John Calipari goes to bat for Kermit Davis amid Ole Miss' struggles

Kentucky’s 75-66 win over Ole Miss last night dropped the Rebels to 9-13 on the season and 1-8 in SEC play. It was Ole Miss’ tenth loss in the last eleven games, and even though the Rebels were tied with the Cats at halftime despite being without their two leading scorers, it kind of feels like the writing is on the wall for Kermit Davis in his fifth season in Oxford.

After the game, John Calipari made it a point to praise Davis, who is now 73-74 at Ole Miss and 542-337 in his 28-year career.

“Here’s the crazy thing — and I told Kermit after — they’re in every game they play,” Calipari said of the Rebels. “They just need to bust out in one game. And now that we’re done with them, I hope they win the rest. They’ve got the shooters, the big guys. They are right on the cusp and real coaching gets done when this kind of stuff goes on and all the noise. This is when coaching gets done, and you watch Kermit because he is one of the best.

“Like I said, I am just glad — I told my team. I said, ‘Look, I saw the Tennessee game, I saw the Georgia game.’ You want me to keep going? I saw all these games. And I’m like, shoot, they could have won just about any of them. They’re good. I know their record doesn’t speak that, but he has got them playing.”

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Davis on adversity, John Calipari’s comments

As mentioned, the Rebels were without leading scorers Matthew Murrell and Daeshun Ruffin last night. Murrell missed his third straight game with a knee sprain and just before tipoff, Ruffin announced he is stepping away from the team to focus on his mental and physical health. Ruffin missed the first seven games of the season with a bone bruise and did not travel with the team to their game at Oklahoma State this past weekend. The former 2021 four-star recruit is Ole Miss’ first-ever McDonald’s All-American.

Davis didn’t go into specifics about Ruffin, simply saying that the team loves him and will support him in whatever way possible. However, he did open up about the adversity the program has faced this season.

“I told my wife the other night, Betty’s been with me for 40 years, gone to a lot of games and I said, ‘Sometimes, Betty, you look up and only you know that maybe you’ve done one of your better jobs.’ I’m not — trust me, I’m not egotistical at all. The staff’s involved with that. Just kind of getting through some difficult things. It has been for two years. Hadn’t had a lot of great luck happening with Ole Miss basketball.”

When informed of Calipari’s comments, Davis said he’s always had a great appreciation for what Calipari does on and off the court.

“I don’t say this because maybe he said some nice things about me, but I always thought he was one of the most underrated coaches in college basketball for so many years. I’ve said it. It’s because he’s been able to have great recruiting classes. He manages those guys and coaches them and he demands and keeps them accountable. He has these first-round picks that can average 8-10 points a game and they buy in. So, I’m a huge fan.

“Like I said, there are a lot of great coaches. Cal’s one of the very best. And what he is, too, he’s one of the most caring people out there. If you just kind of follow him, about his care for older coaches, his care for community things that happen, in the state. He’s a great ambassador for college basketball and Kentucky, for sure.”

Davis on Kentucky, Oscar Tshiebwe, Antonio Reeves

Antonio Reeves was the star of last night’s win in Oxford, coming off the bench to score 27 points, a career-high as a Wildcat, including six threes. It was his eighth-straight double-figure scoring game and fifth 20-point game of the season. Davis said that while Oscar Tshiebwe still sits atop Kentucky’s scouting report, Reeves’ shooting gives the Cats another dimension.

“He’s unbelievable,” Davis said of Oscar, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. “He just gets doubled-teamed. People hit on him all season long, so I know it’s got to be wear and tear. We doubled him every time. Early on, he caught it, but Reeves has kind of changed their team over the last couple of weeks. We did a good job on [CJ] Fredrick. He’s another player. Didn’t score.

“So, if you would have told me Oscar got what he got and Fredrick didn’t score, I think we’d win the game. But, you know, Reeves just had this special night. He made a lot of shots, some great plays, so give him a lot of credit.”