Former Texas Tech coach, ’teacher’ Mark Adams has ‘fit in really quick’ with Ole Miss basketball
Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard took big program swings across the board over a busy off-season.
He overturned his roster with 10 new players. His transfer class was No. 16 in the country. The full portal haul: Sean Pedulla (Virginia Tech), Ja’Von Benson (Hampton), Davon Barnes (Sam Houston State), Dre Davis (Seton Hall), Malik Dia (Belmont) and Mikeal Brown-Jones (UNC-Greensboro).
Beard was able to convince Matthew Murrell to return for a final season. Murrell had declared for the NBA Draft. He was the Rebels’ leading scorer a year ago.
But he didn’t stop at personnel. Beard also brought on decorated, 66-year-old former Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams to his second-year Ole Miss coaching staff.
“We’ve known coach for a long time,” Beard said. “I think above all, he impacts winning because of his teaching ability. All the teachers will tell you to be the best you have to have a relationship with the people you’re working with. Coach has been doing this for a long time — whether it be his junior college career or his first as a Division l head coach and most recently with us at Little Rock and Texas Tech.
“Coach develops relationships with players and helps them by teaching the game and having high expectations.”
“The decision was really based on our players. Everybody we hire in our organization I always try to keep the main thing the main thing. I start the process with one thing in mind and ultimately make the decision with one thing in mind: what’s best for our players. Coach Adams will do a great job here having relationships with our guys and impacting our guys on a daily basis just with his experience.”
Adams tendered his Texas Tech resignation in March of 2023 after an unidentified player claimed Adams made racially insensitive comments during an end-of-year exit meeting.
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Texas Tech suspended Adams three games. The school noted in a statement and after an investigation Adams “was encouraging the student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters.”
Adams graduated from Texas Tech in 1979.
He’d been on-staff since 2016. Adams was elevated to head coach when Beard left for Texas.
He led the Red Raiders to the finals of the Big 12 Tournament and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in his debut season. He posted a 43-25 record at Texas Tech.
“There was a vetting process,” Beard said. “We went through that whole process, got all the information, facts and truth and made a decision we thought was best for Ole Miss.
“We’re really happy coach Adams is here. He’s gotten in and fit in really quick. It didn’t take long.”
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