What Niko Bundalo Brings to Ole Miss Basketball

Ole Miss basketball got a boost when it hired former Texas and Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard, a controversial hire at the time, but one that has launched the Rebels into the forefront of SEC basketball.

They were competitive last season, finishing the year with a 24-12 record overall and a 10-8 record in conference. They ranked 18th in the final AP Poll, losing in the Sweet 16 to Michigan State by three points.

It was an impressive second season for Chris Beard and company, but with new additions to their roster, they are clearly aiming higher for the upcoming year. They added French guard Ilias Kamardine, two Louisville transfers in guard Koren Johnson and forward James Scott, LSU transfer forward Corey Chest, Kansas transfer wing AJ Storr, and Kentucky guard Travis Perry, in addition to three four-star recruits.

The prized prospect in this crop of prep talent is top-30 player Niko Bundalo, a 6-foot-10 forward from Uniontown, Ohio that played his high school basketball at Prolific Prep in California.

Bundalo was a unanimous four-star, garnering a 96.27 score on the Rivals Industry Ranking. He had offers from several top programs across the country, including North Carolina, UConn, Duke, Kentucky, Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, Texas Tech, and more.

He has great size as a power forward at 6-foot-10, and is very skilled as a scorer in the lane and in the midrange. He is still developing a three-point shot, but has demonstrated much more ability to be effective in such situations as a catch-and-shoot threat more than a player that can create his own looks from deep.

Though he is a bit slim at just 215 pounds, he has shown that he can score through contact. His handle is not elite, but he has shown the ability to make opponents pay for closing out on him too early, allowing him to drive to the basket and make things happen at the rim. Offensively, he is versatile, and can play on the perimeter and inside the paint.

The McDonald's All-American can create mismatches against centers because of his quickness, but will have to add weight if he is going to play the five at the next level. Likely, he is a four that can potentially become a floor-spacer.

Given how crowded the Ole Miss front court is, Bundalo will have to fight for minutes, but considering his skillset, he will probably be able to make a mark on the season as a bench player.