Thursday Scoop
"This is March - Jon Rothstein" - Kermit Davis
Photo credit: Ole Miss Athletics
A week from today, there will be NCAA Tournament games on your television from lunch to midnight. It will look different. The crowds will be smaller and the venues will be a series of gyms across Indiana, rather than the large, cavernous arenas throughout the United States. But it’s still one of the greatest sporting events on earth whether you’re a college hoops junkie or not, and after not having the drama that comes with it in our lives for a year, it’s good to have it back.
The first bizarre anniversary
Today is March 11. I don’t think I am being melodramatic by saying this date will hold societal significance for decades to come. A year ago on this day, the world stopped. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 minutes before a game agains the Oklahoma City Thunder. Conference basketball tournaments halted and seemingly served as a prelude to the fate of everything else in society. I remember where I was: driving back to Oxford from visiting where I actually live now, Dallas, after having gone to a Dallas Stars game the night before as a birthday present. It’s jarring to think about how much changed over those next two days, let alone the past year. I bet I am not alone in remembering vividly where I was and what I was doing. But anyway, you know the rest. You lived it. It’s good to see things slowly creeping back to normal. Swayze had a full outfield last weekend. The Texas Rangers announced they will be at full capacity for Opening Day and the NCAA Tournament is back in our lives.
Here’s a take: pandemics suck. I am cool with not having another one ever again.
Ole Miss Hoops’ fate
Speaking of tournaments, Ole Miss plays South Carolina tonight in the second round of the SEC Basketball tournament. The Rebels are firmly on the bubble. Joe Lunardi has them in the first of the “Next Four Out” of his projected bracket — meaning they’re five spots out of the field. CBS analyst Jerry Palm has them somewhere in the same range. As weird as it may seem if you haven’t been paying close attention, this group has a better chance to get in The Dance than probably any other Ole Miss team of the last two decades that arrived at the SEC Tournament perceived as being OUTSIDE the field when they arrived. Don’t mistake what I said: the team two years ago was firmly in the field no matter what they did at this event. Here’s a better example: the 2012-13 Marshall Henderson team still had doubts about whether it had done enough entering the championship game on Sunday. The path is much more visible for this group.Here’s what it may look like.
First, Ole Miss has to beat South Carolina. This conversation is a waste of time if it can’t. There are teams that show up to this thing every year playing out the string, not really wanting to suit up and longing to put a trying season to bed. That’s the Gamecocks. Beat them or you really aren’t worthy of even being talked about in this context. Next up is LSU on Friday. Their NET is 22 and a win is probably enough for Ole Miss to feel good about getting a bid. It’s a tough match up. As good (and at times bordering on elite) the Rebels have been defensively this season, the Tigers have enough offensive firepower that it seems certain they will score at a level that will force Ole Miss to be something it hasn’t for much of the year on the offensive end, regardless of how well the Rebels defend. The worst three point shooting team in the conference is going to need a few more to fall, Shuler to provide 20 points and Murrell or Joiner to compliment that with 15 or so.
It’s a tall task, but this group has a puncher’s chance. Who would have thought this in early January?
Where help can come from:
Ole Miss has to win two games for this to matter, but whether two wins is enough will depend on the results around them from other bubble teams. In short, root for the opponents of the teams neighboring Ole Miss on this list.
The first Domino fell in their favor last night as a crappy Butler team beat a very bubbly Xavier to knock the Musketeers out of the Big East Tournament. Score one for the Rebels.
Outside of that, you need to root for San Diego State to win the Mountain West Tournament and for every one seed on your TV screen to win its conference tournament in that league you’ve never heard of. Why? It’s likely a one-bid league and depending on who the one seed is, and if their resumé is good enough to earn an at large bid, it potentially becomes a two-bid league if that one seed is upset and a bad team gets the automatic bid from winning the tournament.
I probably botched this explanation so here’s a fantastic podcast with former Andy Kennedy staffer and college hoops junkie Bracken Ray. We cover this topic, Ole Miss’ 2021 year as a whole, Shuler’s legacy, Romello’s White’s importance and what another tournament birth does to Kermit Davis’ perception. It’s available on Spotify too. Search Rippee Writes. Again, if you get your podcasts elsewhere and this one isn’t on it, let me know and I will fix that.
How should we remember Shuler?
I will hold off on the full Shuler appreciation segment until the team's season actually ends, but between him being named 1st-team All-SEC earlier this week and discussing what his legacy should be versus what it might be with Bracken, here are a couple quick things I will remember Devontae Shuler for:
1. He was essentially Andy Kennedy's Matthew Murrell. He was THE prized recruit of the Kennedy era, at least the back half of it anyway and never really came off the court from the time he got here. While his offense maybe never soared to the level some might have thought, or at least not as quickly as others hoped, Shuler has defended from the first day he stepped foot in Oxford. His on-ball defense has added incredible value to all four teams he's played on. This is not debatable. It is why he earned 1st-team All-SEC honors despite his stat line being very good -- 15.6 ppg, 34.5 percent from 3pt range, 3.3 assists per game and 38 steals for the year -- but not exactly eye popping.
2. Shuler has never missed a game, literally. He's started every one of the team's 57 games the last two seasons and 88 of 90 dating back to his sophomore season. Between everything he's dealt with injury-wise and some personal things off the court, including the death of his father, that's a remarkable feat. He's quiet but is tough as nails.
3. Moving to point guard his sophomore season, allowing Breein Tyree to take flight opposite of Terence Davis. He was the most important player on the 2018-19 team that was projected to finish last in the SEC but made the NCAA Tournament. He also did it on one foot for about half the year. Again, quiet but tough as hell.
4. Coming out of his shell this year and being the alpha the team needed when it wasn't always easy. That's not Shuler's natural personality. It's not a bad thing, it's just the truth, but he fought past that and became someone Ole Miss needed him to be from a leadership standpoint, in addition to dropping 16 a game and being an all-league player.
There’s a chance for a memorable couple of weeks this March to add to this list.
Magnolia State Golf Update:
1. There are no Mississippians in the field at The Players. Here's a prediction: there will be one in 2022 and multiple in 2023.
2. The Korn Ferry Tour is off for one more week but returns next week in Louisiana where there will be quite a few Misssippians in the field.
3. Ole Miss goes to the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach. The first round is Sunday.
On the Horizon:
- Mailbag Friday podcast. Get your questions in now.
- plenty of written content on baseball and hoops as their games unfold this weekend.
- Friday newsletter previewing the weekend, and potentially the most consequential game of Ole Miss' basketball season.
That's all from me. We're growing and have some cool sponsorships and content in the works. Tell your friends to subscribe. Have a great Thursday.