Kermit Davis tweets support for Ole Miss after Rebels win opening SEC Tournament game

Ole Miss is in the unique position of playing its postseason without the coach it began the season with after the Rebels fired Kermit Davis midway through his fifth season in charge.

But Davis is still having an impact on the players on the floor, and he was quick to chime in with congratulations after Ole Miss beat South Carolina 67-61 in its opening SEC Tournament game.

“So proud of these guys!! Let’s get the Vols tomorrow,” Davis wrote on Twitter, capping it with a red and a baby blue emoji.

The players on the court certainly seemed to give it their all, with Ole Miss using an early 9-0 run in the second half to create some separation from South Carolina in the opening game of the tournament.

One of the players who was a major factor in the game, forward Jaemyn Brakefield, outright said the players were thinking about Davis during the game.

“I would say we wanted to do everything in our power to make him happy and play as hard as we could for him, and that’s what we just tried to do tonight,” Brakefield told the SEC Network broadcast crew afterward.

More on Kermit Davis’ firing

Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter announced on Feb. 24 that the program had mutually parted with head coach Kermit Davis.

Assistant coach Win Case has served as the interim head coach since.

“We thank Coach Davis for his dedication to the Ole Miss basketball program and our student-athletes,” Carter said in a statement. “No one wanted to bring a title home to Mississippi more than him, and we appreciate the passion for that goal that he shared with our team every day. As he has throughout his career, Coach Davis worked tirelessly to produce a winner, and we wish him, Betty and his family the very best in the future.”

Davis was in his fifth season in Oxford, Mississippi, after being in hired in 2018. He went 74-79 in 153 games coaching the Rebels, leading them to one NCAA Tournament his first year on the job during the 2018-19 season.

“My family and I are extremely thankful for the opportunity to lead the Ole Miss men’s basketball program the past five years,” Davis said in a statement. “We appreciate Chancellor Boyce, Keith Carter, the staff and players for their support and work ethic on behalf of our program, and I wish Ole Miss the best going forward. Oxford is a special place to live and work.”