As October rears its head in Oxford, Mississippi, the excitement for the second year of the Chris Beard has reached an all-time high. The 2024-2025 season has a legitimate chance that Ole Miss Basketball could have one of the seasons that forever changes the trajectory of the programs for years to come. Starting at the top with Coach Chris Beard, from humble beginnings to a future filled with championship celebrations and winning championships, year two of the Chris Beard era promises to be a banner year for Ole Miss Basketball.

In an exclusive interview with The Mitch Davis Show, Coach Beard sat down with Mitch Davis to not only discuss the 2024-2025 Ole Miss Rebels but also touch on highlights of his career in college basketball from the grassroots of the game as a GA, rising the Juco Ranks before eventually earning a break on staff with the legendary Bob and Pat Knight, while learning what it takes to be a successful Division One Baseball coach.

When asked what makes a successful rebuild, Coach Beard responded with “expectations.” Coach Beard went on to talk about how year one matters, how some guys say it doesn’t, but the successful rebuild starts with that first group of seniors that set the tone for future teams.

Last season, Ole Miss fell short of the NCAA Tournament by two games; they were short of reaching the Big Dance. As year two rolls around, the expectations are to take that next step as a program to lay the groundwork for a program that competes year in and year out for Championships. For Ole Miss, they’ve always had this shadow over the program that seems to keep the Rebels from taking the basketball to the next level. However, having a coach who understands Juco basketball, in-state recruiting, and selling the brand that Ole Miss brings to the table is an advantage the Rebels have now under the leadership of Coach Beard.

There are not many programs in the Southeastern Conference that have the moving pieces and commitment that Ole Miss has; there’s the Grove Collective, the location in terms of a recruiting hotbed, and beautiful basketball-only facilities that tie everything together, giving Ole Miss an unreal ceiling where the expectations are to compete for championships and turn Ole Miss Basketball into the next Alabama or Auburn where hanging banners for championships is the standard.

As the calendar turns to the thirty-day mark until the start of the 2024-2025 Ole Miss Basketball season, expectations are there for Ole Miss to take that next step under Coach Chris Beard and return Ole Miss Basketball to the conversation in the SEC Basketball world.

Ole Miss will host Illinois on Sunday, October 27th, in a charity basketball exhibition matchup against an NCAA Tournament-caliber team. Although a preseason game, we’ll learn much about the 2024-2025 Ole Miss Basketball team against the Fighting Illini.

Photo Credits: Ole Miss Basketball on X

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