LOOK: Ole Miss basketball and its ‘luxury’ of returning players have a ‘Man’s Morning’

Strength and conditioning coach John Reilly and his Ole Miss basketball Rebels (Photo credit: Ole Miss Basketball/X)

The 2024-25 Ole Miss men’s basketball roster is mostly made up of new Rebels.

Ten out of 16 were brought in either through the NCAA Transfer Portal or high-school ranks. John Bol put pen to paper as a four-star recruit ranked as the No. 55 overall player in the 2024 class. He’s just the second McDonald’s All-American to sign with Ole Miss out of high school

But second-year Rebel head coach Chris Beard wouldn’t dare have your forget his six returning players. They’re his ace in the hole — a handful of a rare breed in college basketball these days following the explosion of NIL and unfettered player movement.

“In basketball, two All-SEC, first-team players with some good guys around them can win the league,” Beard said Monday on the ‘Ivey League,’ a podcast exclusive to the Ole Miss Spirit.

Ole Miss has back forward Jaemyn Brakefield and guards Matthew Murrell, Jaylen Murray, TJ Caldwell, Robert Cowherd and Cam Brent.

Murrell was the Rebels’ leading scorer. Ole Miss won 20 games in Beard’s debut season. However, the Rebels were left out of the postseason. They’re still in search of their 10th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance.

“We’ve had a lot of success,” Beard said. “Looking forward to building it at Ole Miss. Really proud of what we did here last year. We’ve been blessed. It’s all about the players. That’s why there’s a lot of optimism around our program right now at Ole Miss.

“Anybody that has the luxury of having returning players, which we do with Brakefield, Murrell, TJ and Rob coming back, gives us an advantage. But (college basketball) really has, in a lot of ways, become kind of a one-year sport.”

Ole Miss held a ‘Man’s Morning’ workout on Monday with strength and conditioning coach John Reilly.

Reilly has worked with Beard at three schools across nine seasons. Beard is looking to make Ole Miss the fourth separate team he’s led to the NCAA Tournament since 2016.

“Discipline is toughness. If I get you tired, will you start to forget? Will you start to complain?” Reilly said of his philosophy, in a one-on-one sit-down with the Ole Miss Spirit last fall.

“So, putting (the players) in positions to expose those things and calling guys out and letting them know our standard and not backing down. This is how we live. Every player that’s here is a better version of themselves.

“Our Final Four team at Texas Tech, we didn’t know they were going to be a Final Four team yet. They weren’t ready for it. As long as we continue to progress and communicate and have that truth-telling atmosphere and that discipline? That’s really what toughness is, man.”

The included photos were provided by Ole Miss Athletics.