Daytime Fireworks: Can Chris Beard bring Deion Sanders-like juice to Ole Miss basketball?
Daytime Fireworks makes its grand return to talk more about Chris Beard agreeing to terms to become the next head coach of Ole Miss men’s basketball.
David Brandt of the Associated Press joins Zach Berry of the Ole Miss Spirit to discuss Beard’s potential impact on the recruiting trail. Could he send shockwaves through the SEC in a similar fashion to Deion Sanders in the Pac-12? David and Zach go back-and-forth, talking through what it would take for Beard to bring that level of excitement to an Ole Miss basketball program that has essentially been nationally irrelevant for a decade.
Ole Miss combined to win just seven SEC games in each of the last two seasons, but the Rebels aren’t without talent.
Rising senior guard Matthew Murrell is widely considered a next-level prospect. He was in attendance for Beard’s introduction. Same for Jaemyn Brakefield, a one-time transfer from Duke. He’s in the transfer portal, but sources indicate he was among Beard’s first recruiting pitches.
Jaemyn Brakefield will certainly have options, and recruiting is fluid in general, but a return to Ole Miss remains the most likely outcome.
Daeshun Ruffin was absent from the team for most of the season due to off-the-court issues. He’s a former McDonald’s All-American — the first-ever signed by Ole Miss out of high school. Ruffin was in the stands, too.
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Guards Amaree Abram and James White are both currently in the portal. Beard has at least some interest in retaining both of them. Abram is a former four-star recruit.
Josh Hubbard — a four-star and the state of Mississippi’s all-time leading high-school scorer — de-committed from Ole Miss shortly after Davis was let go. He’s off to Mississippi State.
Plus, this episode of Daytime Fireworks also covers early trends, storylines and potential upsets to look out for in the 2023 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Zach likes Furman to upset Virginia. David says there could be some concerns with Alabama’s reliance on the three-point shot. All of this, including Final Four picks, and more can be listened to here.
RELATED: Ole Miss has officially found its next basketball coach
