Ole Miss men’s basketball gets commit from transfer forward Ja’Von Benson
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss men’s basketball received a commitment Friday from Ja’Von Benson, a former Hampton and South Carolina forward. This is the sixth transfer portal commit for head coach Chris Beard and the Rebels.
Benson, who was a three-star prospect in the 2020 cycle, was ranked the No. 5 player from his home state of South Carolina in his class.
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Benson, a native of Columbia, began his career and spent three seasons with the Gamecocks before transferring to Hampton. He played in 15 games for South Carolina.
Last season at Hampton, Benson played in 32 games, starting in 15 of those. He averaged 7.1 points on 56 percent shooting and notched an average of 5.3 rebounds per game, also recording 46 blocks and nine steals.
He will have one season of eligibility remaining when he arrives in Oxford.
Talented Newcomers to the Rebels
The Ole Miss transfer portal class is currently ranked in the Top 15 in the nation before Benson’s commitment. He joins Mikeal Brown-Jones (UNCG), Dre Davis (Seton Hall), Sean Pedulla (Virginia Tech), Malik Dia (Belmont), and Davon Barnes (Sam Houston).
The Rebel Walk’s Kam Wicker spoke with Coach Beard a couple of weeks ago and asked the head coach what he likes about his incoming transfers.
Here’s what Coach Beard has to say about each:
Sean Pedulla: “Pedulla, we believe, is one of the best guards in college basketball. He’s got a proven track record as an all-conference player in ACC. His intangibles, his ability to run a team and also score were very viable to us.”
Davon Barnes: “Davon Barnes from Sam Houston. Just a winner man. Made the last two NCCA tournaments, one in Texas Southern and one in Sam Houston. He has positional size and is a high-character guy.”
Dre Davis: “Dre Davis has done a lot of great individual stuff, plus a lot of team stuff at Seton Hall. He just won the NIT championship a couple of weeks ago. So, another guy can do a lot of things. He has competitiveness and is really important to us.”
Mikeal Brown-Jones: “Mikeal Brown-Jones comes from Greensboro and just graduated a couple of days ago. He comes in as an experienced player. He played for a really good coach and a really good program. He has some versatility and can-do things around the basket on both ends. So, another winner.”
Malik Dia: “Malik has a lot of skill, he’s around 6’10 240-250 and really dominant in the paint but also established himself as a shooter last season. Defensively, he would give us some physicality that we really have been looking for.”
In addition to obviously searching for talented players, Coach Beard was also looking for something else he feels is important.
“It’s a talent talent-driven business, so what was equally important to us was trying to get some guys that have experienced winning before, had some individual success and great team success. So, several of our guys have played in the NCAA tournament…“
Chris Beard
Beard also added two very talented high school prospects from the class of 2024, center John Bol and guard Eduardo Klafke.
We asked Beard where he sees Bol and Klafke fitting in on next year’s roster.
“We recruited both guys to have an impact right away. There’s always a learning curve in college basketball…With Klafke, it will just be his experience to play different positions in the backcourt. He will continue to learn to take care of the ball and grow as a defensive player. He’s really competitive and was born to be a basketball player. As a young man, he already made a lot of sacrifices, leaving home when he was young to play in the NBA Academy…And John Bol, obviously, the talent, the length, athleticism, rebounding, blocking ability. He will have a chance to contribute early. But equally important to me in recruiting John was his personality, his intelligence, his character. He’s a guy that is going to work on his craft. The pressure of the world won’t be on any of those young guys’ shoulders, but there’s a solid opportunity for them to contribute and play as well as freshmen.”
Coach Beard on Eduardo Klafke and John Bol
Ole Miss looks to have returners Jaemyn Brakefield, TJ Caldwell*, Jaylen Murray, Robert Cowherd* and Cam Brent back on next year’s roster. (*The assumption is Caldwell and Cowherd are returning; although, they have not yet made a public announcement.)
The deadline for college basketball players to withdraw from the NBA Draft is May 29, so the Rebels will be awaiting guard Matthew Murrell’s decision.
Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all your latest Ole Miss sports news.
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.
