In Need of a Practice Facility??

As college basketball teams officially open practice Friday evening, the Ole Miss men’s team will begin their preseason workouts for the 2006-07 campaign, but will not be doing so in Tad Smith Coliseum.Both the Rebel men’s and women’s teams are allowed to begin at 7 p.m. CT, so new Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy is yielding to the senior hoops coach on campus Carol Ross for the homecourt.While the women work out in the Tad Pad, Kennedy will hold his first official practice as Rebel mentor at nearby Oxford High School. However, the change in venue does not deter from his excitement.“I’m looking forward to it,” said Kennedy, who was announced as the program’s 20th head coach on March 24. “We have a lot of things we have to get done. The season has moved up, so we now have three weeks from Friday until our first exhibition and four weeks before our first game. “This year, we have six games before Thanksgiving, which doesn’t give us a lot of time to put in the things we feel are important for this team to have a chance to be successful.”While the practices are closed to the public, fans will get a sneak peak at this year’s Rebel men’s squad in an open scrimmage on Oct. 27 at Tad Smith Coliseum. On the eve of the Ole Miss-Auburn football game, Kennedy’s squad will have intra-squad competition at 7:30 p.m. and will sign autographs afterwards. The Rebels face exhibitions against North Alabama, Nov. 3 and Delta State, Nov. 6, and the 2006-07 season tips off with Mississippi Valley State, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at home.