Staff addition of all-time great Holloway has ‘been a slam dunk’ for Beard, Ole Miss basketball

All-time program great Murphy Holloway reported for his new duties as Ole Miss basketball graduate manager months ago, even if official news of his hire didn’t arrive until earlier this month.

Holloway was one of the greatest forwards to ever suit up for the Rebels. He averaged 14.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game as a senior and picked up All-SEC second team honors. He was named to the SEC All-Tournament team as well — capping an historic postseason run for the Rebels that resulted in their second-ever SEC Tournament championship and the first of just three NCAA Tournament appearances since 2013. 

Holloway finished his career as the school record-holder for rebounds (1,093). He was the only player in SEC history to post 1,400 points, 1,000 rebounds and 190 steals. He had 39 career double-doubles, the second-most all-time at Ole Miss..

Holloway, as a professional, played for 13 different teams across several different countries from 2013 to 2022.

Among his stops were Turkey, Israel, Italy, France, the Philippines, South Korea, Bahrain and Germany. Some of his best numbers professionally came in the Philippines. Holloway suited up for GlobalPort Batang Pier and averaged a whopping 27 points and 17.7 rebounds per game. He also averaged 2.7 blocks.

Holloway in high school was a four-star prospect. He was named Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of South Carolina as a senior.

First-year Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard recently sat down one-on-one with the Ole Miss Spirit to discuss the addition of Holloway, among other topics.

#TransferToTheSip https://t.co/tSfms4XHx0

— Murphy Holloway (@Murphys_Law31) May 14, 2023

Here’s what Beard specifically had to say about Holloway.

“I know a little bit about the history of college basketball. Probably more than the next guy, just ‘cause I follow teams,” Beard began.

“The main teams I follow are the relationships I have. So I’ve always followed (Andy Kennedy’s) teams. I knew when Marshall (Henderson) played here, when Murph played here. I had a pretty good understanding of a lot of the great players A.K. had. 

“And certainly when you get a job, you try to study the history as much as you can, whether it be the former coaches or former players. For us, it always starts with the NBA players, the All-Americans, the champions, the SEC players. In the first couple of days of the job, I knew who Murph was as a player. And then I studied him a little bit when we got here because we were reaching out to all the former players. 

“Right around that early stage of me just kind of learning a little bit on the side, I got a call from A.K. What really started the domino was A.K. calling. Murph had an elite pro career. I think a lot of us as basketball people you think of a pro career as being LeBron (James) and Kobe (Bryant) and (Michael) Jordan. Those are the elite of the elite. 

“The reality of it is the average pro career is three or four years,” Beard continued.

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“For Murph to play 10 years at a high level and be productive for all 10, it makes him elite,” Beard said.

“My first conversation with Murph, I just remember saying like, ‘cause I looked at his numbers on his team last year, and I’ve been down this road with former players a million times, I was like, ‘Hey, man, are you sure you’re done? It appears to me that you can still play.’ And Murph was like, ‘Fair question, man, but I really think I am, man. I talked to my family about it, and I really think I am.’

“I was like, ‘Well, think about it and digest it a little bit and let’s talk again. So, the first two or three conversations I had were on, ‘Are you sure you’re going to retire from being a player?’

“Once he made that decision, and based on talking to A.K., especially about Murph, and spending some time with him, I was really excited about extending the invitation for him to be a part of this.

“It’s a unique ride for these guys.

RELATED: Ole Miss great Murphy Holloway ‘excited’ about Chris Beard and ‘best big-man coach’ in basketball, Al Pinkins

“Murph was an elite pro player,” Beard continued.

“To get into coaching, it’s hard to just step in. You’ve got to make some sacrifice. Murph is making a lot of sacrifice here. He’s being a graduate manager. He’s back in school. It’s going to kind of be like Rodney Dangerfield in that ‘Back to School’ movie, him walking around with his backpack. The bottom line is Murph is making a lot of sacrifice based on what he’s trying to do with the next phase of his life, and I believe in it. 

“I believe he has all the attributes to be a good coach. He obviously has knowledge and experience. He’s a good communicator. He’s a no-ego guy. Even though everybody knows who he is when he walks in the door, you would never know it. He has no ego. 

“Above all, and really my finally decision to offer him this invitation, was based on one final thing: I think our players will benefit from Murph being around. I think he’ll be a great role model, a great mentor. He’ll help them out greatly in his role as graduate manager. 

“It’s been a slam dunk for us. A.K.’s texted a few times, ‘How’s Murph doing?’ I haven’t returned those yet, just because I was going to let some things build up. I’m hoping for a really good story where I can call him. 

“But, no, it’s been great to have him around. We always like to have former players around.”