Chris Beard set to hire Al Pinkins as an assistant coach for Ole Miss

Newly anointed Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard hasn’t had very much time to get settled in his new job in Oxford, Mississippi. The former Texas head coach held his introductory press conference earlier this week, and he’s been busy assembling his staff of assistant coaches. On Saturday night, it was revealed by college basketball insider Jon Rothstein that Beard will hire Al Pinkins to be an assistant on his staff at Ole Miss. Pinkins previously worked with him at Texas Tech, when the Red Raiders reached the Elite Eight in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

This will be his second stint working on the Ole Miss staff. He was an assistant coach from 2011-2014 for the Rebels.

During Pinkins’ two years with Texas Tech, the team won 11 games against ranked opponents and they had a spectacular run during the 2017-2018 season, winning 27 games. Their appearance in the Elite Eight marked the first time in program history the Red Raiders had advanced that far.

Following his time with Texas Tech, Pinkins joined the Florida Gators’ coaching staff as the associate head coach and helped them to NCAA Tournament bids in 2019 and 2021. He also served as the Gators’ interim head coach during the NIT when Mike White took the Georgia head coaching job.

Pinkins also spent time with the LSU Tigers, working with Ben Simmons, who went on to become the NBA’s top overall draft pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He was named the 2016 National Freshman of the Year and ranked among the top five in the SEC in points (19.2 points), rebounds (11.8 rebounds), assists (4.8 assists), and steals (2.0 steals).

Pinkins began his college basketball coaching career with the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders from 2003-2011, where was involved in many different areas of their program.

During his playing career Pinkins played college basketball with Chipola Junior College (Florida) from 1993-1995, averaging 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game during his two seasons there. After his sophomore year, he transferred to N.C. State, averaging 9.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Following his college playing career, Pinkins played professionally with Team Baleno (Zaragoza, Spain), averaging 22 points and 9.0 rebounds during the 1998 campaign. He also played for the Raleigh Cougars in the USBL in 1998 and for Minot (North Dakota) in the IBL, where he brought home MVP honors. Pinkins also played overseas in the Chinese Basketball Association and the Qatar Basketball Association. He averaged 29 points per game and 11 rebounds per game in the QBA and 11 points and 8 rebounds per game in the CBA.