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Ole Miss Rebels
Predicted finish: 10th
Key returners (last season’s stats)
G- Madinah Muhammad- 5’8, JR- 13 PPG, 36%FG, 31% 3pt, 2 APG, 30 MPG
G- Shandricka Sessom- 5’10, SR- 12.7 PPG, 39%FG, 30% 3pt, 6.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 30 MPG
G- Chrishae Rowe- 5’10, SR- 10.3 PPG, 39%FG, 3-15 from three, played six games last season before sitting out remainder of season with an undisclosed medical issue
Biggest losses (last season’s stats)
F- Taylor Manuel, 6’4- 9.6 PPG, 48%FG, 4.3 RPG, 1 BPG, 23 MPG
G- Erika Sisk, 5’9- 8.1 PPG, 41%FG, 26% 3pt, 3.4 RPG, 4 APG, 27 MPG
Newcomers
G- Barbara Johnson, 5’8, (Chipola College), JR- Ranked #13 in 2017 JUCO class, #4 shooting guard
G- Chyna Nixon, 5’9, (Philadelphia, PA), FR- Ranked #74 in 2017 class, #22 shooting guard
F- Promise Taylor, 6’5, (Issaquah, WA), FR- Ranked #109 in 2017 class, #17 center
G- Milicia Reid, 5’8, (Bronx, NY), FR- Ranked #126 in 2017 class, #34 guard
F- Day’Neisha Banks, 5’10, (Jacksonville, FL), FR- Ranked #209 in 2017 class, #31 small forward
G- Marlee Hatcher, 5’7, (Itawamba CC), JR
Head Coach- Matt Insell, 5th season
Entering his fifth season at the helm of Ole Miss, Matt Insell looks to climb the SEC ladder and lead his team to the NCAA tournament for the first time. Insell, the son of Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame member and Middle Tennessee State head coach Rick Insell, has spent his entire coaching career in the SEC as he was an assistant at Kentucky prior to being hired at Ole Miss. Insell led his program to the WNIT third round in his second season before taking a step back in year three. Last season, the Rebels went 6-10 in the SEC, good for 10th place. While they didn’t finish nearly as well as they would have liked, Ole Miss did have some impressive wins including a 26-point slugging of Oregon, as well as a win over both Tennessee and Texas A&M. Insell and his staff have done well on the recruiting trail as a number of highly ranked prospects are now on the roster. With plenty of talent on the roster, Insell will look for those players to help produce more wins.
Key non-conference games
Nov. 21- Troy
Nov. 25- @ Temple
Nov. 29- Middle Tennessee State
Dec. 17- @ Oregon
Outlook
As mentioned before, Insell and his staff have gotten talent on the roster, but in year 5 of his tenure as head coach, Ole Miss will look to make some noise in the SEC. Their several key wins last year prove they are capable of beating the good teams, but this team needs to be able to do it outside of Oxford; they were just 1-9 on the road a season ago. They also ended their season in the first round of the WNIT when they lost at home against Grambling State. Muhammad is one of the more under appreciated guards in the league and is a capable scorer, as is Sessom. If Rowe can come back from her medical issue and be the player she was prior to shutting down her season, that could make a huge difference. Another question is who will be the consistent post presence. Manuel will be missed in the middle, though there are a number of players who potentially could take her place. Like last season, Ole Miss will likely have a very good record heading into conference play, but can they hang with the better teams in the SEC night in and night out? They’ve yet to finish higher than seventh under Insell, and while they have the talent, it still remains to be seen what this team is fully capable of.
Best Case Scenario- The returners harness the energy from their big wins last year, several newcomers step up, everything clicks in year five for Insell and Ole Miss comes in 7th, making the tournament for the first time
Worst Case Scenario- The team still can’t win away from home, struggles again against the top teams, never establish a true identity and finishes in 12th