that he and his teammates have grown spiritually together. “I don’t go to church a lot here but when I go home I go to church a lot. I try to get in the church house,” White said. “Being close with God, it just gives me confidence and just lets me know that God is real and if you talk to him and pray to him that he will come to through for you.”
Confidence is something the Rebels had last season, especially late in the year when they won the SEC Tournament title and advanced to their first NCAA Tournament under coach Andy Kennedy. The goal is to make a return trip to the Big Dance this year, but Summers said he didn’t feel any stress for that to happen either. “We’re just going to take it day by day. We’ve got to put that work in and have that chemistry. It’s going to start from me, Snoop and AJ, just the people that were there last year,” Summers said. “I think this team, it’s going to be better than last year because we have a different approach. Everybody just works hard. That’s where I feel the team is different.” White, who started 15 games last year and averaged 6.4 points during his sophomore campaign, talked about all the hard work he and his teammates have been putting in to make sure they have a chance at a return. “I feel like we have a target on our back and that everybody and anybody is out to beat us because we’re SEC Champions. Like everybody says, we didn’t deserve to be the SEC Champs. It’s a known fact that we are and there are a lot of teams that are willing to beat Ole Miss,” White said. “I’ve been doing everything I can do to be the best that I can be. Running, putting shots up, trying to build a team chemistry with the players. Just have fun together, that’s what we’re trying to do.” In order for the Rebels to have a legitimate shot to finish high in the SEC during the upcoming season, freshmen forwards Dwight Coleby, a native of the Bahamas, and Sebastian Saiz, a product of Spain, are going to have to be active and as good as advertised from a recruiting standpoint. “They are definitely different. This is actually my first time playing with international players, but they listen, they listen to what you have to say,” White said. “There is not one of those guys that think they have the big head and that an upperclassman can’t tell them what to do. They work hard and I believe in them. I think both of them are really going to make an impression this season.” Summers seems to feel like Coleby, a 6-9 forward who played his senior season at Piney Woods in Rankin County, is going to really hold the middle down. “He’s just real explosive. I feel like I can throw it to all of them (down low) once AJ (Aaron Jones) gets back from his knee surgery, he’ll be good to go,” Summers said. “He just needs to get stronger.” Another key to how good the Rebels can be this upcoming season revolves around the return of Marshall Henderson, the team’s leading scorer last season and one of only two seniors on the roster. Henderson is suspended entering the 2013-14 season after failing a drug test this past summer, but White and Summers were both positive that Henderson would play this year and make an impact similar to the one he did last year. “He’s great. I feel like his game has just developed even, like he’s ready. We’ve got him, we’re going to hold him down 100 percent and be there for him,” said Summers, who has learned how to work hard through Henderson. “We see how he makes tough shots and just seeing how he’s developed, that’s what he’s taught me the most.” “Marshall is a good guy. I can’t take anything away from him. He’s willing to do anything and sacrifice for the team. He’s a good guy,” White added. When Summers and White aren’t playing hoops, they’re likely taking it easy and being the laid back individuals they are known for on the team. White, Summers said, is a very funny guy and always laughing. “He’s just a real funny guy. He doesn’t know that he’s funny,” Summers said. “I’m the truth on that cooking. I cook a lot. I’m really addicted to music, that’s what gets me going and keeps me focused. There are a lot of people I like, just different kinds of music. “We’re both laid back and like to have fun but we’re also about our business at the same time.” - RN
REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 35
WOMEN’S HOOPS 2013-14 PREVIEW
LADY REBELS
QUICK FACTS > Coach: Matt Insell Arena: C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum Capacity: 9,061
2012-13 Record: 9-20 Overall, 2-14 SEC, 7-8 Home, 1-10 Away, 1-2 Neutral Tournament: None
A new era begins with Coach Matt Insell as he looks to put the Lady Rebels back on top of the SEC BY JOHN DAVIS
Contributing Writer Photos courtesy Ole Miss Athletics
M
att Insell has a lot of energy, and a clear vision for where he wants to take the Ole Miss women’s basketball program. The Lady Rebels’ firstyear coach, who was hired away from Kentucky this past March, is young — 31 to be exact — but very experienced for someone his age. Insell is the son of a head coach and since 2001, when he was just 19, he has been involved in women’s basketball at a high level. His goal is to turn the Ole Miss program around, win now, get the team back into the postseason and consistently make appearances in the NCAA Tournament like they did when Van Chancellor coached the team. “We’re going to give everything we have to win this year. Do I think we can win this year? Yes. We’re going to be a better basketball team this year but does that equal more wins? I think it should but if it doesn’t, it doesn’t mean that we’re not better. It probably means that these other teams got real good,” Insell said. “A successful season is playing in the postseason, whether it’s the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. That’s where this program is ac-
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customed to being at. That would be huge to get to the postseason. I don’t know if we can do that but I think we can. I’m pretty confident that we can. I think we have the possibility of maybe winning 20 games this year if they really buy in.” Insell’s confidence seems to have carried over to the players but he said he constantly reminds them about buying in and becoming a team. “I told them after our first practice at six in the morning that it was going to take a complete buy in, all 12 of them, if we’re going to do it. We can’t have three or four of them, it can’t be six or seven, it has to be all 12 of them if we’re going to do it and we’re not at that point yet, to get to the 20-win mark where you’ve got a chance to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Insell said. “This program is a very traditionrich program. You’ve had good years and then you have a drop. We’ve got to get it where it’s every year. It’s going to be disappointing to our fans if we don’t make the NCAA Tournament. Then once we get to the NCAA Tournament, we got to get it to the point that it’s disappointing that we’re not past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Then we have to get it to the point to where it’s disappointing if we’re
Head Coach Matt Insell not competing to go to the Final Four each year. “That’s my vision for the program, to take it step by step but we can’t take the step of we’re going to be disappointed if we don’t go to the Final Four this year,” Insell added. “We’ve got to get it
back to where we’re going to the tournament every year and then we got to get it to where we’re in the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4 every year. How fast that happens depends on recruiting.” Getting back to the postseason, of any kind, will be welcomed
for the Lady Rebels, who didn’t participate in the Southeastern Conference Tournament last year after self imposing sanctions related to two ineligible players. In the short term, Insell hopes the infusion of a fast-paced defense, that is not only used to stop teams but also score points, will mesh with some experienced, athletic players. “We got to workout the girls during the summer and we’ve gotten them for two one-hour
promise with them and the way we want to play,” Insell said. “The athleticism is there, the want-to is there, it’s just learning the fundamentals of how we want to play defensively. We’re really having to break it down and do more elementary steps than big steps. I am very excited about them, we’ve got some really, really talented freshmen that we’re having to bring on real fast. I’m excited about the mixture of players that we do have and what this team
Valencia McFARLAND sessions for a few more weeks and then we started practice. We have a mixture of some young players with some older players but they’re all young to what we’re doing. We’ve got some bumps in the road right now, some things we’ve got to improve with our fundamentals, but there is a lot of
can do, who knows? I don’t know and they don’t know because we haven’t seen it all put together just yet. There is some potential to have a really good season.” Valencia McFarland, the Lady Rebels’ senior point guard, is the biggest key to deciding how successful the team is going to be.
Insell, who recruited the Raymond native when he was at Kentucky, pointed to her skill set as ideal for his style of play. “She was on the club team that I started and she decided not to come play for me at Kentucky but when I got the job here she said there was a reason she chose Ole Miss over Kentucky, because it was closer to home, and now you’re here and you get to coach me.” “She is an experienced point guard, her game is such that she has the potential to be a professional basketball player. She could be in the WNBA this time next year,” Insell said. “She has to learn how to practice every day at that level and she’s doing that. For us to be successful, she can’t take plays off. She has to be able to play every possession at a high level and if she’ll do that, we’ve got a chance to be successful. If she goes out there and takes plays off because she’s tired or not wanting to be aggressive, that’s going to hurt our basketball team. She’s got to be the main focal point, she’s got to be the one driving the engine, that’s getting into the paint and drawing help-side defenders and kick it to other people and doing other things. She’s got to be that player, she wants that responsibility and she’s taking it on pretty good right now.” Players that Insell felt like could complement McFarland this year are senior guard Diara Moore, sophomore guard Gracie Frizzell and junior forward Tia Faleru. “Gracie is shooting the ball really well right now which is good. Tia Faleru is a returner and playing really good. We moved her out of the (small forward) spot where she has been the last few years and put her at the (power forward) position to try and create mismatches. She’s almost 6-2, so she’s got the height, she’s got the shooting ability. We feel like that gives us the advantage because you’ve got not as athletic kids guarding her and we’ve got one of our better players at that four spot to where she can attack from that area,” Insell said. “All of them are doing well. Kenyotta Jenkins has had a
good preseason. We’re real excited about where she is today as compared to when I got here in April. We’ve got some experience on the bench, we’ve got some experienced players, we’ve just got to develop more of that, because that’s a weakness for us right now. When Valencia comes out, who’s going to play that position? When Tia comes out, are we going to have any dropoff? That’s the big thing, trying to develop those positions because for us to be good and for us to play the way we want to play, we’ve got to have some people come in and play.” - RN
2013-14 Schedule Nov. 3.........Christian Brothers Nov. 8..........Jacksonville State Nov. 15............. West Virginia* Nov. 16....................... Hawaii* Nov. 17......Washington State* Nov. 22............... SE Louisiana Nov. 24..........Tennessee State Nov. 26.......Louisiana-Monroe Nov. 30......................@Tulane Dec. 4.............. Louisiana Tech Dec. 7.............MS Valley State Dec. 16........ @South Alabama Dec. 18...................... @Baylor Dec. 30.................Austin Peay Jan. 2.........................Missouri Jan. 9...................@Tennessee Jan. 12....................@Alabama Jan. 16.................... Vanderbilt Jan. 19...................@Arkansas Jan. 23...................Miss. State Jan. 26.............................. LSU Jan. 30.......... @South Carolina Feb. 2...........................Florida Feb. 6.....................Tennessee Feb. 9...................... @Georgia Feb. 13...................@Kentucky Feb. 20.................. Texas A&M Feb. 23...............@Miss. State Feb. 27...................@Missouri Mar. 2..........................Auburn * - Rainbow Classic, Honolulu, Hawaii
REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 37
HOOP LEGENDS
Sean TUOhy: Rebel hoops legend talks Ole Miss athletics, The Blind Side, Hugh Freeze and the upcoming basketball season BY JAKE ADAMS
RebelNation™ Magazine Photos courtesy Ole Miss Athletics
S
ean Tuohy was an All-SEC point guard at Ole Miss in the early 1980’s. He also served as a color analyst for Ole Miss basketball broadcasts, but Tuohy may be best known as the adoptive father of Michael Oher in the blockbuster hit movie “They Blind Side.” He was also well acquainted with Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze well before anyone at Ole Miss ever was as Oher played for Freeze at Briarcrest Christian School. I chatted with Tuohy about the state of Ole Miss athletics, Freeze, Oher and the upcoming Rebel basketball season. RN: What do you think about the overall state of Ole Miss athletics?
RN: What scene from “The Blind Side” is nearest to your heart?
ST: I think Ross Bjork is doing great. I think he is perfect for what Ole Miss needs and he is just doing awesome. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody. I keep up with Ole Miss football very well. Of course Coach Freeze was Michael’s coach in high school and I coached with him for a couple of years so I feel very close to the football team and try not to miss any games if I can help it. I try the best I can with Sean Jr. playing basketball in Maryland. I tend to keep up with his basketball a little bit better than I do anyone else’s but I still follow the Rebels and try to catch a game or so, but between Baltimore Ravens games and Loyola basketball games, it is kind of tough getting down to Oxford for basketball.
ST: We don’t necessarily look at it scene by scene. We look at it as an overall body of work and I think they did a great job of showing how people can make a difference in people’s lives and certainly they used our names. We felt the overall message was right on point 100% and that is all we really cared about. For the most part, we thought it was extremely accurate and we thought it was extremely accurate in conveying the message out there that with a little bit of hope and little bit of love, we can make a difference in a lot of kids’ lives. That was what we were wrapped up in, but overall I thought they did a great job. Obviously Hugh’s character was nothing like Hugh was but they weren’t trying to fool
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anybody either but, those kind of things to us weren’t really important. The message was important and we thought they did great with it. That is kind of what we harp on. RN: What role did you play if any in Hugh Freeze getting hired as the football coach at Ole Miss? ST: I would like to take full credit because he is going to be a huge success, but I had nothing to do with it. But if someone wants to give me credit, we will take it. The last thing Hugh needed was somebody like me helping him. He had taken care of all the necessary things on his end which is to prove to basically anybody that knew anything about football that he was a quality coach. I think what he showed early on is that the people who picked
veer to the option to the spread option to no huddle to the full huddle. He has always been an outward thinker when it comes to football. I think he understands all 22 players on the field at one time. I am sure he has evolved into certain avenues but it wouldn’t surprise me to come out in the wing-t or wishbone in a week or two. If he thinks that is what is going to make it work, he will do it. He is not set in any ways. He is set on winning football games – whatever he has to do to do it. It was fun. You never showed up on Monday and knew what offense we were going to run that week. RN: What did you think about the waves Freeze made in recruiting last winter? ST: I wasn’t at all surprised. If I had a kid that was a football player right now i would send them to Hugh in a second. He is the best coach around and he will be the best guy around and it doesn’t take long for parents to realize that. It should continue. You will have your ups and downs, that is the way football is, but on an overall career process he will excel and i think parents are going to send their kids to play for somebody like Hugh. There are not many of them like that - there are some. He is not the only one in the world, but he is one of few so that does not surprise me that parents are sending their kids to him. Hugh also has Ole Miss working for him, too, which is an easy sell. He will tell you if you get them to campus, it is not real hard. RN: What’s it like to the parent of an NFL Pro-Bowler?
Photo Courtesy Ole Miss Athletics
him for the job were certainly right on point. I didn’t have anything to do with it, other than a lot of mental, emotional positive thinking. They certainly picked the right guy I think. RN: Are you at all surprised with how successful Freeze has been in his first season and a half? ST: My only surprise, and I’ve been consistent with this since I met Hugh 20 years ago, is why people waited Photo Courtesy Ole Miss Athletics so long. I think there are certain people who are coaches, there are certain people who are attorneys, certain people who are doctors and there are certain people who are better at whatever they do and if you spend any time with Hugh you know he is going to be one of the top level coaches. Early on in his career I suggested him to a lot of schools and a couple I told them, “This will be your only chance because when other people find out about him you won’t be able to hire him.” I’m not surprised at all. I am surprised it took so long which is kind of funny, because it only took about eight years. RN: Was Freeze’s offense at Briarcrest Christian similar to the one he is fielding at Ole Miss today? ST: His offense was whatever he felt like that week. We went from the
ST: You left out the parent of an NFL Super Bowl champion. We like to put that all in one sentence. We are proud parents. I am proud of my daughter for being an entrepreneur in the cookie business and I’m real proud of SJ for playing basketball, so you know Michael falls right in line with kids that we are proud of. I don’t want to give him too big of a head (laughing) but he is pretty grounded. We try to catch as many games as possible and we try to make sure he knows that we are there if he needs us, but at his age with his independence, the last thing he needs are two parents bothering him a whole lot so we try to stay out of his way. We will spend a night every week with him which is not enough for us and probably too much for him. RN: Have you gained any interesting insights on life in the NFL since Michael became a Raven? ST: I have been around the NBA games for 13 years or so. It is not the same because one, the salary structure is obviously different in both leagues but it is basically professional. Kids are getting paid a lot of money for playing a sport and, some of it is really not a surprise. It is all good and there is nothing real negative to say. It is a job but I knew that before Michael ever got drafted. He handles it better than anybody so we don’t get real involved in it. We go to the game. I’ll eat a box of popcorn and then I go home. He doesn’t require much maintenance. He is a pretty independent kid. RN: What’s the outlook for Ole Miss basketball this season? ST: It will be interesting. Obviously Marshall is not going to sneak up on anybody anymore, and we are losing the two big inside guys that not only were good defenders and rebounders but great at setting picks. But from what I hear everybody is excited. I don’t know much about the personnel but I will know when they are on and I will cheer for them. It was a lot of fun watching them last year. We went to the SEC Championship game which was great. They were really good, and I really think they will be good again. It is a great time to be an Ole Miss Rebel. We’ve got a good football team, good basketball team, good baseball and a new girls basketball coach so it’s really a great time to be a Rebel. - RN REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 39
REBELNATION Q&A
RAISING THE ROOF Keith Carter wants to take Ole Miss basketball to new heights - again.
K
eith Carter took Ole Miss basketball to heights unseen as a player in the late 1990’s, leading the Rebels to two SEC Western Division titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Now Carter wants to help Ole Miss hoops reach an even higher level. As Executive Director of the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation Carter is the point man charged with raising the money necessary to build the new Ole Miss basketball arena and for the eventual expansion of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Not only that, but Carter also sits on the committee that’s working hand-inhand with the architecture firm that is designing the structure. Carter was a four-year starter at Ole Miss from 1996 until 1999, earning All-SEC and All-American honors. As a junior playing for then coach Rob Evans he averaged 14 points per game, and was the second leading Photo courtesy Ole Miss Athletics scorer on the first Ole Miss team to make it to the NCAA Tournament in nearly 20 years. Carter averaged 16.4 points BY JAKE ADAMS per game his senior season and led the Rebels RebelNation™ Magazine to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Following a stellar Ole Miss basketball career Carter played professional basketball in Italy “Everybody talks about Tad from 2001 until 2008, making his off-season Smith being an older building, home in Oxford. After hanging up his high tops Carter and not a great building and a went to work for what was then known as lot of those things are true but the UMAA Foundation under Danny White. Shortly after Ross Bjork took over as athlet- I will say the one thing that Tad ics director in 2011 White accepted the same Smith has is an intimate feel and job at the University of Buffalo. The Forward when you get 9,000 people in Together campaign was already underway and Bjork found himself needing to fill one there, it is a great home environof the most critical roles in the athletic de- ment...” - Keith Carter partment. Arenas and stadiums don’t build
40 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
themselves. Millions of dollars must be raised through private donors and corporate grants. Bjork knew finding the right replacement for White was critical. “When I first got here I didn’t know Keith at all,” Bjork said, “but I quickly realized through our Rebel Road Trip how respected he was by our fan base, by our donor base and that is really when we got to know each other. There was a lot of follow through with Keith. I knew his reputation among the Ole Miss family as a student athlete, and once I figured out his background, his connections, his respect level among the Ole Miss family, to me it was an easy decision to put him in charge of the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation in consultation with our board. He is just a perfect fit. He is a Rebel. He was a student athlete. I love when our staff has experience as a student athlete because I think they can relate to our industry, they can relate to our student athletes, so to me he is a perfect fit for his role, and I love working with Keith.” The Athletics Foundation is flourishing under Carter’s watch. “We had our best cash giving year ever in 2012-2013 at $26 million,” Bjork said. “That was Keith’s first year in charge, so he has already set the bar pretty high. When I got here, we were at $62 million dollars and as of last week, we are at 98 million. Membership in the Ole Miss Athletic Foundation is at an alltime high with over 8,000 members and total giving in 2012-13 was a record year so all the metrics of how good of a job Keith is doing are trending upward.” For Carter, working at Ole Miss is a dream come true. “It has been a blessing to be able to sit in this chair and get to do the things I get to do everyday,” Carter said.
The current rendering of the new basketball arena and end zone expansion of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. - Photo OleMissSports.com
Photo by RebelNation™ Magazine
Photo courtesy Ole Miss Athletics
One of Carter’s biggest thrills is being so heavily involved in building the new basketball arena. “I think it is going to be a tremendous facility,” Carter said. “I think that we are going to have something that we will all be very proud of.” While Carter is excited about the premium seating, amenities and atmosphere of the new basketball arena he does want it to be like Tad Smith Coliseum of old in one respect. “Everybody talks about Tad Smith being an older building, and not a great building and a
lot of those things are true, but I will say the one thing that Tad Smith has is an intimate feel and when you get 9,000 people in there, it is a great home environment,” Carter said. “When it is full and it is packed, it is a great place to play and I just wanted to make sure in the new arena that we had that intimate feel, that we were building the seating bowl so that the people would be able to have a big impact on the game and I think that has been accomplished. We are building it more vertical. That will lend itself to the fans being on top of the floor, really more so than Tad Smith. That intimate feel was one of the main things that I wanted in the new arena.” But the intimate environment is where the similarities with the 1950’s era Tad Smith Coliseum will end. The new arena will be built to enhance the fan’s game experience in every way. “We wanted to make sure people have comfort and that the game experience was really
more than just a game itself,” Carter said. “When fans come to the game we want them to be comfortable, and have a good time. It’s all about the amenities. We are going to have premium areas that we can offer to folks where they can get food and do different things that we just don’t have the options to do in Tad Smith right now. There are a lot of things that people will recognize about this arena that we just have never had to offer in Tad Smith. I am charged with producing revenue growth and donations so I wanted to make sure that the premium areas and the things we offer there are first class and people can really enjoy their game experience.” Carter, like Bjork, believes Ole Miss is a place where championship-level success can be had in athletics thanks in part to its legions of fans. “Ole Miss fans are so passionate,” Carter said. “What I get to do everyday is go out and talk to them and hear their concerns, and try to sell them on the vision that we all have for Ole Miss, and what is really exciting is that I really don’t even think we have scratched the surface of what we can accomplish. To go from being a student athlete at 18 years old not even really knowing much about Ole Miss, to enjoying my time here having a great career and then to be able to come and give back, it really couldn’t get any better.” - RN
REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 41
COACH’S CORNER
The Coach’s Daughter Kaitlyn Kennedy is making the most out of her life as a coach’s daughter BY JAKE ADAMS
RebelNation™ Magazine Photos courtesy Andy Kennedy
A
ndy Kennedy isn’t the only Kennedy with a title in his household. Kennedy’s eighth grade daughter Kaitlyn was crowned as 2013’s Ms. Junior Teen Princess America at the National Princess America pageant in July. Kennedy competed against a field of contestants from across the country in interview, personal expression, fitness wear and evening wear. “I have always wanted to do a pageant and when I was asked to compete in the pageant as Mississippi Jr. teen, I realized this was a once in a life time opportunity I could not pass up....so I jumped on it!” Kennedy said. Kennedy savored her experience at the Orlando, Florida, competition. “Of course I loved the actual pageant competition itself, but there was so much to love about the whole week,” she said. “I met some of the sweetest girls from across the country and we are still friends and keep up with each other. I also had the opportunity to visit the Give Kids the World village in Orlando, Florida. It is a theme park like resort for children with life threatening illnesses and their families. It was such and amazing experience to be able to spend time with those children and help to make their day special.” Kennedy, an honor roll student at Oxford Middle School, has participated in a long list of charitable activities. She have volunteered at the Humane Society since she was 5 years old. participated in Operation Christmas Child, sent letters to the military, helped organize a canned food drive, and packed bags for a project called Love Packs. “My most recent charity work and most dear to my heart has been my work for Give Kids the world,” Kennedy said. “I held a garage sale in the spring and all proceeds went to this wonderful charity. I am holding a fun-
42 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
(L to R) Meagan, Kaitlyn, Andy Kennedy
draiser in October where once again all proceeds will go to GKTW. I had the opportunity to visit GKTW twice this past summer and was able to present the charity with a check from Princess America for $25,000. That donation was the money that was raised by the 2013 contestants. As Princess Americas National Jr. Teen 2013, I will continue to spread awareness and raise money for this wonderful cause. Anyone who wants to learn about how to donate or volunteer can visit GKTW.org.” Kennedy’s dad has been the Ole Miss basketball coach since she was five years old. It’s easy to see by looking at her accomplishments his job doesn’t define her, but Kaitlyn appreciates that her experience as a coach’s daughter is unique. “Being a coaches daughter definitely has its ups and downs,” Kennedy said. “My least favorite part of course are losing games and then having to deal with the way people re-
spond. But over time I have found that the challenges have made me a stronger person. I have grown up watching the way my dad has persevered through tough times and I believe that he has helped make me the strong person I am today. He has taught me to be my own person and to not worry about what other people think about me, to know who I am and what I want and to always go out and get it. I could go on forever about my favorite parts of being a coach’s daughter, but the best part would have to be the many wonderful places I have been able to visit traveling with my basketball family.” - RN
GLOBAL – Continued from Page 11
MARSHALL MANIA – Continued from Page 48
a smart and viable one. If homegrown talent is picked up early by traditional basketball powers, then it simply makes sense for the Ole Miss Basketball staff to develop early relationships with foreign-born players. We cannot yet say for sure whether or not this is a truly viable option for Ole Miss basketball to sustain the success it has seen under Andy Kennedy, but if it is, then look for Ole Miss to continue to recruit foreign-born players who want to earn their basketball chops in the States. In fact, this program has already garnered a commitment from Gian Louis Clavell, a Puerto Rican shooting guard who is currently playing for a Kansas junior college. True, Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, but his recruitment is more of the same strategy. At this rate, Ole Miss could have a team whose starters are mostly non-American players, a possibility which is an exciting one to think of. Ole Miss could become a destination school for athletes from abroad, and when considering the growing popularity of basketball worldwide, this could mean a very, very wide pool of talent for this program to recruit out of. - RN
those events are tied to the same facets of his personality. Prepare. If the Rebels are any kind of respectable on the court this season, Henderson will certainly have a role in it, and eventually that success will churn up the wild, acting-out Marshall of old. That means the entire cycle of grumpy Ole Miss administrators, pearl-clutching opposing fans and “outraged” national media types will swing back into motion. There’s no use arguing if that’s the case, but the consolation for you, the Ole Miss sports fan, is that if “Marshall Mania” goes amuck for another round, it’s because the Rebels are likely headed to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many years after a decade-plus of total irrelevance… Understand that if Ole Miss does make it back to the NCAA Tournament it’s because of Henderson. He won’t be alone – Kennedy’s seemed to have evolved in both overall philosophy and in-game coaching during his time in Oxford. Spaniard Sebastian Saiz could not only be an answer to the loss of Murphy Holloway and Reginald Buckner in the post, but an improvement (if hype from Europe is any indicator). There’s other talent in the backcourt as well – Jarvis Summers and LaDarius White are back, as is Martavious Newby – but Henderson and big man DeMarco Cox are the team’s sole seniors. Ole Miss needs a restocked but untested front court to compensate for the loss of Buckner and Holloway, and a little bit of luck in the RPI if they can’t gel in key early non-conference play. There’s no guarantee that Ole Miss will be back in the NCAA Tournament this season. However, if they do make it, there’s no way they can get there without Henderson. That’s the real reason he’s back. Like it or not, he’s the face of Ole Miss basketball. I suggest you start liking it. - RN
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REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 43
SEC HOOPS 2013-14 ALABAMA Nov.4...........West Georgia Nov. 8..........Oklahoma# Nov. 14........Texas Tech Nov. 18........NIT Tip-Off Nov. 19........NIT Tip-Off Nov. 27........NIT Tip-Off Nov. 29........NIT Tip-Off Dec. 4..........North Florida Dec. 7..........@South Florida Dec. 14........Charleston So. Dec. 17........Wichita State Dec. 21........Xavier Dec. 28........@UCLA Jan. 4...........Robert Morris Jan. 7...........Vanderbilt Jan. 11..........@Georgia Jan. 15.........Miss. State Jan. 18.........@Missouri Jan. 23.........Florida Jan. 25.........LSU Jan. 29.........@Auburn Feb. 1...........Tennessee Feb. 5..........@Arkansas Feb. 8..........@Florida Feb. 11.........Ole Miss Feb. 15.........@South Carolina Feb. 20........@TexasA&M Feb. 22........Missouri Feb. 26........@Ole Miss Mar. 1..........Auburn Mar. 4..........@Kentucky Mar. 8..........Arkansas # - Dallas, TX
ARKANSAS Nov. 8..........SIU-Edwardsville Nov. 15........Louisiana Nov. 18........SMU Nov. 25........California# Nov. 26........Syracuse/Minn.# Nov. 27........TBD Dec. 3..........SE Louisiana Dec. 7..........Clemson Dec. 12........Savannah St. Dec. 19........UT-Martin Dec. 21........South Alabama% Dec. 28........High Point Jan. 4...........Texas-San Antonio Jan. 8...........@Texas A&M Jan. 11..........Florida Jan. 14.........Kentucky Jan. 18.........@Georgia Jan. 22.........@Tennessee Jan. 25.........Auburn Jan. 28.........Missouri Feb. 1...........@LSU Feb. 5..........Alabama Feb. 8..........@Vanderbilt Feb. 13.........@Missouri Feb. 15.........LSU Feb. 19.........South Carolina Feb. 22........@Miss. State Feb. 27........@Kentucky Mar. 1..........Georgia Mar. 5..........Ole Miss Mar. 8..........@Alabama # - Maui Invitational, % - North Little Rock, AR
AUBURN Nov. 8..........Nichols State
Nov. 15........Northwestern State Nov. 19........Jacksonville State Nov. 23........Murray State Nov. 26........Tennessee State Dec. 2..........@Iowa State Dec. 8..........Illinois# Dec. 19........Clemson Dec. 22........Boston College Dec. 30........Arkansas-Pine Bluff Jan. 4...........Florida A&M Jan. 9...........@Ole Miss Jan. 11..........Missouri Jan. 15.........@Tennessee Jan. 18.........Florida Jan. 22.........@Miss. State Jan. 25.........@Arkansas Jan. 29.........Alabama Feb. 1...........Georgia Feb. 5..........@South Carolina Feb. 8..........@LSU Feb. 12.........Kentucky Feb. 15.........Miss. State Feb. 19.........@Florida Feb. 22........Vanderbilt Feb. 26........South Caarolina Mar. 1..........@Alabama Mar. 5..........Tennessee Mar. 8..........@Texas A&M # - Phillips Arena, Atlanta
FLORIDA Nov. 1..........Florida Southern Nov. 8..........North Florida Nov. 12........@Wisconsin Nov. 16........Arkansas-LR Nov. 18........Southern Univ. Nov. 21........Middle Tennessee Nov. 25........Jacksonville Nov. 29........Florida State Dec. 2..........@Conneticut Dec. 10........Kansas Dec. 17........Memphis# Dec. 21........Fresno State% Dec. 29........Savannah State Jan. 4...........Richmond Jan. 8...........South Carolina Jan. 11..........@Arkansas Jan. 14.........Georgia Jan. 18.........@Auburn Jan. 23.........@Alabama Jan. 25.........Tennessee Jan. 30.........@Miss. State Feb. 1...........Texas A&M Feb. 4..........Missouri Feb. 8..........Alabama Feb. 11.........@Tennessee Feb. 15.........@Kentucky Feb. 19.........Auburn Feb. 22........@Ole Miss Feb. 25........@Vanderbilt Mar. 1..........LSU Mar. 4..........@South Carolina Mar. 8..........Kentucky % - Sunrise, FL
GEORGIA Nov. 4..........UNC-Pembroke (Exh.) Nov. 8..........Wofford Nov. 15........Georgia Tech Nov. 21........Davidson# Nov. 22........TBA# Nov. 24........TBA#
44 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
Nov. 29........Appalachian St. Dec. 2..........Chattanooga Dec. 14........Lipscomb Dec. 19........Gardner-Webb Dec. 21........Western Carolina Dec. 28........@Colorado Jan. 3...........@George Washington Jan. 8...........@Missouri Jan. 11..........Alabama Jan. 14.........@Florida Jan. 18.........Arkansas Jan. 22.........South Carolina Jan. 25.........@Kentucky Jan. 29.........Vanderbilt Feb. 1...........@Auburn Feb. 6..........LSU Feb. 12.........@Miss. State Feb. 15.........Ole Miss Feb. 18.........@Tennessee Feb. 22........@South Carolina Feb. 25........Missouri Mar. 1..........@Arkansas Mar. 5..........Miss. State Mar. 8..........@LSU
KENTUCKY Nov. 1..........Transylvania Nov. 4..........Montevallo Nov. 8..........UNC Asheville Nov. 10........Northern Kentucky Nov. 12........Michigan State# Nov. 17........Robert Morris Nov. 19........Texas-Arlington Nov. 25........Cleveland State Nov. 27........Eastern Michigan Dec. 1..........Providence% Dec. 6..........Baylor^ Dec. 10........Boise State Dec. 14........@North Carolina Dec. 21........Belmont Dec. 28........Louisville Jan. 11..........@Vanderbilt Jan. 14.........@Arkansas Jan. 18.........Tennessee Jan. 21.........Texas A&M Jan. 25.........Georgia Jan. 28.........@LSU Feb. 1...........@Missouri Feb. 4..........Ole Miss Feb. 8..........@Miss. State Feb. 12.........@Auburn Feb. 15.........Florida Feb. 18.........@Ole Miss Feb. 22........LSU Feb. 27........Arkansas Mar. 1..........@South Carolina Mar. 4..........Alabama Mar. 8..........@Florida # - Chicago (United Center), % Brooklyn, NY (Barclay’s Center), ^ - Arlington, TX (AT&T Stadium)
LSU Nov. 12........@UMASS Nov. 16........Northwestern St. Nov. 19........New Orleans Nov. 22........SE Louisiana Nov. 28........St. Joeseph’s# Nov. 29........Memphis/Siena# Dec. 1..........TBD# Dec. 14........UL-Monroe Dec. 18........@Texas Tech
Dec. 21........UAB Dec. 28........McNeese St. Jan. 4...........Rhode Island Jan. 7...........Tennessee Jan. 11..........@South Carolina Jan. 15.........@Ole Miss Jan. 18.........Vanderbilt Jan. 21.........Missouri Jan. 25.........@Alabama Jan. 28.........@Kentucky Feb. 1...........Arkansas Feb. 6..........@Georgia Feb. 8..........Auburn Feb. 12.........@Texas A&M Feb. 15.........@Arkansas Feb. 19.........Miss. State Feb. 22........@Kentucky Feb. 26........Texas A&M Mar. 1..........@Florida Mar. 6..........@Vanderbilt Mar. 8..........Georgia # - Orlando, FL
Jan. 2...........Maryland East Shore Jan. 8...........@Kentucky Jan. 11..........Ole Miss Jan. 15.........@Alabama Jan. 18.........Texas A&M Jan. 22.........Auburn Jan. 25.........@Ole Miss Jan. 30.........Florida Feb. 1...........@Vanderbilt Feb. 5..........@Texas A&M Feb. 8..........Kentucky Feb. 12.........Georgia Feb. 15.........@Auburn Feb. 19.........@LSU Feb. 22........Arkansas Feb. 26........Tennessee Mar. 1..........@Missouri Mar. 5..........@Georgia Mar. 8..........South Carolina #Tupelo BancorpSouth Arena % Las Vegas Classic
Ole Miss
Nov. 8..........SE Louisiana Nov. 12........Southern Illinois Nov. 16........Hawaii# Nov. 23........Gardner-Webb Nov. 25........UPUI Nov. 28........Northwestern% Nov. 29........Nevada% Dec.5...........West Virgina^ Dec. 7..........UCLA^ Dec. 15........Western Michigan Dec. 21........Illinois& Dec. 28........@NC State Jan. 4...........Long Beach St. Jan. 8...........Georgia Jan. 11..........@Auburn Jan. 16.........@Vanderbilt Jan. 18.........Alabama Jan. 21.........@LSU Jan. 25.........South Carolina Jan. 28.........@Arkansas Feb. 1...........Kentucky Feb. 4..........@Florida Feb. 8..........@Ole Miss Feb. 13.........Arkansas Feb. 15.........Tennessee Feb. 19.........Vanderbilt Feb. 22........@Alabama Feb. 25........@Georgia Mar. 1..........Miss. State Mar. 5..........Texas A&M Mar. 8..........@Tennessee # - Kansas City, % - Las Vagas, ^ Big 12/SEC Challenge, & - St. Louis
Nov. 1..........South Carolina-Aiken Nov. 8..........Troy Nov. 16........@Coastal Carolina Nov. 22........MS Valley State* Nov. 26........North Carolina A&T* Nov. 29........Georgia Tech* Nov. 30........Penn State/St. John’s* Dec. 5..........@Kansas State Dec. 8..........Oregon Dec. 14........Middle Tenn. State Dec. 18........Louisiana-Monroe Dec. 22........Mercer Dec. 30........@Western Kentucky Jan. 4...........Dayton Jan. 9...........Auburn Jan. 11..........@Miss. State Jan. 15.........LSU Jan. 18.........@South Carolina Jan. 22.........@Vanderbilt Jan. 25.........Miss. State Jan. 29.........@Tennessee Feb. 1...........South Carolina Feb. 4..........@Kentucky Feb. 8..........Missouri Feb. 11.........@Alabama Feb. 15.........@Georgia Feb. 18.........Kentucky Feb. 22........Florida Feb. 26........Alabama Mar. 1..........@Texas A&M Mar. 5..........@Arkansas Mar. 8..........Vanderbilt * - Barclays Center Classic - Bronx, New York
Miss. State Nov. 8..........Prairie View Nov. 14........Kennesaw State Nov. 19........MS Valley State Nov. 23........@Utah State Nov. 27........Jackson State Dec. 1..........Loyola-Chicago Dec. 5..........TCU* Dec. 13........SE Louisiana# Dec. 17........Florida A&M Dec. 19........Florida Gulf Coast Dec. 22........South Florida% Dec. 23........Santa Clara/UNLV%
MISSOURI
SOUTH CAROLINA Nov. 3..........USC Aiken (Exh.) Nov. 9..........Longwood Nov. 12........@Baylor Nov. 17........@Clemson Nov. 24........Florida International Dec. 6..........@Oklahoma State Dec. 17........Manhattan Dec. 19........USC Upstate Dec. 22........Saint Mary’s# Dec. 23........TBD# Dec. 25........TBD# Dec. 28........Akron Dec. 30........Marshall Jan. 3...........South Carolina St.
SEC HOOPS 2013-14 Jan. 8...........@Florida Jan. 11..........LSU Jan. 15.........@Texas A&M Jan. 18.........Ole Miss Jan. 22.........@Georgia Jan. 25.........@Missouri Jan. 29.........Texas A&M Feb. 1...........@Ole Miss Feb. 5..........Auburn Feb. 8..........@Tennessee Feb. 12.........Vanderbilt Feb. 15.........Alabama Feb. 19.........@Arkansas Feb. 22........Georgia Feb. 26........@Auburn Mar. 1..........Kentucky Mar. 4..........Florida Mar. 8..........@Miss. State # - Hawaiian Airlines Diamondhead Classic
TENNESSEE Nov. 2..........Florida Southern Nov. 7..........Southern Indiana Nov. 12........@Xavier Nov. 16........USC Upstate
Nov. 18........The Citadel Nov. 22........Tennessee State Nov.28.........UTEP# Nov. 29........Iowa/Xavier# Nov. 30........TBD# Dec. 7..........Tennessee Tech Dec. 14........@Wichita State Dec. 18........NC State Dec. 23........Morehead State Dec. 30........Virginia Jan. 4...........Tusculum Jan. 7...........@LSU Jan. 11..........Texas A&M Jan. 15.........Auburn Jan. 18.........@Kentucky Jan. 22.........Arkansas Jan. 25.........@Florida Jan. 29.........Ole Miss Feb. 1...........@Alabama Feb. 5..........@Vanderbilt Feb. 8..........South Carolina Feb. 11.........Florida Feb. 15.........@Missouri Feb. 18.........Georgia Feb. 22........@Texas A&M Feb. 26........@Miss. State
Mar. 1..........Vanderbilt Mar. 5..........@Auburn Mar. 8..........Missouri # - Battle 4 Atlantis (Bahamas)
TEXAS A&M Nov. 8..........Buffalo Nov. 11.........MS Valley State Nov. 15........Rice Nov. 19........Prairie View Nov. 24........Sam Houston St. Nov. 26........Arkansas-Pine Bluff Nov. 29........Missouri St. # Nov. 30........SMU/Virginia # Dec. 4..........Houston Dec. 14........McNeese St. Dec. 21........Oklahoma% Jan 4............UTPA Jan. 8...........Arkansas Jan. 11..........@Tennesse Jan. 15.........South Carolina Jan. 18.........@Miss. State Jan. 21.........@Kentucky Jan. 25.........Vanderbilt Jan. 29.........@South Carolina Feb. 1...........@Florida
Feb. 5..........Miss. State Feb. 8..........@Georgia Feb. 12.........LSU Feb. 15.........@Vanderbilt Feb. 20........Alabama Feb. 22........Tennessee Feb. 26........@LSU Mar. 1..........Ole Miss Mar. 5..........@Missouri Mar. 8..........Auburn # - Corpus Christi, % - Houston, TX
VANDERBILT Nov. 12........Georgia State Nov. 15........Lipscomb Nov. 19........@Butler Nov. 22........Providence# Nov. 23........TBD# Nov. 24........TBD# Nov. 25........TBD# Dec. 2..........@Texas Dec. 5..........Marshall Dec. 17........Austin Peay Dec. 21........Georgia Tech Dec. 30........Saint Louis Jan. 4...........Northeastern
Jan. 7...........@Alabama Jan. 11..........Kentucky Jan. 16.........Missouri Jan. 18.........@LSU Jan. 22.........Ole Miss Jan. 25.........@Texas A&M Jan. 29.........@Georgia Feb. 1...........Miss. State Feb. 5..........Tennessee Feb. 8..........Arkansas Feb. 12.........@South Carolina Feb. 15.........Texas A&M Feb. 19.........@Missouri Feb. 22........@Auburn Feb. 25........Florida Mar. 1..........@Tennessee Mar. 6..........LSU Mar. 8..........@Ole Miss # - St.Thomas, V.I.
2013-14 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Bowl Schedule Sat., Dec. 21 ............. 2 p.m. ET ......................Gildan New Mexico Bowl ...................................................Albuquerque, N.M. .................................... ESPN Sat., Dec. 21 ............. 3:30 p.m. ET .................Las Vegas Bowl . ................................................................Las Vegas, Nev. ........................................... ABC Sat., Dec. 21 ............. 5:30 p.m. ET .................Famous Idaho Potato Bowl . ..............................................Boise, Idaho .............................................. ESPN Sat., Dec. 21 ............. 9 p.m. ET ......................R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl .........................................New Orleans, La. ....................................... ESPN Mon., Dec. 23 ........... 2 p.m. ET ......................Beef O’Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg ...................................St. Petersburg, Fla. .................................... ESPN Tue., Dec. 24 ............ 8 p.m. ET ......................Sheraton Hawaii Bowl .......................................................Honolulu, Hawaii . ..................................... ESPN Thu., Dec. 26 ............ 6 p.m. ET ......................Little Caesars Pizza Bowl ...................................................Detroit, Mich. ............................................ ESPN Thu., Dec. 26 ............ 9:30 p.m. ET .................San Diego Co. Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl ......................San Diego, Calif. . ...................................... ESPN Fri., Dec. 27 .............. 2:30 p.m. ET .................Military Bowl by Northrop Grumman .................................Annapolis, Md. .......................................... ESPN Fri., Dec. 27 .............. 6 p.m. ET ......................Texas Bowl ........................................................................Houston, Texas . ........................................ ESPN Fri., Dec. 27 .............. 9:30 p.m. ET .................Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl . ...................................................San Francisco, Calif. .................................. ESPN Sat., Dec. 28 ............. 12 p.m. ET .....................New Era Pinstripe Bowl .....................................................New York, N.Y. ........................................... ESPN Sat., Dec. 28 ............. 3:20 p.m. ET .................Belk Bowl ..........................................................................Charlotte, N.C. . ......................................... ESPN Sat., Dec. 28 ............. 6:45 p.m. ET .................Russell Athletic Bowl .........................................................Orlando, Fla. ............................................. ESPN Sat., Dec. 28 ............. 10:15 p.m. ET ................Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl . ..................................................Tempe, Ariz. .............................................. ESPN Mon., Dec. 30 ........... 11:45 a.m. ET ................Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl ....................................Fort Worth, Texas ...................................... ESPN Mon., Dec. 30 ........... 3:15 p.m. ET ..................Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl ....................Nashville, Tenn. ......................................... ESPN Mon., Dec. 30 ........... 6:45 p.m. ET .................Valero Alamo Bowl ............................................................San Antonio, Texas .................................... ESPN Mon., Dec. 30 ........... 10:15 p.m. ET ................Holiday Bowl .....................................................................San Diego, Calif. . ...................................... ESPN Tue., Dec. 31 ............. 12:30 p.m. ET ................AdvoCare V100 Bowl . ........................................................Shreveport, La. ......................................... ESPN Tue., Dec. 31 ............. 2 p.m. ET ......................Hyundai Sun Bowl .............................................................El Paso, Texas . ............................................ CBS Tue., Dec. 31 ............. 4 p.m. ET ......................AutoZone Liberty Bowl ......................................................Memphis, Tenn. . ....................................... ESPN Tue., Dec. 31 ............. 8 p.m. ET ......................Chick-fil-A Bowl .................................................................Atlanta, Ga. ............................................... ESPN Wed., Jan. 1 . ............. 12 p.m. ET .....................TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl .................................................Jacksonville, Fla. ..................................... ESPN2 Wed., Jan. 1 . ............. 12 p.m. ET .....................Heart of Dallas Bowl ..........................................................Dallas, Texas ...........................................ESPNU Wed., Jan. 1 . ............. 1 p.m. ET .......................Capital One Bowl ...............................................................Orlando, Fla. ............................................... ABC Wed., Jan. 1 . ............. 1 p.m. ET .......................Outback Bowl ....................................................................Tampa, Fla. ................................................ ESPN Wed., Jan. 1 . ............. 5 p.m. ET ......................Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO . ...............................Pasadena, Calif. ........................................ ESPN Wed., Jan. 1 . ............. 8:30 p.m. ET .................Tostitos Fiesta Bowl . .........................................................Glendale, Ariz. . ......................................... ESPN Thu., Jan. 2 ............... 8:30 p.m. ET .................Allstate Sugar Bowl ...........................................................New Orleans, La. ....................................... ESPN Fri., Jan. 3 ................. TBA . .............................Discover Orange Bowl .......................................................Miami Gardens, Fla. .................................. ESPN Fri., Jan. 3 ................. 7:30 p.m. ET .................AT&T Cotton Bowl . ............................................................Arlington, Texas . ..........................................FOX Sat., Jan. 4 ................ 1 p.m. ET .......................BBVA Compass Bowl .........................................................Birmingham, Ala. ...................................... ESPN Sun., Jan. 5 ............... 9 p.m. ET ......................GoDaddy Bowl . .................................................................Mobile, Ala. ............................................... ESPN Mon., Jan. 6 ............. 8:30 p.m. ET ................ VIZIO BCS National Championship .................................Pasadena, Calif. ...................................... ESPN REBELNATION MAGAZINE - 45
REBEL
FLASHBACK
THE CONVERSION >>> For Ole Miss quarterback Stewart Patridge, it was the perfect Cinderella ending to a rags-to-riches senior year. Trailing 14-7 with 2:12 remaining, the Rebels were on the respirator at Scott Field. But the poised Patridge pulled off the emergency rescue of his life by directing a 64-yard TD drive and then hitting Cory Peterson for a two-point conversion with 25 seconds left that gave Ole Miss a 15-14 victory over Mississippi State. 46 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
“What a miracle,� Ole Miss coach Tommy Tuberville said afterward. And what a disaster for the Bulldogs, who in two short weeks went from a possible date in the SEC Championship Game to possibly being left out of the bowl picture. While the 7-4 Rebels were prancing around the field with the Egg Bowl trophy, the 7-4 Bulldogs retreated to the locker room and tried to figure out what had happened. - Photo courtesy Ole Miss Athletics
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VIEW FROM THE GROVE
>>>>>
Follow Steven Godfrey on Twitter® @38Godfrey
Welcome Back, Marshall Mania STEVEN
GODFREY
F
ootball in the SEC has a way of cleansing the sports mind from all prior concerns and obligations. So let me warn you now – Marshall Mania is fast approaching. The embattled, despised antihero of college hoops survived (barely) an offseason of police run-ins and a possibly a very serious battle with substance abuse – I say “possibly” not to lampoon, but because Ole Miss has foolishly decided to go with radio silence in their PR, hoping we – the media, Rebel fans, opposing fans and the general outside world – would just forget. Not a chance. Henderson is unlike anything the program has even seen. He might be unlike anything Ole Miss athletics has ever seen, too – a maligned but inarguably talented athlete that’s largely responsible for a team’s success and a postseason appearance. Henderson clashes with everything about Ole Miss, but the program seems bound to his services for at least another year. That’s what happens when you’re grossly negligent of a major sport both in support fiscally and emotionally – you’re handcuffed to a freeshooting journeyman wild card. As soon as football season gives way to basketball, Henderson will be a national topic again. This time around, it’s best that you, the Rebel fan (and ostensibly, the Marshall Henderson fan), follow a few guidelines. Empathize With opposing team’s fans by admitting without pretense that you would loathe Henderson if he wasn’t in red and blue. If Marshall wasn’t a Rebel (imagine him playing for a rival like Mississippi State or LSU, or pulling his “antics” up at Memphis) your local message board would deride his very being. There’s just no arguing that, therefore you can’t blame him for creating such a pointed, bitter response from fan bases that don’t usu48 - REBELNATION MAGAZINE
ally even notice basketball (such as Auburn, where his on-court jersey-popping was being discussed with contempt months after it happened). Please note that you aren’t restricted from enjoying Marshall’s taunting, snappy behavior yourself - he plays for your team, after all. Even as an objective member of the media, I cracked a smile at his wry Twitter response to Florida alum Erin Andrews’ issue with his Gator chomping down the sidelines of media row at the SEC Championship.
Henderson is unlike anything the program has even seen. He might be unlike anything Ole Miss athletics has ever seen, too – a maligned but inarguably talented athlete that’s largely responsible for a team’s success and a postseason appearance. Andrews took a shot at Henderson’s suspension for what we learned later was a substance abuse related issue, asking if he was “mocking anyone now.” Henderson’s response was weak (he said he’d save the Tweet and she’d be the first person he mocked…?) but in any other circumstance, a national media personality wouldn’t dog out a student athlete facing a drug or alcohol issue. Unless that student athlete is named Marshall Henderson. So it’s not just rival fans you’ll have to hear it from. Question Ole Miss. As of this writing Henderson is on 110 percent media lockdown. Since his summer suspension and rumored rehab, the University has tried to
brick off Henderson and hide his entire being from the public. It’s worked so far only because it hasn’t been basketball season. Once play starts – especially conference play – Henderson’s no-media policy will become a distraction if Ole Miss continues to hold it in place. Notice I didn’t say the coaching staff – the gag on Marshall goes far beyond the head coach Andy Kennedy. Frankly, Ole Miss is scared of Henderson, and couldn’t be happier that he’ll have exhausted his college eligibility at the end of this year. He’ll be someone else’s problem at that point, and the Rebels can keep him from serving as the non-football face of athletics while they try to aggressively pursue fundraising for a new arena. This strikes me as more than just disingenuous. Henderson, along with a handful of other players, is the reason for any renewed interest in Ole Miss basketball. Specifically, Kennedy and analysts nationwide said that the sole element the Rebels lacked to make March Madness in 2011-’12 was an outside shooting presence. They got that in Marshall, and he helped get the postseason monkey off Kennedy’s back while putting butts in seats. The better solution – one that Ole Miss has chosen not to pursue – would be to get it over with. Put Henderson out in public early with a few key media members (there’s still a boatload of national interest from basketball writers). Have him talk about his “journey” or his “lessons learned” or whatever, and be done with it. Instead, the cloud of mystery around what did and didn’t happen will only grow as a distraction. Forgive Yourself, not Marshall Henderson. Henderson is a combustion of goofy swagger and real-time, real-life Internet trolling. He’s also a flawed individual with a past that includes brushes and scrapes with the law and what by all accounts seems to be a substance abuse problem that’s seemingly now in check. I don’t fault the man for his character or his weaknesses. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffer the same addiction issues without the exacerbation of national television coverage amplifying their every move. So if you’ve condemned Henderson for his “issues” off the court, forgive yourself. That goes double if you’ve also cheered in reckless abandon when the Rebels broke through to the NCAA Tournament last season. You may never understand how both of See MARSHALL MANIA – Page 43
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