Ole Miss and men's basketball coach Kermit Davis have agreed to a new four-year contract, the school said on Tuesday. Davis is entering his fourth season as head coach of the Rebels.
"Starting with his first season when he was SEC Coach of the Year, Coach Davis has increased the expectations of Ole Miss basketball," athletic director Keith Carter said in a statement. "Recruiting has never been better as he has signed some of the top prospects in school history. We're excited to see the team continue to rise under his guidance, competing for SEC championships and making runs in the NCAA Tournament."
Davis has compiled a 51-42 record during his first three seasons at Ole Miss. In the 2018-19 campaign, the Rebels finished sixth in the SEC and earned an NCAA Tournament berth, where it lost to Oklahoma in the first round. Davis won SEC Coach of the Year following the Rebels' strong season.
Last year, Ole Miss went 16-12 and received a No. 1 seed in the NIT.
A four-year contract is the longest allowed by state law.
(Photo: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)
How the program has fared under Davis
Kyle Tucker, college basketball writer: Ole Miss went 12-20 under Andy Kennedy the season before Davis arrived and completely flipped the script in Year 1 with a 20-13 record and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019. But he’s gone 31-29 since.
You could say he’s recruiting well, signing the program's first McDonald's All-American in homegrown Daeshun Ruffin and adding a former top-35 recruit, Jaemyn Brakefield, as a transfer from Duke.
But even that haul barely registers in a five-star filled SEC. Which is to say, Davis still has quite a bit to prove at the high-major level.
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What to expect from Ole Miss this season
Tucker: Middle Tennessee averaged 27 wins over Davis' final three seasons there and has only won a total of 24 games in the three years since he left, which is to say the man can coach ball. And he's going to have to this season.
He lost All-SEC guard Devontae Shuler and starting forward Romello White to graduation, plus major contributors KJ Buffen (UAB) and Khadim Sy (Wake Forest) to the transfer portal. So he'll lean on Ruffin and Matthew Murrell, both former top-50 recruits, and three high-major transfers: Brakefield, Tye Fagan (Georgia) and Nysier Brooks (Miami) to try to scratch out a solid season in a very tough league.
Right now, the Rebels feel middle-of-the-pack at best.
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