Jerry Stackhouse calls out Chris Beard, Ole Miss' use of transfer portal

Ole Miss continued its winning ways on Saturday in Oxford, taking down Jerry Stackhouse and the Vanderbilt Commodores. Head coach Chris Beard is enjoying the start to his tenure in the SEC with wins in two out of three games. While there were plenty of storylines during the game, Stackhouse made the biggest with his postgame comments.

Stackhouse called out Beard and his use of the NCAA transfer portal this offseason, calling Ole Miss the “best team money can buy.” The Rebels have a ton of experienced players on their roster although now within the program. It’s not something Vanderbilt has had recent success with in recent years.

“Best team money can buy,” Stackhouse said. “That’s what they are and that’s how they approached it. They got it done. It’s about adding experience. You go into the portal and add juniors and seniors. We don’t add juniors and seniors at Vanderbilt. They just don’t transfer to us. That’s what it is.”

Just three freshmen were part of Ole Miss’ 2023 recruiting class. Beard was able to haul in seven different players through the portal and dividends are paying off. Not just against Vanderbilt but throughout the season. Ole Miss is 14-1 and hoping to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.

On Saturday, Matthew Murrell was the leading scorer with 22 points but was a part of the 2021-2022 team. Behind him though was Allen Flanigan with 16 points and Jaylen Murray adding 12. Those two joined the program via Auburn and St. Peter’s, respectively.

Vanderbilt is not able to take the same approach, with Stackhouse mentioning the academic stipulation they have to deal with. Graduate transfers are usually valuable, with the Commodores adding two this offseason.

Other additions have to be younger guys without a ton of experience, not giving Stackhouse the on-court experience a lot of coaches want in modern college basketball.

“It’s more about freshman and sophomores who we can get into school and grad transfers who make sense for us,” Stackhouse said. …”They got a nice roster and they added some guys.”

It’s been an overall frustrating season for Stackhouse, with Vanderbilt sitting at 5-11 and now 0-3 in SEC play. His team has lost seven out of the last eight games and a few of them have not been close. The Ole Miss loss is just the latest example, even if Stackhouse felt the need to call Beard out.