A weekend of wins
Tons of Ole Miss Baseball, a little hoops and golf, and a good ol' SEC scandal
(Photo credit: Ole Miss Athletics)
A happy Monday morning to all of you. Rippee writes is a week old. Time flies when you’re having fun or something like that. We’ve got wins to discuss and golf nerds to shame. Let’s get to the run down.
Sweep at Swayze
Ole Miss swept at pretty scrappy Belmont squad that has a good chance to win the Ohio Valley Conference. You know who else is in the Ohio Valley? Tennessee Tech and their flame throwing outfielders. Sorry, that was uncalled for. The Rebels had to fight for two of these wins and this is a good sign with regards to their mental makeup. Here are some thoughts:
Welcome to the show, Tim Elko. Not sure if the guy reads message boards, but if he does, keep showing him the threads. He hit two homers Sunday, had five in five games and posted this line for the week: 10-for-17 (.588/1.529/.708) with a double, the five home runs and 13 RBI. That’ll hunt. We discussed last week the importance of Elko’s production to this team and predicted he’d begin to piece it together. There were some advanced metrics that suggested that this was coming and that he was hitting the ball hard and having a bit of tough luck. Another positive sign is that at least two of the home runs went to the opposite field. That’s a sign of a guy with real power (this we knew) that’s becoming a complete hitter. Yes, it’s Belmont and I’d like to see this translate to SEC play, but if this is the real Elko, watch out for this club.
National Player of the Week and our guy is just getting started. 🔥 📰 bit.ly/3ex5Erx @TimElko x @CBNewspaper
Justin Bench is quite good. He and Elko accounted for nine of team’s 16 hits in the final two games. Bench is getting on base and not striking out. That’s a great combination. This is not a surprising occurrence, but simply a product of finally obtaining a larger sample size on the versatile junior. He dealt with a broken hand as a freshman and was beginning to hit his stride at the plate last year when the season was canceled. Beyond being the most consistent hitter behind Hayden Dunhurst, Bench’s versatility is invaluable to this club. He has registered game time at six positions in his career and Bianco says he can essentially play anywhere. He seamless slid to center field in the absence of Jerrion Ealy and his versatility and durability help this club immensely.
Ole Miss isn’t getting a ton of length from its starting pitchers so far this year. None of the three completed six innings this weekend. Gunnar Hoglund turned in a decent outing despite not having his best stuff and Doug Nikhazy was more than serviceable for the second week in a row. Derek Diamond is struggling a bit and a lot of it is command-related. I’d like to see more before passing judgement, but he did not pitch particularly well on Sunday.
The Rebels have been fine despite all of this because of the bullpen depth, but strikeout numbers are down for the starters and home runs allowed are up from last year. It’s yet not time to shake anything up, but this is a trend to monitor. I am not worried about Hoglund or Nikhazy, and Diamond is still only seven starts into his collegiate career. These things happen. How quickly he figures things out adapts will be telling.
The good and bad from the bullpen: Let’s start with the good: Jackson Kimbrell was strong again this weekend and has not allowed an earned run over ten innings this season. As roles begin to form and trust is gained, Kimbrell may just be the most trustworthy man not named Taylor Broadway in Bianco’s bullpen. Tyler Myers and Austin Miller would like a word regarding this title too, but Kimbrell has been great to start the 2021 campaign and I think it translates to league play as well.
The bad? Bradyn Forsyth struggled again Sunday, failing to record an out in the ninth and forcing Bianco to go back to Broadway for a second consecutive day. I don’t know the cause or the answer to Forsyth’s struggles, but with other guys at the ready, I doubt he gets get another high-leverage opportunity for a while as we works through things. Ole Miss is a stronger team if Forysth is sharp, but it hasn’t been there so far this year. Side note: You shouldn’t be take much from Broadway giving up a run on Sunday. I actually thought he pitched quite well given the circumstances. He showed he can get outs while running on fumes. Remember this weekend when he closes out something significant in June on back-to-back days.
Overall thoughts: This was strong rebound after a tough weekend against UCF . The Knights got swept by the fighting Hugh Freeze’s and need to reassess their core values, but regardless of how good they actually are, it’s a good sign this team rebounded in the manner in which it did. It shows resolve and strong mental fortitude. That is not insignificant. I used this example on the podcast but take the 2018 and 2019 teams as an example: coming a poor weekend, the 2018 team would have come out and made Belmont regret fielding a program. The 2019 team, and somewhat understandably so given the baggage they were carrying from the year before, likely slogs through one of the three games and needs heroics on Sunday to secure the series. This group has 2018 aggression. That’s a great sign.
Dancing in March
Ole Miss closed out its regular season with a very on-brand win over Vanderbilt. What does that mean? This game was a microcosm of who this team is. A 56-46 slog in which the Rebels only had two guys in double figures, but played well enough defensively to overcome 16 turnovers and Devontae Shuler getting in foul trouble. It’s a shame Shuler’s final game in The Pavilion ended in such a frustrating manner, but I bet he’d trade a 30-point sendoff for a win, particularly with so much at stake.
As hard as it is to believe, this team won 10 league games and has a legitimate path to the NCAA Tournament. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Rebels in his next four out entering the week. CBS’s Jerry Palm has them as the third team out of the field. That’s not a terrible place to be with all things considered and the path to The Dance is absolutely legitimate. Ole Miss plays South Carolina Thursday night in Nashville in the second round of the SEC Tournament. It simply must win this game. The Gamecocks’ NET is in the 100s and their motivation seems low. A win gives the Rebels a crack at LSU (22 NET) on Friday. At minimum, Ole Miss needs to be playing basketball on Saturday to have a shot. I’d argue, depending on the Saturday opponent should they advance, this team needs to get to the SEC Tournament finals on Sunday to really feel good about getting in. But there’s a world in which two wins punches the program’s second NCAA Tournament birth in three years. It won’t be easy and I do not like the way they match up with LSU, but this team controls its destiny this week, and considering what a roller coaster ride this season was, that’s all you could’ve hoped for.
An evolved DeChambeau opinion:
I’ve done a full 180 on DeChambeau. Hope he wins all the majors and celebrates like a dork after each one.One of the many things I miss about working with my old radio cohort is dunking on Bryson DeChambeau after a cringeworthy quote or acting as if he redefined Newton’s Law because his wedges are the same length as his four iron. DeChambeau’s schtick doesn’t leave a great first impression, but his win at Bay Hill this weekend is just another piece of evidence that his method works and that he’s one of the game’s superstars. I’ll admit that he’s grown on me a little bit and I now find his success more entertaining than annoying. That wasn’t the case a year ago. I have not reached Borkey’s level of reevaluating DeChambeau, but he is important to golf. It’s hard not to appreciate someone testing limits and trying to do things no one has done before. That’s what he’s doing with the way he plays this game. You may not like it, but you’re tuning in to see if he actually hit the green on a par five off the tee. Can you say the same about everyone else? Does Billy Horschel have you glued to the TV?
The celebrations are cringeworthy and the completely unsubtle sponsor plugs are nauseating, but I think this is who DeChambeau genuinely is and I do find it kind of fun having a know-it-all dork to root against, even if I can’t fully articulate why. He’s the villain that Patrick Reed is not — fun to jeer and harmless in his antics.
Spilling the beans . . . and bags of cash?
Buckle up for this one. Valdosta High School head coach Rush Propst was recorded discussing Kirby Smart’s recruiting tactics and he didn’t mince words.
If you’re wondering if that name sounds familiar, Propst was the infamous Hoover High coach from the show Two-A-Days. Propst was ultimately ousted from the gig because of his an affair that essentially culminated with him having a secret second family. Trouble has followed him since, including his latest stop at Valdosta High where he’s under fire for his use of school funds toward recruiting players. The funniest part of this is Propst using Smart and Georgia football as an arguing point for why he’s doing the same at Valdosta. I have some college friends from South Georgia and checking in with them to learn more about this led me down a pretty wild rabbit hole. How Propst was hired at Valdosta High is pretty crazy in its own right and a story for another day.
For now, enjoy his detailed description of how Smart and Georgia Football changed the price of doing business.
None of this should shock you and if stories like this still make you mad about teams cheating, you’re interested in the wrong sport. But it is wild to hear the quiet part said out loud. I doubt anything comes of this, but the audio is incredible. Thank god he didn’t mention anything about free pizza or a kid sleeping on a couch, right? We’d have a real problem on our hands if so. Will there be a self-righteous think piece from USA Today on this? I am not getting my hopes up.
What’s on the horizon?
We’ve got a big week ahead and hopefully some content you’ll enjoy.
Here’s a podcast with myself and Collin Brister talking Ole Miss Baseball, hoops and the year anniversary of COVID approaching. Also on Spotify. If you guys listen to podcasts through another medium that we aren’t on, tell me and I’ll get us on there as well. I want this to be easy to access.
I’ve got former Andy Kennedy staffer Bracken Ray coming on Wednesday to talk all things Ole Miss, the postseason as a whole and comprehensive March Madness preview. You won’t want to miss this. I could talk hoops with Bracken for hours on end. He’s sharp and knows what he’s talking about.
I honestly am not sure what stories I’ll tackle this week, but I will find something interesting. So cheers to that.
If you missed my piece on Tupelo native Hayden Buckley’s remarkable ascent in professional golf, check it out here.
That’s all from me today. Have a great start to your week. There’s plenty more to come.