Mississippi Rebels guard Blake Hinson (0) shoots for three over Missouri Tigers guard Dru Smith (12) during the second half at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
What Blake Hinson Entering the Transfer Portal Means for Ole Miss Basketball
Blake Hinson is leaving Ole Miss basketball.
As first reported by Matt Zenitz, the Rebel forward who had had started 58 games over his first two seasons in Oxford is transferring.
This past season as a sophomore, Hinson started 27 of a possible 28 games, scoring 10.1 points and grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game, ranking third in scoring and fourth in rebounding on the team.
Hinson's biggest flaw was his consistency. This past year, he had as many games, five, where he scored under five points as he did games where he scored over fifteen.
That said, Hinson's been a consistent starter from the Rebels since the day he showed up on campus, and likely would have either started or been the first man off the bench this upcoming year.
So what lead to Hinson's transfer and how will it impact Ole Miss basketball in this upcoming year?
The team truly has changed so much in the past six months. It's not to say Hinson's departure won't be missed – he was an every game starter for a reason – but the Rebels have a ton of options to replace him.
Kermit Davis brought in two graduate transfers in Arizona State forward Romello White and Rider wing Dimencio Vaughn. Both were expected to play right from the start, and with Hinson's departure it can be expected both will start from day one.
Additionally, Oxford native Jarkel Joiner, who played two years at Cal Bakersfield before transferring and sitting out last season, will be eligible this season. Then there's also Matt Murrell, a four-star freshman and one of the highest rated signees in Rebel history and has been playing offseason pickup with Ja Morant.
Additionally returning from last year's starting five are Devontae Shuler, KJ Buffen and Khadim Sy. So yes, Hinson will be missed, but his inconsistencies were certainly harmful to the Rebels in plenty of games.
Ole Miss is going to look quite different from the team that took the hardwood one season ago, but that's not a bad thing considering last year's team won only six games in SEC play last year.
Of course, Hinson entering his name in the portal doesn't always mean he is going to leave Oxford, but it makes it very likely. We saw it a few times on the football field last year, with Grant Tisdale and a few receivers entering the portal before coming back.
Introduced by the NCAA in 2018, entering your name in the portal only allows other programs and coaches to legally contact players interested in transferring.
More from The Grove Report:
Projecting the 2021 Ole Miss Baseball Lineup
How Terence Davis Became the Rare Undrafted Rookie Contributor
SEC Roundtable: The Biggest Changes on Offense Heading into 2020
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