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COLUMN: Difficult Conversations Lie Ahead For Ole Miss Basketball

The Rebels sit at 9-9 overall and 1-5 in conference play after Saturday's loss to Mississippi State, and questions around Kermit Davis' future in Oxford are looming.

As injuries and losses continue to pile up for Ole Miss men's basketball, it's time to start asking the question: is this working?

Kermit Davis has made the NCAA Tournament one time since he arrived in Oxford, and that was his first season with players he did not recruit. After knocking off Mississippi State at home on Jan. 8, the Rebels have lost four straight conference games, including one to Missouri and a blowout loss to Mississippi State on the road.

I'm not one to pile blame on coaches, especially not one with a proven track record like that of Kermit Davis, but it's evident that something is not working currently in the Rebels' program. With a NET ranking of 137 as of this writing and a 1-5 start in SEC play, it doesn't appear that Ole Miss is blazing a trail to the postseason in 2022. What needs to change?

I'm also not the one who makes a decision such as this. Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter played basketball at Ole Miss, and even before he earned the title of AD, he was instrumental in Davis' hire behind the scenes. It's apparent that Carter believes (or believed) in Davis' ability to take over in Andy Kennedy's stead, but the results have trended in the wrong direction following the Rebels' only tournament berth in his tenure.

Make no mistake: Ole Miss isn't the easiest basketball job in the world. Depending on who you ask, it's the third-most followed sport on campus, even with a facility as pristine as the SJB Pavilion at its disposal. Football is obviously king, and baseball likely comes second. Pair that with a small history of national relevance, and you have a recipe for it being hard to consistently win in Oxford.

At this point, I don't think Rebel fans expect to make the big dance every year. That would probably be unrealistic anyway, but they do want to be relevant down the stretch and be a shoe-in every few seasons. Personally, I think that's a fair expectation. That can be done at Ole Miss, but it's not being done right now.

Again, I despise having these conversations, especially when a coach is as good to the media as Davis is, but we could be entering territory where conversations about a change emerge not just on social media, but in buildings where they matter.

Keith Carter cares about Ole Miss sports. He went to school in Oxford, so that's obvious, but his care for basketball is likely more personal due to that being his sport in college. Carter was a part of some pretty successful Ole Miss teams during his playing days, so this level of conversation, especially after he was instrumental in Davis' hire, will probably be difficult for him, to say the least. But if there's anyone in athletics who wants to see the men's basketball program succeed, it's Keith Carter. That much is for sure.

Coming into the season, I was of the personal opinion that it would take a pretty steep drop off for Davis to lose his job following this year. Well, we're nearing that territory.

There's still time for Davis and Company to turn this around, but in the SEC, that won't be easy, especially when you're behind the proverbial eight ball early. I don't envy those who have to make these decisions, but if this current trajectory stays in place, the disgruntled rumble surrounding the program may be too loud to ignore within the athletics office.


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