Kermit Davis Lands ’21 Commit in Tennessee All-State selection Grant Slatten
OXFORD, Miss. — Following the abrupt end of the 2019-2020 collegiate season, Ole Miss men’s basketball head coach Kermit Davis hit the recruiting trail and hit it hard, and now Tennessee All-State guard Grant Slatten has become the latest in a line of strong players to commit to Davis and the Rebs.
We’ve already seen Ole Miss’ addition of transfers Romello White, Dimencio Vaughn, and Robert Allen, as well as the addition of anticipated IMG product Matthew Murrell. Coach Davis further solidified his status as a top-notch recruiter with the recent commit from highly-rated, 2021 point guard Daeshun Ruffin from Jackson, Miss.
And on August 4th, Grant Slatten became the second commit for the class of 2021, taking to twitter to announce his decision. The Sparta, Tennessee native is a 6-5 guard from White County High School who earned All-State honors from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association following a junior season where he averaged 26.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.9 steals per contest.
After much consideration and prayer I am very blessed to announce my commitment to @OleMissKermit and @OleMissMBB #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/EYW8fuG3Vv
— Grant Slatten (@GrantSlatten) August 4, 2020
Slatten had offers from, among others, Tennessee Tech, South Florida, Morehead State, New Mexico, and Purdue. However, after notching a huge summer playing for EAB Tennessee — most notably in the HoopSeen Tip Off and Bama Jam — bigger programs had begun to take notice. In a recent interview after Bama Jam, Slatten indicated he was also garnering interest from Florida State, Purdue, and Florida.
Slatten, once listed at 6-foot-1, now stands at 6-foot-5 inches tall and says he feels more physically dominant in games. He is sneakily athletic and has a solid first step when attacking the rim. His jumper has also made strides as he’s connecting more from outside.
It appears Coach Davis has found a hidden gem he can pair with Ruffin in the future and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Slatten rise on the recruiting boards all over the internet if he can continue to play at a high level.
Davis’ Recruiting Prowess
It is certainly no surprise Coach Davis is doing so well in recruiting since arriving at Ole Miss, but what does catch my attention is how well Davis’ newcomers stack up in the ratings. Obviously, rankings don’t make a player — but it is still fun to see when your team’s players are on the receiving end of positive hype. For example, Matthew Murrell (2020) and Daeshun Ruffin (2021) are currently No. 1 and No. 2 on 247 Sports’ All-Time Ole Miss recruiting list. Murrell achieved a 0.9851 rating while Ruffin achieved a 0.9844 grade.
That’s not all, though. Grad transfer Romello White tallied a rating out of high school of 0.9700. That would be No. 5 on the current list, meaning Coach Davis has recruited three out of the top five recruits EVER for Ole Miss according to 247 — a rather impressive feat for Coach Davis. The other two are Reginald Buckner (No. 3) and Terrance Henry (No. 4).
Good times appear to be headed the Rebs’ way with Coach Davis at the helm.
Hotty Toddy!
TJ Oxley
TJ Oxley is the Vice President of Operations and the Director of Community Relations for The Rebel Walk. He is also the Director of Basketball Content and Senior Basketball Writer. He has over five years of experience providing in-depth analysis of college basketball through multiple platforms. A former MBA graduate of Ole Miss, TJ started with The Rebel Walk in 2019.
