NCAAM teams
Associated Press 10y

Mississippi adds transfer M.J. Rhett

Men's College Basketball, Mississippi Rebels, Tennessee State Tigers

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi continued its roster overhaul on Friday with the signing of Tennessee State transfer M.J. Rhett.

The 6-foot-9 Rhett adds more depth to the Rebels' frontcourt. He averaged 10.9 points and a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per game last season at Tennessee State.

Rhett is expected to graduate from Tennessee State in May, which would make him eligible to play immediately for his senior season. He is the seventh signee for the large incoming class, which also includes guards Roderick Lawrence and Terence Smith, who signed with the Rebels on Wednesday.

J.T. Escobar, Marcanvis Hymon, Stefan Moody and Rauno Nurger signed during the fall.

Ole Miss is trying to bounce back from a disappointing 19-14 season, which ended without a trip to the postseason. Leading scorer Marshall Henderson is the only departing senior on the roster, but coach Andy Kennedy has made it clear there will be substantial changes.

Kennedy confirmed backup guard Derrick Millinghaus also will be leaving the team and that there would be other attrition. He said the roster situation was fluid.

"I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but my math will add up at 13 (scholarship players) when it's the right time," Kennedy said.

"We have a plan set up for each kid. That will become crystal clear for everybody pretty quickly."

Rhett is expected to help a frontcourt that was inconsistent last year with its rebounding and scoring production. League opponents outrebounded the Rebels by more than two per game.

Rhett and the newcomers join holdovers such as senior point guard Jarvis Summers, who averaged 17.3 points last season.

Ole Miss also has promising young forwards Anthony Perez and Sebastian Saiz. The 6-foot-9 Perez averaged 7.1 points per game last season while the 6-foot-9 Saiz was second on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game.

^ Back to Top ^