It wasn’t that long ago that Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy was pumping Murphy Holloway as a player of the year candidate in the SEC.
Things have changed and not for the better. There’s plenty of time for things to change again, and Ole Miss needs more out of Murphy Holloway during the stretch run.
Ole Miss senior power forward Murphy Holloway.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Holloway have a big game tomorrow night against South Carolina. There’s a lot of personal incentive, playing near his Irmo, S.C., home for starters, but also the uniqueness of Holloway’s double transfer, leaving Ole Miss to go to South Carolina, then transferring back to Ole Miss.
Holloway knows a lot of players on the team, though there’s a new sheriff in town for the Gamecocks, Frank Martin. Highly successful at Kansas State, Martin coached with Kennedy at Cincinnati before that time.
Holloway’s rebound numbers have been in decline, and Ole Miss has struggled to out-rebound opponents as a result and in fact was taken to the woodshed on the glass by Missouri on the road and by Georgia at home.
If Holloway can figure out a way to get to the glass while opponents scheme to keep him away from it, his rebounds will increase, and so will his points. He’s had only two offensive rebounds over the last three games.
For a team that was identified by its frontcourt experience when the season began, it might take that to break the NCAA tournament drought.
Denham Springs, La., native, Mississippian since 1989 with a stop in Meridian before arriving in Tupelo. Daily Journal beat writer since 1996, covering Ole Miss since 2002. Proud Northeast Louisiana alum. Follow me on Twitter @parrishalford and listen to Kory Keys and myself daily with The Ole Miss Beat on Rebel Sports Radio.
