Ole Miss basketball 2015: Who's gone, who's back and who's new?

The Ole Miss basketball team has a new motto for this season, "Names change, expectations don't."

If you haven't looked at the roster since Ole Miss' loss to Xavier in the NCAA tournament back in March you're in for a bit of a surprise; head coach Andy Kennedy had to replace SEVEN contributors from last year's team. Yes, names have absolutely changed.

But don't be alarmed, Ole Miss fan. In his nine seasons at Ole Miss, AK has shown an innate ability to fill a roster with a bunch of seemingly unknown players and make it competitive. If they want to meet those expectations this season, he's going to have to do more of the same.

So who is going to replace those seven contributors? Is there anybody left from last year's team?

The guards

Who's gone?

Jarvis Summers, LaDarius White, and Terrence Smith have all graduated and take a ton of game experience with them. Summers was Andy Kennedy's second consecutive four-year-starter at point guard, White finished his career just 36 points shy of the millennium mark, and Terrence Smith was more-than-serviceable as a backup to Summers. Ole Miss is going to miss their athleticism, but more importantly, Ole Miss is really going to miss their experience.

Who's returning?

Even the most casual of SEC fans know how important Stefan Moody is to this basketball team. The senior guard underwent surgery this off-season but looked just as explosive as he was in 2014-15 in last week's exhibition game.

Martavious Newby returns with a ton of experience under his belt. He isn't exactly a major scoring threat but he is an elite defender who has played in 84 games in his first three years at Ole Miss.

Who's new?

Sam Finley and J.T. Escobar are both fighting for the starting role left behind by Jarvis Summers.

Finley averaged 17 points per game in Junior College a year ago and was the Big West Conference's Sixth Man of the Year in 2014 while playing for UC-Riverside. Escobar comes by way of Elev8 Prep in Delray Beach, Fla. where he averaged 15 points per game. Both appear to be capable scores but we won't really know what they can do at this level until they play a few games while leading this team at the point.

Rasheed Brooks was NJCAA first team All-American after averaging 14 points per game for Southwest Tennessee Community College and looks to fill the role left behind by LaDarius White.

Freshman Terence Davis averaged 22 points and 8 rebounds per game as a senior at Southaven High School. Davis is a raw talent but he is a freak of an athlete who can help immediately on the defensive side of the ball.

The forwards

Who's gone?

The biggest surprise on last year's team, besides Stefan Moody, was M.J. Rhett. Though his numbers don't quite jump off the page, the fifth-year-senior had a great mid-range game and played his best basketball late in the year.

Dwight Coleby is the unexpected absence on this year's roster. The sophomore showed flashes a year ago but never was able to break through and be a major contributor. To put the cherry on top of an already odd story, Coleby transferred from Ole Miss to Kansas. Yes, THE Kansas,

Aaron Jones was never the same after he tore his ACL in 2013.

Who's returning?

Ole Miss needs Sebastian Saiz to take the next step this season as they are going to rely on him heavily for production. The junior from Spain has gained some weight in the offseason, which should help him play a more physical game on the block. That physicality down low is something Ole Miss lacked a year ago.

Anthony Perez has shown flashes of being great but has yet to put it all together. This team needs him to elevate his game and become a consistent contributor if it wants to have major success this season. For what it's worth, Perez scored 23 and 26 points, respectively, in games against Iowa State and UCF this summer while playing for the Venezuelan national team.

Expect to see an increased role for Marcanvius Hymon this season. The sophomore did, however, struggle in last week's exhibition, fouling out after just 10 minutes of action.

Terry Brutus will be back on the floor at some point this season but, for the time being, he is nursing yet another unfortunate injury.

Who's new?

Tomasz Gielo only played in seven games for Liberty University a year ago before his season was cut short by a non-surgical stress fracture. The stretch-four averaged 12 points per game and 6 rebounds per game in that time for the Flames while shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc.

As a result of the unfamiliarity of the roster it's hard to really get a grasp on how good this team may or may not be this year. It's clear, though, that Ole Miss needs big contributions from it's newcomers if they're going to go back to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years.