Ole Miss basketball boasts top-10 transfer portal haul. Here's where they ended up in final 247Sports rankings

Ole Miss basketball boasts top-10 transfer portal haul. Here’s where they ended up in final 247Sports rankings

Posted by Admin May 2, 2024 Basketball

Over the last month, Chris Beard and staff have given the Ole Miss men’s basketball program another shot in the arm by assembling an impressive roster that’s still in development at the time of writing.

The basketball transfer portal has officially closed, but players still in the portal still have time to choose their next program. The Rebels are still looking to fill a few spots both in the front court and back court. However, the majority of players that Ole Miss has either signed or gotten a commitment from in said portal are among the best in college basketball.

On Thursday, 247Sports released its final basketball transfer portal rankings for individual players. Ole Miss has three players within the top-100 and four in the top-150. Collectively, the five (total) portal additions are part of the No. 7 class in the country by 247Sports at the time of writing.

Virginia Tech point guard Sean Pedulla is considered to be Ole Miss’ best transfer after committing days following his official visit. Pedulla finished as the No. 45 overall and No. 10 point guard among portal players.

Pedulla finished the 2023-24 season as an All-ACC Third Team selection, with conference academic honors as well. He was a producer on the offensive end, averaging 16.4 points per game, with 17.3 points per game in conference play (eighth in ACC). He shot 42 percent from the floor 32 percent from three and 80 percent from the free throw line. On eight different occasions, he had over 20 points with a career high 33 points coming against conference foe Miami. Additionally, he averaged 4.3 rebounds per game, and his 148 assists finished third in the ACC at season’s end.

Former Seton Hall Pirate Dre Davis finished as the No. 63 overall portal player and the No. 11 player at the small forward position. This past season as a senior, he averaged 15 points (49 percent FG) and six rebounds for the Pirates, while getting 60 assists and then 49 blocks and 35 steals defensively en route to a NIT Championship win this past season for the Pirates.

Malik Dia, a power forward from Belmont, is the No. 96 overall portal player and No. 14 player at his position. This season with the Bruins, he averaged right at 17 points a game (49 percent FG) through 33 games and 24 starts, while adding an average of six rebounds and a total of 27 steals and 26 blocks.

Ole Miss’ first transfer portal commitment of the cycle, Mikeal Brown-Jones, also managed to finish among the top-150 transfer portal players at No. 128, the No. 22 power forward. Between the 2023-24 season and the season before, he made a significant jump in production, culminating in a season where he averaged almost 19 points a game (second in the SoCon), with a field goal percentage of 54 percent, a three-point percentage of 42 percent, and a 79 percent mark from the free throw line. He also averaged 7.5 rebounds, came away with 18 steals and blocked 25 shots.

Sam Houston State wing Davon Barnes finished unranked within the top-150, but the Rebels are all too familiar with his game and what he’s capable of doing in Oxford. Barnes was one of Sam Houston’s leading scorers with 13.5 points a game, while shooting 42 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three. Additionally, he dished out 54 assists, while getting 22 steals and seven blocks defensively. He was the only player to started in all 33 games.