New Players for Rebel Roundballers

This caught me by surprise. I knew that Hardy had claimed he wanted to be a two sport athlete, but I had no idea they were going to let him do it. Hopefully these two will be a little better than the previous two sport athletes I can remeber: Michael Boone and Syniker Taylor. Anybody have any more two sport athletes in the last 10-15 years.

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss basketball team welcomed a pair of two-sport athletes and the return of a familiar face to practice on Monday. Rebel football players Greg Hardy and Shay Hodge began workouts with the basketball team, and All-SEC center Dwayne Curtis was back at practice. Both Hardy and Hodge concluded their true freshman seasons with Ed Orgeron’s Rebels on Saturday.

A 6-foot-5, 240-pounder from Memphis, Hardy played in all 12 games on the defensive line, tying for the team-lead in sacks (3.0) and ranking fifth in total tackles (49). His four fumble recoveries also tied for third in the SEC, and against MSU, he saw his first action at wide receiver and hauled in a 23-yard touchdown.

During his prep days at Briarcrest Christian, Hardy garnered honorable mention All-State honors on the hardwood as a junior. He was a forward and competed alongside current Rebel sophomore guard Patrick Spach.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Hodge played wide receiver in all 12 games for Ole Miss this year and was third on the club in receptions with 16 for 193 yards. At Morton (Miss.) High School, he earned four letters as a guard on the basketball team, receiving team MVP honors while averaging 25 points per game.