In this edition of the ‘Ivey League’ — a podcast powered by RiverLand Roofing and exclusive to the Ole Miss Spirit — host and third-year star Rebel football defender Jared Ivey is joined by Ole Miss head basketball coach Chris Beard.
Beard is entering his second season at Ole Miss and in the off-season signed a contract extension after a flirtation with Arkansas. The Rebels won 20 games last season but missed the postseason again. They’ve added 10 new players, including six transfers, to fortify the roster.
“I think the biggest gift any coach can give a player and any parent can give a kid is expectations,” Beard said. “With my three daughters, we don’t talk about, ‘Go to school, pass your classes.’ We talk about, ‘Go to school, make all As and do everything you want in this world.’
“Same thing with basketball. We don’t talk a lot about winning this game, that game. We talk about trying to be one of those teams that can win the whole thing. Why we’ve been able to build programs is we have clear vision and we have very high expectations for everybody in our organization, especially the players.”
Beard was asked his perspective on the changing and always-evolving college basketball landscape.
“At the end of the day, it’s still recruiting,” Beard said. Headlining Ole Miss’ portal haul were guards Davon Barnes and Sean Pedulla.
Barnes averaged 13.5 points and 3.5 rebounds last season. Pedulla was an All-ACC guard who played north of 100 games in three seasons. He totaled over 1,200 points and 300 assists and averaged a team-high 16.4 points a year ago.
“You’re trying to find the people you believe in and believe you, that stand for the things you stand for. Obviously it’s changed. But at the core of it, it’s still basketball. It’s still recruiting players that want to be in your program and you want in your program and going out and trying to win the next game.”
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