Scouting Report: Ole Miss Rebels

This. Is. March. After a tough loss out in Fayetteville, the Kentucky Wildcats return home to the friendly confines of Rupp Arena to take on the Ole Miss Rebels. Coach Kermit Davis has had a rough stretch over the last month losing six of their last seven games. Now sitting at 13-16 overall, 4-12 in the SEC, this could be the perfect bounce-back spot for the ‘Cats. However, if the Southeastern Conference has taught us anything this year, it is to take no win for granted.

Ole Miss ranks outside of the Top 100 per KenPom in both offensive and defensive efficiency this season. Missouri is the only other conference team to share that ugly statistic. Overall this is a team with good size inside led by 7-footer Nysier Brooks. The graduate transfer from Miami (FL) has been a bright spot for the Rebels this season and is the type of player that Oscar Tshiebwe has struggled with at times. On the wings they are long and athletic and have a talented scorer in the backcourt in Jarkel Joiner. Between health issues, turnover problems, and an average at best defense Ole Miss simply hasn’t been able to put wins together consistently this season.

As we do each game day, we will provide a preview of the Wildcats opponent. We have a personnel breakdown, some quick looks at the Rebels offensive and defensive game plans, as well as the keys to the game for this evening. Let’s dive on in and get to know more about the Ole Miss Rebels.

Ole Miss Rebels Personnel

Starters

#24 Jarkel Joiner: 6’1″ 180 lbs, Redshirt Senior Guard

14.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.5 apg

Aggressive scoring guard. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! Making 2 3’s per game on 35% shooting. Need to be tight to him at all times to take away the 3’s. No help off him. Likes to shoot them off the dribble as well. Get out and break his rhythm off the dribble. Will shoot them from deep. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off downscreens and flares. Switch if there is space and get out to take away the 3’s. Wants to shoot jump shots. Loves the left-to-right crossover into a pull-up jumper. Contest everything. Will shoot the pull-up more when he is driving it left and will go to the rim when driving it right. Make him score contested 2’s with a hard contest. More shots than points for him. No 3’s!

#11 Matthew Murrell: 6’4″ 200 lbs, Sophomore Guard

11.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.7 apg

SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 134 of 244 shots have been 3’s. 37.3% from 3. Need to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Tighten up as the ball comes towards you. No help off him. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off downscreens and flares. Switch if there is space and get out to take away the 3’s. Wants to shoot jump shots. Need to give a hard contest to everything. Will shot fake into a one or two dribble pull-up. We should be tight enough on our closeouts that you don’t need to bite on the fakes. More shots than points for him. No 3’s!

#5 James White: 6’5″ 190 lbs, Freshman Guard

1.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.3 apg

Athletic, long wing. Earned the start in their last game after a couple of strong performances off the bench. More of a right hand driver than a shooter. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! Closeout short to him on the perimeter to guard against the right hand drive. Stay between him and the basket. You can help off him when he doesn’t have it and then closeout short when the ball gets moved to him. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Not looking to be super aggressive offensively. Good cutter off the ball. Don’t get back cut. No right hand drives. No layups for him.

#15 Luis Rodriguez: 6’6″ 210 lbs, Junior Guard/Forward

7.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.9 apg

Bigger, strong wing. Plays a physical style. Capable shooter, but more dangerous as a right hand driver. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! Closeout a step short to him with high hands to deter the initial catch-and-shoot, but more worried about taking away the right hand drive. Really likes to attack closeouts. We will close out more aggressively if he makes a couple. They will throw it ahead to him in transition some. Get over and cut off the right hand drives. Want to stay between him and the basket at all times. Excellent offensive rebounder! Crashes the glass hard. Box out!!!

#3 Nysier Brooks: 7’0″ 245 lbs, Graduate Student Center

9.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.7 apg

Big, physical 5-man. Looking for deep post catches. Will duck you in. Need to be physical with him and keep him from getting catches with two feet in the paint. Really tough to stop when he can catch, turn, and score without dribbling. His percentages will go down the further off the block you make him catch it. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Make him score over you. No drop steps. Don’t help up off him at the rim and give up dunks. Capable face-up shooter. Need to give a hard contest in the 12-15 feet range. Elite offensive rebounder. Averages nearly 3 offensive rebounds per game. Be physical and box him out!

Bench

#4 Jaemyn Brakefield: 6’8″ 220 lbs, Sophomore Forward

8.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.7 apg

Physical, skilled 4-man. Good shooter! No catch-and-shoot 3’s! Shooting 38.3% from deep. Need to be there on the catch to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Will attack your closeout and drive it right as well. Need to bounce back and guard against the right hand drives. No right hand drives! Pressure him as much as you can on the perimeter without getting blown by to his right hand. 20 assists to 49 turnovers. Take it off him. Bring help when he drives it right. Not thinking about passing. Will cut to the basket and look to post up. Right hand, left shoulder inside. Be physical on his left shoulder. Box out!

#14 Tye Fagan: 6’3″ 198 lbs, Senior Guard

7.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.0 apg

Athletic, left-handed guard. Very good left handed driver! NO LEFT HAND DRIVES!!! Capable shooter, but much better as a left hand driver. Need to closeout to contest the initial catch-and-shoot 3’s. Be there with high hands and then bounce back to guard the left hand drives. We want to stay between him and the basket at all times. Very good in transition at getting all the way to the rim. Get over and cut off the left hand drives. You can hop under the ballscreens and handoffs until he makes one behind it. Make him score over you. Likes to spin back left when he is going right. Always coming back left to finish inside. Keep him going to his right. No layups for him!

#1 Austin Crowley: 6’5″ 195 lbs, Junior Guard

4.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.4 apg

Long, athletic backup guard. Good shooter! No catch-and-shoot 3’s! Shooting the same percentage from 3 as he is from 2. Need to be there on the catch to take him away. Tighten up as the ball comes towards you. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off downscreens and flares. He is going to look to drive it right once you take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Primarily hunting jump shots. The deeper he drives it the more he is driving to pass. Don’ over help when he drives it. Contest all jump shots. Make him score with you between him and the basket. No 3’s!

#23 Sammy Hunter: 6’9″ 225 lbs, Junior Forward

2.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.1 apg

Strong backup forward. Willing shooter, but just 4-22 on the season from beyond the arc. Closeout short and dare him to shoot. If he makes a couple we can adjust, but we will begin by closing out short and see how many he will take. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Will face-up to shoot the jumper. Contest the mid-range face-up jumpers. Be physical and get him off the block. Make him score over you. No drop steps. Box out!

Ole Miss Rebels Offense

It is no secret that the Ole Miss Rebels have struggled offensively this season. Their 68.5 points per game ranks second to last in the Southeastern Conference ahead of Missouri. Arguably their best biggest problem has been turning the ball over. They have a 20.5% turnover percentage in conference play despite playing at the second slowest pace of any SEC team. Playing without a true point guard certainly doesn’t help from that standpoint. It isn’t a coincidence that losing McDonald’s All-American point guard Daeshun Ruffin for the season led to dropping six of their next seven games.

The Rebels are a team that relies heavily on making jump shots. Their two best remaining scorers, #24 Joiner and #11 Murrell are good perimeter shooters who really want to shoot jump shots. Left-handed playmaker #14 Fagan is their best creator now and his much improved outside shooting has made him a tougher cover off the dribble. #3 Brooks and #4 Brakefield, a transfer from Duke, give Ole Miss a scoring punch around the basket as well. It has just been harder for them to get clean looks without a true point guard to distribute the basketball.

Coach Kermit Davis runs several set plays in the half court to throw the ball inside. He has some good diagonal back screen actions that will look to get #3 Brooks or #4 Brakefield the ball on the block. We just have to do a good job, regardless of what they are running, at staying between them and the basket. Though they have some solid shooters, only #11 Murrell and #24 Joiner are really hunting them aggressively. If we can contest everything and take away layups they won’t be able to score enough to win.

Ole Miss Rebels Defense

Coach Kermit Davis has primarily gone with a man-to-man defense in recent games. The Ole Miss Rebels had played a lot of 2-3 Zone earlier in the season, and they still will mix it in for some possessions, but they appear to have switch their philosophy over the back half of the season. Their primary intention will be to stay between the ball and the basket. They stuff the gaps pretty well off the ball, help on drives, and will dig the ball out of the post. This will allow for plenty of open kick-out opportunities for 3-point shots.

Keys to the Game

• Stay between them and the basket. Do not give up easy shots inside. Take away strong hand drives. Stick to the personnel scouting report. Contest everything. More shots than points for #24 Joiner and #11 Murrell.
• Contain #3 Brooks and #4 Brakefield. Despite averaging just 9.8 and 8.1 points per game respectively, these are two of the most talented players for the Ole Miss Rebels. These will be tough matchups. Be physical and keep them out of the paint. Guard their left shoulder. Make them score over you. Box out!
• Shoot ’em all!!! There will be plenty of inside-out opportunities for 3-point shots because of the way they run their defense. Be confident and let it fly from deep when the ball is kicked out to you.
• Go score 80. This is a team we are simply better than. Go be the better team and put points on the board. If we can score 80 points or more they won’t be able to keep up.