Parrish Alford: They'e more athleticut will Ole Miss shoot from 3?
May 6—OXFORD — In a nod to the future of roster-building in all sports, Ole Miss basketball announced a transfer-heavy signing class at the end of April.
There have been transfer-heavy classes before, but this one includes no junior college transfers.
The effect on athletes at two-year colleges could be the unintended consequence of the NCAA's new one-time transfer policy.
There will never be a shortage of athletes in any sport who believe they need a fresh start, and now coaches can plug gaps or add long-term pieces with experienced Division I players.
Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis has done both.
Miami seven-footer Nysier Brooks has one season of eligibility remaining. Georgia transfer Tye Fagan has two, and Duke transfer Jaemyn Brakefield has four.
The NCAA's extra season of eligibility for athletes during the pandemic will do a Servpro number on Brakefield's one season at Duke — it's like it never happened.
What all this means for an Ole Miss team that narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament remains to be seen.
A year ago there was a lot of buzz for graduate transfers Romello White and Dimencio Vaughn.
White became a big factor in the Rebels' success. Vaughn did not, and by the end of the season a guy who joined three other teammates on the cover of the media guide in the preseason had made little impact and had left the team.
Experienced or not, transfers are starting over, and with that comes adjustment.
As with any team, Ole Miss needs its transfers to hit the ground running. Nobody has time for losses.
It's clear this mix of three transfers and four high school players — led by McDonald's All-American Daeshun Ruffin — makes Ole Miss more athletic.
It's less clear that the Rebels will notably improve their dreadful 3-point shooting next year.
Brakefield can do a lot of different things, but at Duke he shot 31.4 percent on 35 3-point attempts.
Ruffin, Grant Slatten and Eric Van Der Heijden were dynamic long-range high school shooters. James White was another outstanding high school scorer.
These guys will face different challenges at the next level.
Ole Miss is losing 15.3 points a game from Devontae Shuler, a guy who carried them at critical moments in some of their biggest wins.
Where does that come from?
Maybe Jarkel Joiner plays most of the season the way he did the last four games when he averaged 20.25 points and shot 40 percent from 3. Before those games Joiner was reluctant and rarely successful from the arc.
Whether or not Joiner or another returning player takes a big step some in this signing class need to establish themselves quickly. NCAA Tournament-level teams have newcomers who contribute in big ways.
Parrish Alford (parrish.alford@journalinc.com) covers Ole Miss for The Daily Journal. Find more in the Facebook Group 'Ole Miss Discussion w/Parrish Alford.'
