Rebels' Chris Beard Apologizes For Lackluster Performance vs. Texas A&M
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team had an opportunity to end their 2023-24 season on a high note on Saturday, but Chris Beard's squad did not seize it, as they got demolished 86-60 by the Texas A&M Aggies in the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. The Rebels looked unmotivated and lackadaisical on both ends of the court, and no one was more disappointed than Beard.
Beard made it clear during his postgame press conference that he was not pleased with the performance put on by his players, but he did, however, celebrate 5-5, 130-pound freshman Cam Brent, who logged a career-high of six minutes on the hardwood versus A&M. Brent finished his big day with a one point, one assist, and one steal. "Muggs" did not lead the team in any statistical category, and rode the bench the entire season, but Beard expressed that he wants more players with Brent's attitude on his team going forward.
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"Muggs doesn't have a scholarship," Beard told reporters. "He pays his own way through school. He doesn't benefit from [NIL] financially. I'll tell you what Muggs does have though: he has heart and he's a competitor. Muggs is one of those guys that doesn't lose, and we're going to build a program [at Ole Miss] to that point. Today we lost, but not Muggs."
"We'll get to the point where we have effort and players like [Brent] who take the court for us here," Beard told reporters. "Muggs played Ole Miss basketball tonight. There wasn't a lot of Ole Miss basketball out there tonight."
Beard was so irritated, he even brought up the idea of a potential ticket refund to any fans who attended Saturday's game.
"We just want to apologize to everybody," Beard said. "I'll check with Keith [Carter] and see what the rules are on this, but anybody that paid money to come see this game today, I'd like you to get reimbursed. We'll check the NCAA rules on that stuff, but just want to apologize. That's not the effort that you spend your time and money on to come watch."
While Beard's first year with the Rebels ended on a sour note, Ole Miss still finished the season with a promising 20-11 overall record. The Rebels now have to prepare for the 2024 SEC Tournament in Nashville, where they will be taking on Texas A&M in the second round of the competition. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. CT on Thursday in the Bridgestone Arena, and the game will be televised on SEC Network.
