Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Announces Chris Beard’s First-Year Staff
OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Announced as the 23rd head coach of Ole Miss men’s basketball in March, Chris Beard’s full-time staff was released on Wednesday as the program prepares for the 2023-24 season. Adding eight new coaches and support staff members to seven returning, Beard’s staff brings years of collegiate and professional experience to Oxford, and includes numerous staff members who have worked with Beard previously in his coaching career.
Wes Flanigan – Assistant Coach
Flanigan joins the Ole Miss staff by way of Auburn where he spent the previous five seasons and will coach under Chris Beard for the second time in his career. Working primarily with the forwards while with the Tigers, Flanigan coached numerous NBA Draft selections. He was the head coach at the University of Arkansas Little Rock for two years, taking the job after being elevated from assistant when Beard left for Texas Tech. Flanigan was on staff when he and Beard helped lead Little Rock to an upset over No. 5-seed Purdue in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Flanigan has coached previously at Mississippi State (2012-15), Nebraska (2010-12), and UAB (2008-10). He got his coaching start at Northwest Mississippi Community College from 1999-2004. (Full bio)
Al Pinkins – Assistant Coach
This will be the second time Pinkins has coached with the Ole Miss program after he previously spent time with the Rebels from 2011-14, and will mark the second time on staff under Beard. Bringing 20 years of coaching experience including nine years in the SEC where he has coached several NBA Draft picks and NBA players, Pinkins has coached at Texas Tech, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Middle Tennessee State. Pinkins was most recently in his second stint with Texas Tech during the 2022-23 season, after leaving Florida (2018-22) where he was the associate head coach and briefly the interim head coach. Pinkins was on Beard’s staff at Texas Tech for his first two seasons from 2016-18, and has previously made stops at LSU (2015-16) and Tennessee (2014-15). Pinkins spent three seasons under head coach Andy Kennedy at Ole Miss from 2011-14, and got his coaching start at Middle Tennessee State from 2003-11. (Full bio)
Bob Donewald Jr. – Assistant Coach
His third stint working on Beard’s staff, Donewald comes to Oxford with experience as a head and assistant coach at the collegiate, professional, and national team level. He spent the previous two seasons at Texas and was at Texas Tech under Beard for two years prior. Donewald has been an NBA assistant with Charlotte (2001-02), New Orleans (2002-03), and Cleveland (2003-04), and coached professionally overseas in Russia, China, Ukraine, Brazil and the UK. He also spent the 2007-08 season on staff at UAB, was the head coach of the Chinese National Team from 2010-12, and was the head coach of the Iowa Energy in the NBA D League (now the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League) from 2014-16. (Full bio)
Win Case – Special Assistant to the Coach
Entering his sixth season at Ole Miss, Case spent the previous five years on the men’s basketball staff as an assistant before being named acting head coach on February 24, 2023. He won his first game at the helm against LSU, and helped guide the Rebels to a victory against South Carolina in the opening round of the 2023 SEC Tournament. Case has previously coached at Middle Tennessee State (2009-18), Oklahoma City University (1992-93), Eastern Oklahoma State (1989-90), and Oklahoma Baptist (1988) as an assistant. He spent 1994-2005 as the head coach at Oklahoma City where he won two NAIA National Championships, before taking the head coaching positions at Eastern Oklahoma State (2006-07) and Redlands College (2008). He also spent his time from 2006-07 at Eastern Oklahoma State and from 2008 at Redlands as the Athletic Director. (Full bio)
Brian Burg – Analyst
Another staff member to have previously worked with Beard, this will be Burg’s third time after joining Beard at Texas Tech and Little Rock. Burg spent the previous three seasons as the head coach at Georgia Southern where he was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award in 2020-21, presented annually to the top first-year head coach in Division I. Prior to his time with Georgia Southern, Burg was on Beard’s staff at Texas Tech for four seasons from 2016-20, helping the Red Raiders win 94 games. Burg also worked with Beard at Little Rock in 2015-16, and has coached at the Division-I level at Campbell, and North Carolina Central. He spent two years as the director of basketball operations at Middle Tennessee State (2007-09), before assistant coach positions at Western Texas College (2006-07) and Garden City Community College (2005-06). (Full bio)
John Reilly – Strength and Conditioning Coach
Joining Beard’s staff at a third school, John Reilly brings over a decade of collegiate coaching experience to Ole Miss. He has helped his teams win conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances as the head strength and conditioning coach at four prior universities. He has assisted in the development in two NCAA All-Americans, a pair of NBA first-round draft picks, and eight total NBA players. Reilly spent the previous two seasons at Texas and was previously at Texas Tech from 2016-21. He has also spent time on the football strength and conditioning staff at Texas, and worked as a volunteer assistant at BYU and Michigan. (Full bio)
Anthony Johnson – Director of Player Development
After spending the previous two seasons at the University of South Carolina Upstate as an assistant coach, Johnson reunites with Beard in Oxford. Prior to his time at USC Upstate, Johnson spent time as the director of development and recruiting at Georgia Southern University, and was the director of player development and video coordinator at the College of Charleston. During the 2018-19 season, Johnson was a graduate assistant under Beard at Texas Tech. (Full bio)
Derrick Mallison – Director of Video Operations
A first-time member of Beard’s staff, Mallison comes to Oxford after spending the 2021-22 season as an assistant Coach at South Carolina State. He was previously with Memphis for three years where he served as the video coordinator, assisting with player development in film sessions and spearheading scouting efforts. Mallison spent two seasons with the Chicago Bulls as a basketball operations associate, where he helped with video and scouting efforts and assisted in player development. He has also spent time working with USA Basketball during the summers of 2017 and 2018, and held numerous titles at North Carolina Central with their basketball program for three seasons. (Full bio)
Parker Eidson – Director of Basketball Operations
Having previously worked on Beard’s staff at Texas Tech, Eidson comes to Ole Miss after spending the previous five years at UT Arlington as the director of operations. He was a graduate assistant on Beard’s staff with the Red Raiders during the 2017-18 season during their run to the Elite Eight, and was a student manager at the University of Tennessee from 2013-17. (Full bio) In addition, Beard’s support staff will consist of Drew Clinton (Associate Athletic Director for Academic Support), Kara Hobson, (Administrative Assistant), Mike Swartz (Assistant Director of Communications), Josie Nicholson, PhD (Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Psychology), Jordyn Kleve (Sports Dietitian), and Spencer Hill (Equipment Manager/Tuohy Basketball Center Services). Season tickets for the 2023-24 men’s basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting OleMissTix.com.
(Feature image: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
