Chris Beard shares his impressions of SEC as season has gone on

Ole Miss has had little trouble in non-conference play to begin the 2023-24 hoops season, which has reporters already asking head coach Chris Beard about the SEC slate to come.

The Rebels recently advanced to 9-0 on the year, Beard’s first in Oxford, after defeating new Big 12 member UCF on Sunday. After yet another tally in the win column, he was asked in the postgame if he’s monitored how other SEC teams have performed so far this season and what he expects once league play does start.

“Yeah, just haven’t competed in the league yet, but um my familiarity starts with the teams that we’ve competed against before,” said Beard, noting his history with the Tennessee head coach.

“I understand what Rick Barnes is all about and has been about his whole career and have a lot of respect for Coach. He’s actually one of my mentors, that’s accurate to say. So yeah, a lot of coaches in this league that I’ve followed their teams, not only where they’re coaching now but before, obviously in recruiting.”

If you follow the SEC’s recruiting both at the high school level and in the transfer portal, like Beard does, then you’ll know that the conference is stacked with high-level talent.

“You know, the SEC’s got great players. I think it’s accurate to say there’s more NBA players from SEC schools on rosters and all that’s real. I mean, you look at every SEC team, there’s NBA players, there’s NBA prospects, there’s young NBA talent.”

At the end of the day, it’s currently mid-December and conference play for SEC teams is still another several weeks down the road. Chris Beard isn’t sure how his team or any team will perform during the SEC gauntlet, but from what he’s noticed in the non-conference, the SEC will certainly been in the mix as one of college basketball’s best conferences this season.

“So I’ve been really impressed I haven’t started traveling to these venues and stuff, but I just think from my from my eyes and what I’ve seen — I think I’ve seen everybody in the league play two or three times — I think our league has a chance to be one of, if not the best league in college basketball. And all that will be determined.

“Now, it’s fun to talk about and look at these rankings. They don’t mean anything until you get to, you know, mid December, late December, and then you come up for air and… conference play.”

Luckily, Chris Beard is accustomed to brutal conference schedules after spending much of his head coaching tenure in the Big 12 when it was at its best.