Nassau, Bahamas – Ole Miss men’s basketball dominated from wire to wire, moving past Raw Talent Elite on Thursday afternoon, 121-75, to cap off a successful week of exhibition matches 3-0 as part of his foreign tour in the Bahamas.
The Rebels dominated every facet of the game, shooting 58% overall thanks in large part to a furious fastbreak offensive onslaught that dazzled with 19 fastbreak points and 23 points from 18 forced turnovers. Five Rebels had double-digit scores – Jacques White (23), Jayveous McKinnis (17), TJ Caldwell (17), malique ewin (16) and Amarée Abram (10) – and all but one Rebel had at least five rebounds, helping lead Ole Miss to another monster rebound margin of 63-33. The icing on the cake was an efficient and careful attack that scored a 25/10 assist/turnover spread.
“It was the best we’ve played, and I thought the day off where we watched about 45 minutes of tape and met individual groups really helped us be more determined on the ball defensively,” said the head coach of Ole Miss. Kermit Davis. “I thought Amaree (Abram), TJ (Caldwell), Matt (Murrell), James (White) and Myles (Burns) were all really guarding the perimeter. I thought we had good shot blocking, five guys to two numbers, and I was just really proud of our freshmen. malique ewin having 16 and seven, Amaree and TJ both played well. Jacques White just keep filling in the stats. I think he scores just because his assist turnover rate is really great, the rebounds are great. Theo (Akwuba) with 12 rebounds and five blocks, he and Jay (Jayveous McKinnis) both were really good around the rim. It was just a good trip. Now we take two weeks, make sure everyone gets home safely and spends time with their families, and then we have to go home and go to work.”
For the third consecutive game, second year Jacques White took command of the Rebel offense with another 20-point outing, dropping 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds, five assists and one steal. Most impressively, he did it in the fewest minutes he has played in Nassau so far, aged just 23 on Thursday. Overall on the tour, White averaged 23.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting 32 of 50 overall (.640) — all within the three-point arc.
But Thursday’s story was one of a slew of rebellious newcomers taking their own place in the spotlight. Transfer graduate Jayveous McKinnis continued to be a potent force for the Rebels downstairs, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting with seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals in just 18 minutes of game action. Other newcomers with lines of Impressive stats on Thursday included a freshman TJ Caldwell (17 points, 7 of 12 FG, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal, 22 minutes), rookie malique ewin (16 points, 8 of 12 FG, seven rebounds, two blocks, one steal, 16 mins), rookie Amarée Abram (10 points, six assists, four steals, two rebounds, 26 minutes), senior Myles Burns (nine points, seven rebounds, five steals, three assists, 20 minutes) and senior Theo Akwuba (seven points, 12 rebounds, five blocks, two assists, 22 minutes).
“I’m trying to get Jayveous to play like a small forward and a power forward. He’s got to go out there and try to keep the elite guys 6-7 and 6-8 in the SEC,” Davis said. “With TJ he can be an elite defender on the ball. I thought he was playing better, we took him off the ball a bit where he didn’t play as many points, and I thought he was just playing well and his pass-turnover was better. Malique’s whole thing is trying to pull himself out of fatigue and trying to get in shape. Once he’s done that and that “He can overcome this bump, he has a chance to be a very good player. I thought he had good positioning, he was strong around the goal, 16 and seven is the best he has played. Myles Burns and the energy he brought every day.”
The successful week is even more impressive when you consider that Ole Miss was down four due to injury – Robert Allen, Robert Vacher, Josh Mballa and Daechun Ruffin – with senior Tye Fagan also playing limited minutes due to a nagging knee injury.
“Tye Fagan, we kind of held it back. He’s going to have a little injection when he comes back,” Davis said. “It’s the same knee that’s bothering him a bit. We left with about nine guys, but when Tye played he was good. We just gotta go back and get to work and keep these guys healthy. Hopefully by mid-September we can get a full roster, and then by October 1st we can really get some guys over there. I think we have a really good chance of having a very good team.”
In total, as a team, Ole Miss outscored their opponents by a 27.3 ppg margin, shot .517 overall while keeping opposing offenses down to just .338, and held a massive +24 advantage, 6 on the boards in three games. The Rebels are now heading home for a while before the start of the semester and then the official start of training at the end of September.
“I tell you what, Atlantis is a must-have for everyone,” Davis said. “It’s my first time and it’s really (a trip of a lifetime). For young people, it’s amazing with the things they have to do, the food, the hospitality, everything was outstanding. Our guys had a blast, behaved great and represented Ole Miss well. It’s a great group, it was one hell of a trip. Thanks to Maury Hanks and Global Sports who did an amazing job. It’s something we will remember for the rest of our lives.”
Subscriptions for the 2022-23 season are on sale now. Dates, times and TV assignments for non-conference and SEC seasons will be announced at a later date.
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