What Does Chris Beard Bring to Ole Miss Basketball?
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels made a splash on Monday when they announced that Chris Beard had officially been hired to take over as their next men's basketball coach.
The hiring of Beard ushers in a new era of men's basketball in Oxford, and it posits that Ole Miss Athletic Director Keith Carter is not messing around.
Beard was the best available coach looking for work this offseason after he was fired by Texas for being arrested and charged with domestic violence in December of 2022. The charges were later dropped by the Travis County District Attorney's office.
Beard's off-the-court issues will be the talk of the town, but I believe that this is a once-in-a-lifetime hire for Ole Miss basketball.
Since 2016, Beard has led three different teams to the NCAA Tournament including the 2019 National Championship game versus the Virginia Cavaliers and an Elite Eight trip with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Beard also has a stellar 237-98 coaching record, a winning percentage of 70.7 percent, and was named the 2019 AP Coach of the Year.
While Beard did end up losing that National Title game, there is no doubt about it, he builds winning programs, and more importantly, he gets his team to March Madness, something Ole Miss is starving for.
The last time the Rebels made the "big dance" was back in 2018, Kermit Davis' first season leading Ole Miss.
One of the top recruiters in the country, Beard reeled in top-10 class in 2022, 2020, and 2018. His 2022 class at Texas was rated as the No. 6 in the country by 247Sports.
Beard also has a recent track record of sending his players to the NBA. Since 2018, he has coached two NBA draft picks, first-round pick Zhaire Smith in 2018 and lottery pick Jarrett Culver in 2019, both were drafted by the Phoenix Suns.
He is already making an impact on Ole Miss' recruiting, as four-star forward Rashaud Marshall appears to be sticking with his commitment to the Rebels.
Bottom line, Beard is a massive upgrade for Ole Miss, and Rebel fans should be ecstatic about the hire.
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