After slow start with rebuilt roster, Ole Miss basketball shows signs of life

Ole Miss basketball replaced nearly its entire roster in the off-season. 

The Rebels returned four players, but only two contributed last season in Malik Dia and Eduardo Klafke. Ole Miss reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in history. 

The Rebels have been transfer-heavy every season under third-year head coach Chris Beard. His 2025-26 group, however, has taken longer to gel than his first two at Ole Miss. 

The Rebels finally looked more themselves in a had-to-have-it win over Missouri to improve to 9-7 (1-2 SEC) overall.

“It feels good to win,” Ole Miss guard Ilias Kamardine said. “That’s a good team win. Everybody contributed, everybody brought something to the table. So, it feels really good to win, and we want to stay hungry. We have to move on to the next game because that’s going to be a great game, too, and a tough game. We have to be prepared and keep building on this victory.”

Kamardine paces the Rebels in assists (4.1) and steals (1.4). He’s third in points (11.1) and rebounds (3.4). Kamardine, 22, is a first-year college player from France. He most recently played for JDA Dijon and played club basketball in France since he was 16.

Kamardine was cleared to play in August. Ole Miss next travels to No. 21 Georgia (14-2, 2-1) on Wednesday. Tipoff in Athens is 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

“He’s done well,” Beard said of Kamardine. “We need him to play great every night, and that’s probably not completely fair to him nor us, but that’s our reality. In a lot of ways, as Ilias goes, our team goes.”

Kamardine has started every game. 

He opened the year scoring double-digit points in eight of the first nine. He’s had only one such effort in the last seven. Kamardine scored 16 in a loss to Arkansas.

Kamardine averaged 8.0 points, 2.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds in the EuroCup last season.

“You can be surprised by every team,” Kamardine said of what he’s learned this season. “We can feel the culture on every team. Every team plays different basketball. So, just to be ready to play physical and mentally, too. That’s the part that was challenging for me.”

Missouri was a step in the right direction for Kamardine across the board. He had seven points, four assists and only two turnovers. He also grabbed a rebound. 

“I started a little bit bad,” Kamardine said. “We got some turnovers and let them get confidence. They started to make some shots. We have to find a way to cut that and play better, especially at the beginning of the game.”

In the end, for Ole Miss to turn things around, the Rebels will need more collective efforts like Missouri. No one player is here to save them, not even Kamardine.

“We just played like a team,” Kamardine said of what the Rebels learned from Missouri. “Everybody contributed.”