As you may have noticed from all of the Stephen Curry highlights on Sportscenter, basketball is back. And while Ole Miss' 2015 season doesn't officially get underway until next week, you'll have a chance to get a sneak peak as they take the floor Thursday night for an exhibition against Division II Clayton State.
What's that? You have a few questions? Well I guessed what they were and went ahead and answered them!
Where can I watch this thing?
On the internet! WatchESPN.com will be live streaming the game at 6 p.m. CT.
So this is like, a practice a game?
Yea, it doesn't count towards the standings or anything. The actual season starts next Friday (Nov. 13) at home against Northwestern State. This exhibition as mainly a nice excuse for Stefan Moody to embarrass a bunch of dudes who aren't nearly as good at basketball as he is.
Oh yea, that Moody dude is supposed to be the shit, right?
Indeed he his. Moody, who averaged 18.6 points per SEC game and shot 90 percent from the charity stripe during his first season in Oxford, is the conference's leading returning scorer. He's on the preseason All-SEC first team and came in at No. 51 in ESPN's top 100 players in college hoops. Sebastian Saiz and Martavious Newby join him as the three returning starters from last year's NCAA Tourney team.
What new faces should I keep an eye on?
The most significant newcomer is JUCO transfer Sam Finley, who's expected to step in for departed four-year starter Jarvis Summers at the point. Yes, Summers failed to live up to expectations in his senior year, but replacing a guy who scored 1,629 career points and played the second most games of any player in school history isn't an easy task.
Finley, who started his college career at UC-Riverside, isn't the only former D1 transfer: Polish national player Tomasz Gielo is a graduate transfer from Liberty.
Is Clayton State any good?
Last season, they went 15-12 overall with an 8-11 record in whatever the hell the Peach Belt Conference is (it's actually supposed to be one of the toughest DII hoops conferences). This season, the conference's preseason coaches poll picked them to finish ninth out of 14 teams. Clayton State is also breaking in a new head coach after Paul Harrison jumped ship just two years into his tenure and swam for an assistant job at Bucknell.
So even among DII schools, Clayton State is solidly mediocre.