Is Tomorrow The Day??

Could tomorrow be the day that Coach Rod Barnes coaches his last game in Tad Smith coliseum. Barnes is about three wins away from being the winningest coach in Ole Miss history and this very well might stay this way. The Vanderbilt Commodores come to Oxford tomorrow to take on a bad Ole Miss basketball team. This team has come full circle from starting SEC play 3-0. Many Rebel fans are hoping tomorrow is the day Barnes coaches his last game in Oxford. If this does in fact happen, a search will start at the end of the season for a new coach. A new name that I will propose that has been proposed on several other web sites is a guy I really like. I used to cheer for Notre Dame for the sole reason he was the coach there. Matt Doherty brought Notre Dame's basketball program out of shambles and turned it around. He then landed a job at North Carolina. He did o.k. at North Carolina but I do not think that Dean Smith and alumni wanted him to be coach from the beginning. There is alot of pressure on a coach at a traditional basketball powerhouse like North Carolina. So I do not hold his firing from UNC against him. Doherty spent several years as an assistant at Kansas before going to Notre Dame. He is currently the head coach at Florida Atlantic and his Owls are doing good.

Indians Let The Rebels Have It

I knew this would happen. Arkansas State is always fired up and ready to play us. Their coaching staff is always ready to beat us and they have done that just about every year for the past five years. Keith Kessinger will always coach his guts out to gain revenge against Ole Miss.


OXFORD, Miss. - - It was a long day at the park for the Rebels on Tuesday, as 18th-ranked Ole Miss (6-2) couldn't overcome costly errors in a tough second inning in a 14-9 loss to Arkansas State (7-2). The Rebels put three runs on the board in the bottom of the first, but struggled to get through the top half of the second, giving up 10 runs on seven hits and committing four errors. The seven run lead proved to be too much for Ole Miss to overcome, despite notching nine runs on only six hits on the night.
Brett Bukvich (0-2) suffered his second loss of the season as he gave up nine runs, but only three of them earned, in his 1.2 innings of work. Bukvich allowed seven hits while walking none and striking out one batter.

Bring On The Indians

OXFORD, Miss. – Following a sweep of Maine that capped a week that saw the Rebels win four games and drop one, Ole Miss moved up a spot in two national polls while staying put in a third.Ole Miss (6-1) found itself ranked 18th nationally in the latest edition of national rankings released by Collegiate Baseball on Monday. Baseball America moved the Rebels up one spot to 22nd. The USAToday/ESPN poll kept the Rebels at the No. 22 spot in the second poll released by the rating group.Ole Miss returns to action on Tuesday when the Rebels will take on Arkansas State to continue its 13-game home stand to open the season. First-pitch is slated for 3 p.m.

Rebs Sweep The Black Bears

The Bad Get Worse

The only good thing about this loss is that it helps the argument that we need a new coach. It amazes me how we continue to go on scoring drouts for so long. The only good thing that came out of this game is that a loyal reader of this site was able to get me a signed WorldClassGlass throw-back jersey. The great one was in attendance Saturday signing autographs for fans. By all reports there were actually people that attended this game. I was out of town and could not attend, but I was surprised people showed up. Although they were practically giving away tickets to get people there. The final home game is Wednesday. I will attend as it could be a historic game. Could this be Barnes last game at Tad Smith Coliseum after a career that has stretched well almost two decades on that court as a player, assistant, and head coach?



OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Ronny LeMelle scored 19 points and made two clutch free throws to lead Auburn to a 58-54 victory over Mississippi on Saturday night.
Auburn (12-13, 4-10 Southeastern Conference) snapped a 12-game road losing streak, won its first road game of the season and swept the series with Ole Miss. The Tigers also won 58-50 on Feb. 8 in Auburn, Ala.
Todd Abernethy's layup with 8.2 seconds left pulled the Rebels to 56-54, but LeMelle followed that with two free throws for the final margin.
Frank Tolbert and Joey Cameron scored 10 points apiece for the Tigers, who took the lead for good during a 10-2 run early in the second half. Tolbert hit a 3-pointer with 14:54 to play to start the run and give Auburn a 43-42 lead.
Ole Miss rallied to force a 52-all tie on Dwayne Curtis' layup with 5:54 to play, but the Rebels missed their next 11 shots before Abernethy's layup.
Auburn shot nearly 45 percent, was 11-of-15 from the free-throw line and held Ole Miss to 25 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Ole Miss has lost three straight and 10 of 11 since starting SEC play with three victories.

The Tigers won consecutive SEC games for the first time this season to force a three-way tie with Ole Miss and Mississippi State for fourth place in the West.

In Honor of The Greatest

As you will see in the release below, Worldclassglass will be returning to campus this week to sign autographs and fans will be able to purchase throwback Worldclassglass jerseys. This could not have come on a worse day. I will not be in attendance this weekend. This is only like the second home game I have missed all season, of course it would come on this day. This entire website is dedicated to the man, and I am not even going to be there to witness his signing. Of course the Universtiy would wait until no one has any interest at all in the basketball program to have a promotion like this. I have gone into depression.

OXFORD, Miss. -- In the spirit of SEC Throwback Uniform Week, Ole Miss will be offering retro ticket prices for Saturday's men's basketball game against Auburn. All remaining tickets will be $5 for the game. For information, call the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 662-915-7167.In addition, Ole Miss great "World Class" Gerald Glass, who wore the Rebels' throwback uniform, returns to Tad Smith Coliseum Saturday to meet with fans. Replicas of Glass’ No. 4 jersey will be on sale in the Rebel Shop, and Glass will be on hand to sign the jerseys and sign autographs at the game.Glass received All-America honorable mention honors in his two seasons at Ole Miss (1988-99), and his 26.1 point career scoring average is second on the Rebel single-season chart. In his two years in the Red and Blue, Glass led Ole Miss in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, three-point percentage and steals.

Kentucky Fried

Before the game even started, I was sick at my stomach from a virus my roommates gave me. This game did nothing to improve my health. The Rebels did nothing to improve this illness. I guess Rod could blame this game on me because I was sick. He is always looking for an excuse. Ole Miss suffered one of its worst defeats in SEC history tonight, losing by forty to the Kentucky Wildcats.

What is next for the Rebels? A game against Auburn on Saturday. I estimate their will be 1200 fans at the game.

What is next for Barnes? Who knows, but by A.D. Pete Boone's quotes something could be up. However I see it as Boone trying to make the Rebel fans feel happy. You have to wonder how long they will make us suffer.


LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Joe Crawford had 17 points and Preston LeMaster added a career-high 12 as Kentucky solidified its NCAA tournament chances with an 80-40 victory over Mississippi Wednesday night.

It was a game in which coach Tubby Smith emptied his bench, playing 14 different Wildcats, and 13 of them scored.

No Mississippi player reached double figures. Londrick Nolen and Clarence Sanders had nine points each.

Rebs Lose First One

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss dropped its first game of the season on Wednesday as the Samford Bulldogs (3-2) out-hit the 19th-ranked Rebels (3-1) on the way to a slim 3-2 victory.Samford tallied nine hits to the Rebels’ four hits on the night.“It is a disappointing loss,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “It is tough to win when offensively you only have four hits. You have to give credit to Samford. Lassiter pitched very effectively. He mixed up his pitches and got out of jams. Offensively they got the key hits when they needed to.”Freshman Cody Overbeck came up big for the Rebels again, hitting his second home run of the season to give the Rebels the early 1-0 lead in the second inning.

Follow Up Story

To follow up on a post I wrote last week or so. It appears I was right. Construction is about to begin on the new FedEx Academic Support Center. A fence with protective covering was put up around the building and the parking lot today. I suspect this construction and renovation of the field house will be completed sometime next academic school year. This is going to be a great addition.

We Are In

The speculation is over. As reported earlier by the staff of Worldclassglass, the women's rifal team is in the NCAA Championship. We might be on the downhill in basketball, but rifle is on the way up. Finally Title 9 pays off.


OXFORD, Miss. - For the first time in the program's 10-year history the Ole Miss Rebel rifle team has advanced to the NCAA Championships and will compete beginning March 10 for a national title.
"I can't explain what this means for our players and our program," said Ole Miss head coach Valerie Boothe, who is the only head coach in Ole Miss rifle history. "The girls worked so hard all year, and I am proud of them for reaching their goals."
Ole Miss will join Alaska-Fairbanks, Kentucky, Murray State, Navy, Nebraska and defending national champion Army, at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the two-day event.

What Do You Think Of This??

OXFORD — Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone wouldn't say today whether men's basketball coach Rod Barnes will return forhis ninth season in 2006-07.Boone took a non-committal stance regarding Barnes’future in an interview today, saying he didn’t want to pronounce anything that could fuel speculation. Boone said Barnes’ eighth season hasn’t met expectations, but, with four regular-season games and the Southeastern Conference Tournament remaining, doesn't believe “a mind should be made up until the season is over."“The only thing I really want to say about it is that certainly this hasbeen a disappointing year,” Boone said. “Coach Barnes had talked about that several weeks ago. But we’ve got the season left to do. As I should do and as I think anybody should do, you let seasons play themselves out and then you evaluate. You sit down with coach and you discuss the evaluation of that and that’s what we plan to do.”Ole Miss, which plays at Kentucky Wednesday, has a 14-11 overall record but is 4-8 in SEC play. The Rebels opened SEC play 3-0 but have lost eight of their last nine, including Saturday's 84-55 loss at Mississippi State.Barnes' teams have won 141 games and lost 104 in his Ole Miss tenure. He is four wins shy of equaling the school record for coaching wins held by B.L. “Country” Graham.The Rebels finished below .500 each of the last three seasons

J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS

Former Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone has joined the Jets Staff.

Mazzone, 48, joins the Jets after having served for much of the past decade as an offensive coordinator on the collegiate level. Mazzone, a graduate of the University of New Mexico, began his coaching career on the high school level in Colorado before moving up to the college ranks, first at Colorado State (1982-1986) where he coached the quarterbacks and receivers before moving on to Texas Christian University (1987-1991), where he coached the quarterbacks before moving onto Minnesota from 1992-1994, overseeing the quarterbacks. Mazzone was promoted to offensive coordinator at Ole Miss in 1995, holding the position on Tommy Tuberville’s staff through 1998, at which point he followed Tuberville to Auburn, where he served as (1999-2001) the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He moved on to Oregon State in 2002 as the running backs and special teams coordinator before heading east to serve as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at North Carolina State from 2003-2004. Mazzone returned to Ole Miss in 2005 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The native of Raton, New Mexico was a collegiate signal-caller at UNM and set numerous school records during his career.

Thatta Boy Alex

OXFORD, Miss. – Junior outfielder Alex Presley has been named the National Player of the Week by RosenblattReport.com after going 7-for-10 with nine RBI against Saint Louis over the weekend to help push the Rebels to a 2-0 start to the 2006 season.Presley, who was a Freshman All-America two years ago, picked up where he left off in 2005 as he pounded the Saint Louis pitching staff in Friday’s doubleheader. The third game with the Billikens was canceled due to inclement weather.Presley was 2-for-5 in the first game with the Billikens, hitting the first home run of the season for the Rebels with a two-run shot that went 347-feet over the right field fence. Presley then went 5-for-5 in the second game including a pair of triples and six RBI. Presley nailed a three RBI, bases loaded triple in the third inning to rally and give the Rebels the first lead of the game as Ole Miss had been down 2-0.The Rebels will take to the field again on Tuesday, when Ole Miss will host Samford in the first game of a two-game series beginning at 3 p.m.

Frigid

Myself and several other readers of this blog showed their true Rebel Sports dedication by braving the incredibly cold elements on Friday and attending opening day. The Rebels started off a little slow for the first couple of innings but turned things around for the two games. Winning 9-1 and 11-2 over St. Louis started the season off right. Sunday's game was cancelled and we were not forced to brave the elemets again. The student crowd in right field was very impressive I estimate it was about 1200 at one point in right field. Glad to see the support has grown for Rebel baseball. The baseball team returns to the field to host Samford on Tuesday.

An All Time Low

I was only able to listen to part of the game, so I do not have the specifics to breakdown the game. But I do know this is one of the worst losses we have ever suffered. The fact we were beaten by almost 30 points by a Mississippi State team that is not good. Neither one of these teams are good but I did not think we could ever play bad enough to get beat by the Dogs this bad. As I said would happen the "Fire Rod Squad" is in full swing again. A beating by your instate rival this bad has rallied the troops and emails are flying into the Lyceum.





STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Jamont Gordon scored 17 points, Reginald Delk and Dietric Slater had 16 apiece and Mississippi State routed Mississippi 84-55 on Saturday.
Charles Rhodes added 15 points for the Bulldogs (13-12, 3-9 Southeastern Conference), who shot nearly 55 percent, led by as many as 33 and won for just the second time since opening league play Jan. 7 with a victory over Arkansas.
State also denied Ole Miss its first sweep in the series since 1998. The Rebels won 75-65 on Jan. 14 for their seventh straight victory but afterward lost seven consecutive games.
Delk, who finished 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, hit three 3-pointers during a 19-0 spurt which essentially ended this one in the opening moments of the second half.
The Rebels had cut the lead to single digits when Todd Abernethy's 3 with 18:57 remaining made it 38-29.
But Delk countered seconds later with a 3-pointer to start the decisive run, and added two more 3s during the run which ended when a basket by Rhodes gave the Bulldogs a 57-29 lead with 14:44 to play. Ole Miss didn't get closer than 25 the rest of the way.

Say It Aint So

The Ole Miss men's basketball team was able to add a mark in the win column tonight by defeating Arkansas 73-70. This snapped a seven game losing streak for the Rebels. Ole Miss was led tonight by Londrick Nolen who scored 20 points. Dwayne curtis also contributed 19 points and 13 rebounds. This game was neck and neck for most of the game before the Rebels were able to sneak away at the end. Arkansas has lost five games on the road by a combined total of 11 points.

The Rebels came into the second half down five before turning it around. They were able to get a lead of about nine with 2:30 left to go in the game. Poor free throw shooting led to the lead dwindle. However Bam Doyne scored his only two points of the night by knocking down two free throws with less than nine seconds to go in the game. The Razorbacks had a chance to tie the game when Jonathan Modica missed a three with 3 seconds on the game clock.

I was surprised to see that this team was able to keep a lead. We have let several games get away from us this year that we were winning at one point. Congrats to the team for staying strong and getting a win. Most of the guys seemed real happy and relieved after the game. It was a much needed win for their confidence.

The one question that remains unanswered is concerning some quotes by Coach Barnes. Earlier in the week he talked how Trey Hampton was going to start alot more games and get alot more minutes, yet Trey barely saw the floor tonight. I dunno what the story is there. This win will cool down the "Fire Rod Squad" for a couple of days, but Rod has got to prove alot more to this group if they are going to quiet down for the rest of the season. It is no where near over with the Rebel faithful. But at any rate congrats to him and his staff for the win. They will now travel to the Hump to take on the Bullies, in an ESPN Classic televised game this Saturday.

On a side note, the Ole Miss sports marketing department continues to show how bad they really are. They played this new "game" at halftime in which participants took part in a hot/cold game. You know the one where you close your eyes and try to find something. The participants humliated themselves all for just a tshirt. If you were not there, take it from me it was bad. All this department knows is how to give out t-shirts.

My List of Who I Would Contact (Don't Believe Any of These Would Come Though)

Elston Turner - Former Ole Miss standout current Sacramento Kings Assitant

Mike Anderson - Former Arkansas Assistant and current UAB Head Coach

Tubby Smith - In my opinion is on the hot seat, he has coached his other two sons at Georgian and Kentucky, why not coach the other at Ole Miss

Mike Davis - Former Alabama standout and assistant coach that is also on the hot seat as the current head coach at Indiana

Is This About to Happen??

As I rode by the Starnes center today I noticed a trailer parked in the front parking lot. A trailer like this is usually used by construction companies to host their offices while on a work site. I have not heard of any construction that is about to start on this building, but maybe I was not listening good enough. At any rate it appears construction could be in the near future of the multi-million dollar FedEx Academic Support Center.

Looks Like Somebody Is Going to Make The Tournament

The Ole Miss rifle team won its first ever NCAA sectional on Sunday at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center in Oxford. The Rebels posted a school-record score of 4666, and are almost assured of receiving one of the eight bids to the NCAA Championships, when they are handed out next week. (UMAA)

Starters For Friday

Catcher - # 9 Justin Brashear
1st Base - # 11 C.J. Ketchum
2nd Base - # 10 Justin Henry
3rd Base - # 8 Chris Coughlan
Shortstop - #1 Zack Cozart
Leftfield - # 23 Jon-Jon Hancock
Centerfield - # 20 Alex Presley
Rightfield - # 2 Cody Overbeck

Dunno What To Say

Ole Miss lost it's seventh consecutive game in a row this Saturday to Alabama losing 64-50. I do not even know what to say about this team right now, I have tried to break down every game, but I can not even figure out this team and the decisions our coaching staff makes anymore. Oh Well, a new sport starts in six days. Over the next couple of days I will be bringing up names of possible coaches who I believe will be good for us, if by some small chance the administration decides to make a change.

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Jemario Davidson had 13 points and Alabama avenged a loss to Mississippi by beating the Rebels 64-50 on Saturday.
Ronald Steele had 11 points, and Jean Felix and Richard Hendrix added 10 apiece for the Crimson Tide (14-8, 7-3 Southeastern Conference), who led by as many as 15 in winning consecutive games in Oxford for the first time in Mark Gottfried's eight seasons as head coach.
Alabama shot nearly 60 percent (25 for 42) and outrebounded Ole Miss 35-21 to avenge a 71-61 defeat in Tuscaloosa. The Tide's leading scorer, Chuck Davis, was lost for the season with a knee injury in that game.
Dwayne Curtis had 13 points to lead the slumping Rebels (13-10, 3-7), who have followed their seven-game winning streak with seven consecutive losses.
Ole Miss shot 35 percent, the team's worst shooting performance in an SEC game this season, and were just 3-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Alabama used an early 10-1 run to take the lead for good, and led 37-31 at halftime. The Rebels didn't mount a serious threat in the second half and had just one basket in the final 6 minutes.
The Tide maximized its lead at 63-48 on Davidson's dunk with 2:12 to play which capped a game-sealing 9-0 run.

WE WILL NEVER WITNESS THIS SCENE AGAIN

Best I've Seen In A While

This is the best quote I've seen in a while. Ole Miss fans on message boards are expressing there opions on how the feel about the hundreds of thousands of dollars we are paying Coach Barnes. One poster has this to say:

I've been telling everyone for years.
There is a homeless guy on the corner of a street a few blocks away in Houston, TX. He will coach our team for a bed, shower, and 3 meals a day. The results will be practically the same.Let's hire him if we don't care about winning.

Fed Up

I Feel The Same Way Rod

There is a sign in my side yard here in Oxford that says, "I'm In", pertaining to Ole Miss football. As far as the head basketball coach at Ole Miss goes, "I'm Out". The Rebels continued their losing streak as they lost to Auburn tonight 58-50 tonight. The Rebels led for virtually the entire game, until the last four minutes. As I have said many times before, "second verse, same as the first." This team just does not know how to handle the basketball, as they turned it over 23 times tonight. I would be willing to say the Rebels have averaged 20 turnovers over the last five games.

Tonight was a very low scoring game for two of the worst teams in the league. Late in the first half Ole Miss was leading 29-15, from that point on Auburn outscored the Rebels 43-21. This was a game that the Rebels led by as many as 16 and by as many as nine twice in the game. To lose this game is inexcusable. Rod took all the play for it in the post game so saying, he takes "full responsibility."

Todd Abernathy led all Rebels with ten points, all of which came in the second half. Clarence Sanders scored nine, majority of those coming in the first half. On the flip side Bam Doyne scores two all night, and is the person we give the ball to in the last two minutes to score. Are you kidding me? I will continue to preach on how important it is for our guards to play, Abernathy and Doyne have played miserable during this losing streak.

I have been a Rod supporter through the good and the bad until now. I can not continue to watch him run this program into the ground. I will continue to go to the games, because I like Ole Miss basketball, but I think it is time for a change. We will be hosting the Crimson Tide on Saturday, who knows what will happen, but until then I guess we should do as Rod would do, I we can just pray for a change.

Where Do We Go From Here

The Tad Pad

Wichita State's Former Coliseum

Wichita State's New Look

First of all I want to start this by saying the pictures above do not do justice, but they are the best I could find and you can go to http://www.goshockers.com/koch.aspx to read more about the Wichita State transformation.

C.M. "Tad" Smith Coliseum was opened in 1966(trivia note, it's original name was Rebel Coliseum). Affectionately known as the "Tad Pad", the coliseum has been the victim of abuse lately on the message boards. Ole Miss fans believe the Tap Pad is an eyesore and are calling for a renovation/new arena. The Coliseum underwent a renovation in the summer of 2001. The new video board(awful resolution), cushioned seats, painted exterior roof, and a redone floor were added that summer. Since then construction of coaches offices on the back side of the coliseum and the renovation of men's and women's lockerrooms have taken place. Even after all that work was done the Tad Pad is still an awful place. I would be willing to bet the lighting and interior paint was not been changed since its original completion in 1966.

An article appeared in the Birmingham News last Thursday explaining Auburn's plan to renovate or build a new coliseum. In this article it explained how Vandy, Ole Miss, and Auburn were the oldest gyms. With Auburn and Ole Miss being the only ones without a major renovation.

Folks, we are behind on this issue. The basketball program deserves a renovated facility. I believe the number of seats we have now are fine. I do not think we should go to much higher, personally I like the small arena's compared to the huge ones. What needs to be done is what you see in the above pictures. Wichita State took their coliseum which looked similar to ours and basically gutted the outside and redid the entire entrance, concourse, bathrooms, study facility and added a Rebel club type atmosphere. The renovation at Wichita State had a price tag of $25 million. I believe ours can be done for a little cheaper since we would not be constructing a new academic facility on the side of ours. However we could make it more expensive by adding on a practice arena, which many including Carol Ross would like to have. Imagine coming into a concourse like the FedEx Forum where you can see the basketball practice facility right as you walk in.

I do not believe we need to build a new one. We have invested too much money over the past 5 years with the small renovations we did to just let them go to waste. Second of all, where are you going to put a new one, I like our arena right where it is. Also, as stated earlier the size is perfect we do not need new seats.

So, when does this need to happen. In my opinion it should be the next on the list. I understand we are not good in basketball, but I guarantee you a renovated arena sure would help. A renovated arena I think would add new life in the basketball program. If and when we go after a new coach, someone that has never been to Oxford is going to laugh when they visit for an interview. We are going to have to promise the next coach a renovated arena.

I want to hear your thoughts: Build a New One, Renovate, or Do Nothing???

Movin On Up

Oxford - The Ole Miss men's tennis team is up a spot to No. 5 in this week's Fila ITA National Rankings, as they get set to face arch-rival Mississippi State in the ninth annual River Hills Mississippi Cup Thursday in Jackson. The two teams will square off at 5 p.m. at the River Hills Club. The Rebels have won six straight in the Mississippi Cup, including three consecutive shutouts. In addition, the Rebels have won 15 in a row in the overall series. State's last win in the series actually came in the 1999 Mississippi Cup, a 4-3 win. "We are looking forward to Thursday's match," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "Anytime these two teams face each other, it's always a battle. This has become a premier event in the nation with other schools starting to host similar events around the country." Ole Miss is off to a 2-0 start with wins over 32nd-ranked Louisville and 33rd-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette.

We Lost The Greatest

Coach John Howard Vaught pictured above with the late great Coach Bear Bryant passed away this weekend in Oxford. Coach Vaught was the greatest coach ever in the state of Mississippi and one of the greatest in the nation. He will be missed by many, but will never be forgotten.

DONE

This Ole Miss basketball team is all but done, as they have not won a game since January 14. The losing streak continued as the Rebels lossed to Tennessee in Knoxville 86-72. The game was even worse than the score. This team can not find a way to do anything right. We do not have an inbounds play, and if we get the ball in we throw it to the other team.

Clarence Sanders was the only player that decided to show up for the Rebels at UT, as Sanders scored a game high 29 points. I have been saying since day one that Sanders needed to score more and this was the first time we really saw him shoot lights out. Congrats to him for playing well.

Bruce Pearl has really turned the Volunteer basketball team around. He has put life back into the men's program and they are a very good team. UT has two of the best point guards in America and I look for them to make a statement in the tournament.

As far as our team. We have completely gone full circle. The Rebel nation has gone from a basketball high back to a low where we many have been for the past four years. There are players on our team that do not belong on the court. And some that are on the court belong on the bench for us to red-shirt(Young,Hansboro). Brandon Patterson contributes absolutely nothing to our team in my opinion. He averages 10 minutes for us in SEC play. He averages 1.9 points and .9 rebounds per game. Give me a break, Matt Neil could score 1.9 points a game in 10 minutes. This is just only one example of how our coaching staff does not know how to manage a game.

When we thought things had been changed they are back where we left off. No offensive strategy has changed and the defense is the same also. And our recruiting for next year is basically non-existent. This program is going nowhere but downhill.

He's Back

David Saunders is coming back to Ole Miss. Saunders who most recently was the head coach at Milsaps will be taking over for Shawn Slocum who will be joining the Green Bay Packers staff. Saunders will coach the linebackers for Coach Ed Orgeron.

Saunders was previously employed by the University as Recruiting Coordinator. At the time he was looked at as one of the nations top recruiters by ESPN. This adds another tireless worker to Coach Orgeron's already hard working staff.

I think this is a good move by Orgeron. Saunders has the same type mentality as Wener, Kehoe, Orgeron and others. The fact that coaches have left and that some may leave before spring practice is not a problem. This happens often with first-year staffs. There is nothing to get fired up about over this. Saunders will help Coach O with the fans also, as he was generally liked among Rebel fans.

Williams Update

It is my understanding that Keiland Williams is having second thought about LSU. As of this time, he has not made up his mind. He wants to make sure LSU is right for him, because he has heard of many players transferring from there after not liking it.

Williams is also considering USC and Ole Miss. The fact that Williams did not sign yesterday is nothing but good news for the Rebels. This five star running back is going to have a long talk with his mom before making the final decision. There is no expected timetable as to when he will announce.

UPDATE: Williams signed with LSU.

Excellent Job

I am not going to write my synopsis of the recruiting class. Due to my contract with the Big Show radio show, you are going to have to wait until tomorrow night at seven to hear how I broke this recruiting class down. However I will say that I am very proud and excited for Coach Orgeron. He without a doubt was able to recruit the best class in the nation for a team that had a losing record last year. This class which I believe will be ranked within the top 15 when the final recruiting rankings come out, was the best in modern history. We brought Coach O here to recruit and that is what he has done since day one he stepped foot on this campus. To hear what the staff at Worldclassglass has to say tune in to www.wlezfm.com tomorrow at seven or I will post a link to the show for your downloading pleasure later in the week.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Enter the comments section at your own risk. Language got a little out of control from both sides. I like the arguments, but let's watch the language from now on.