Basketball Commitments

Within the past week or so, the basketball program has seen two players decide to sign with us. Both will see their first action in the 2010-2011 season, but the circumstances of the two are quite different.

Nick Williams didn't fit the style of play in Bloomington, Indiana and decided to find a more athletic team to join. Andy Kennedy's up and down the court teams impressed Williams, causing him to choose the Rebels over the hometown Crimson Tide and a few other schools.

Williams had offers from Indiana, Ole Miss, Marquette, and Arkansas out of high school but chose the Hoosiers. In this interview, his AAU coach says Williams is bigger and can do more things than Dwayne Wade. Yeah. And Julian Whitehead runs a 4.3. It's amazing what high school coaches are willing to say.

Andy Kennedy has called Williams the best transfer in the history of Ole Miss basketball. I'm sure he studied our past transfers a good bit before making this statement. He would never act before thinking. That's not the Andy Kennedy I know.

The fact of the matter is that Williams was the fourth leading scorer on a terrible Indiana team. Maybe he didn't fit the system, but you expect more than that out of a shooting guard who averages 26 minutes a game. He may end up being great, but I'm not going into this expecting much.

Dundrecous Nelson is a more exciting prospect in my opinion. The video that was up on YouTube 2 days ago but has since been taken down is impressive. His best attribute is his speed, which appears to be on a different level than everyone on the court. I'm sure Chris Warren is faster, but not by much.

Nelson had offers from Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, and Mississippi State. He apparently excels on offense and struggles some on defense (much like Warren), but I'm still happy to have him.

Also, his class of 2011 teammate, isn't too bad. Maybe Nelson helps us with that. Even if he doesn't, though, he's worth a scholarship.