Chris Beard wants his Rebels to show discipline and competitiveness: ‘You’re either in it to win it or you’re not’
OXFORD, Miss. — We have just a month to go before the 2023-24 basketball season gets started, and fans will have a chance to see the Ole Miss men’s and women’s basketball in the ninth Square Jam today at 6:30 p.m. CT. A court will be set up on the east side of the Square in the parking lot in front of City Hall.
Both teams will be introduced for the first time this year along with hearing from head coaches Chris Beard and Yolett McPhee-McCuin.
Coach Beard met with the media last week and talked about the upcoming season. He was very clear on what it will take for the Rebels to succeed as they work toward finding team chemistry for a brand new group of athletes.
Never lose your chip 💯 pic.twitter.com/wsf9nrfwup
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) September 28, 2023
Beard’s number-one talking point was the importance of practice. He broke down the schedule, explaining that the prior month was used as pre-season practices, with last week marking the start of official practices. From what Coach Beard has seen, he credits his team for making an effort to build on the many new relationships they have.
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“I think the guys have done a good job bonding with each other off the court. We have a long ways to go, you never really know how close a group you have until adversity hits, and just like most teams around the country we haven’t had any on-court adversity yet, so that’s always interesting,” Beard said.
Throughout pre-season practices, Beard also recognizes that the team has started to understand who the leaders are and who the followers are. He stressed the importance of knowing your role, saying that every great team consists of both types of players. Beard has been pleased with the attitude of his guys so far.
“There are times when even our best and strongest-voiced leaders kind of need to defer and follow a little bit, so with this group and this team, I have been impressed. There’s not a lot of ego, there’s some humility here which is always a core value of winning, so I like where guys are.“
Coach Chris Beard
The Rebels’ head coach would like to see one specific trait from his team that he believes they have struggled with thus far — and that is having discipline all the time. Coach Beard says although everyone knows how to set screens and block out, it needs to be executed at a high level every single time it occurs in a game.
“We don’t (yet) have the discipline to do the right thing every single time. My two questions for this group are how disciplined are we? The other thing is just the competitiveness. It doesn’t matter if it’s ping pong before practice or a sprint at the end of practice. You’re either in it to win it or you’re not.“
Coach Chris Beard
Beard went on to say that the best athletes he has ever coached all possessed a sense of urgency and refused to take practice for granted. Coach Beard compared it to players having a similar mindset as the late Laker great Kobe Bryant — showing up every day as if their job is on the line.
Furthermore, Beard recognizes that even though the team has six weeks until its first game, they will only have about 20 effective practices due to inter-squad games, exhibition matchups, and rest days.
“The average college player says, ‘man we have six weeks to practice here,’ but the elite guy understands that I will never get back today. This is the first practice and we will never get this back. Just the ability to live where your feet are and just to embrace every day with some urgency. That’s something our team has to get done in the next month, we have to value team practice.“
Coach Chris Beard
Chris hit it home by stating that for a new team with a new coach and new players, it takes practices to an entirely new level. It is one of the few moments the team will have to expand on all aspects of basketball and their chemistry before starting the season in early November.
“In the next month, we have to turn into a good practice team. Champions understand there is no such thing as bad practice. A good practice is about attitude, effort, discipline, getting things done, responding to adversity, handling success, playing it to the whistle, fighting through fatigue, and staying organized. We have a real goal around here, especially in year one, we are fighting time. We just can’t waste practice.”
Coach Beard
Square Jam info
For tonight’s Square Jam, fans are encouraged to utilize parking at the Square Garage and restrooms behind City Hall.
Today’s The Day‼️ pic.twitter.com/bRvPuGBf91
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) October 6, 2023
Various players will participate in multiple on-court activities including a game of knockout, tic-tac-toe, a skills challenge and the always anticipated three-point challenge. Following the festivities, both teams will be available for autographs.
Important Info Re: Square Jam! ⤵️
Square Jam 2023 is Presented by Oxford Ortho! We look forward to seeing you on the Square this Friday at 6:30 p.m.!#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/lTx7FoFnpo
— Ole Miss Athletics (@OleMissSports) October 4, 2023
Hotty Toddy!
