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Ole Miss forward Jaemyn Brakefield expects more of himself. So, he’s spent the offseason getting his mind right.

Ben Garrettby:Ben Garrett•07/14/22•

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Jaemyn Brakefield
Jaemyn Brakefield

Jaemyn Brakefield didn’t have the celebrated return home he was hoping for in his debut Ole Miss season. 

Brakefield had his moments, to be sure, including a 19-point performance against Georgia in February. Brakefield was 7 for 8 from the field and 3 for 4 from three in an 85-68 Ole Miss win. He also added four rebounds.

But the every-game consistency never came.

Brakefield was one of four Rebels to appear in all 31 games.

However, he scored double-digit points in just nine of them, and he never topped double-digit rebounds in a game, though he hit eight four times.

Safe to say much more was expected of Brakefield, the one-time four-star and Top 100 prospect, who transferred to Ole Miss from Duke. Physically, Brakefield said this week, he was fine. 

So, he’s focused most of his off-season energy on getting his mind right.

“I’ve been improving a lot of areas,” he said. “I feel like I had a great spring and summer of working out and getting my mind right. That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve been working on, is getting my mind right.

“Just focusing my mind on certain things and certain areas of my game that I feel like will take me to the next level.”

Brakefield didn’t go into extensive detail on what, exactly, he’s done to get in a better place mentally.

Still, he can tell a difference, which has to be music to the ears of head coach Kermit Davis and staff.

Brakefield, who averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds last season, is one of just five returning players off a team that finished 13-19 and missed the postseason entirely.

Ole Miss has added four freshmen and four transfers from other schools. The Rebels are one over their scholarship number, but a yet-to-be-identified current player will go off scholarship and instead rely on NIL money to cover otherwise paid-for expenses.

“I feel like that’s all it was with me,” Brakefield said. “The game and all the little things were there already. I just needed to really take a second and think and get my mind right for this next season — knowing what I want to do and have a great year.

“From this year to last year, I’ve done a lot of film-watching and just being able to understand the game more than I was. Obviously I’ve grown a lot over a year mentally. Taking that next step mentally and being able to see the game slower and at a different level, I think that will help me a lot better.”

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