What we learned from Ole Miss basketball's Bahamas trip, including guard James White
Ole Miss basketball won three games in four days on a trip to The Bahamas this week, setting the stage for a bounce-back season starting in November.
Playing without projected starters Daeshun Ruffin and Robert Allen as well as newcomers Robert Cowherd and Josh Mballa, the short-handed Rebels swept the week with 89-71, 88-70 and 121-75 wins.
Sophomore guard James White scored 71 points on 32 of 50 shooting (64%) without making a 3-pointer. He was the Rebels' leading scorer in all three contests, scoring at least 23 points in every game after averaging 2.2 points as a freshman.
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White also finished with 14 assists and 20 rebounds.
"I'm proud of James White, that's how he's been practicing," coach Kermit Davis said. "I thought it really was the little things that helped him (score). He defended, played within a system, could go get shots on his own."
The strength of Ole Miss' roster heading into 2022-23 is the backcourt. When Ruffin returns from his ACL injury, the Rebels will be built around him and junior Matt Murrell as a guard tandem. If White can establish himself as a third guard with star power, the Rebels might finally be able to return to the brand of basketball that led it to the NCAA Tournament in Davis' first season behind guard trio Terence Davis, Breein Tyree and Devontae Shuler.
Outside of White, most of the Rebels' production this week came from transfers and freshmen. Jackson State transfer Jayveous McKinnis averaged 12.3 points and 7.6 rebounds. Freshman Amaree Abram averaged 10.7 points and 5 assists. Freshman T.J. Caldwell averaged 11 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Depth is going to matter for the Rebels, especially with so much production that needs to be replaced. Of the 14 players on the roster, eight are freshmen or transfer portal adds. Having these games as an opportunity to let the newcomers gel with some of the returning talent could prove huge for developing chemistry and determining which new players will need to play big roles.
It's hard to tell too much about any team from a handful of exhibition games. That's especially true when the Rebels were playing without Ruffin, the former McDonald's All-American who is expected to be the focal point.
The results don't mean the Rebels are poised to be dominant in 2022-23, but they also aren't irrelevant. If some of the role players who emerged this week can keep playing with that sort of poise and confidence — especially White and McKinnis — the Rebels might be deep enough to win some games without herculean efforts from two or three stars, something that was lacking last season.
Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball: Bahamas trip analysis, including James White
