The departure of Nysier Brooks leaves a massive hole in the middle of the Ole Miss defense. The center played damn near 40 minutes a game out of necessity and played a major role defensively. To help fill that void, Kermit Davis has turned to grad transfer Jayveous McKinnis from Jackson State and Brandon, MS.
The 6-7 forward plays bigger than his size suggests thanks to his strength and athleticism. McKinnis started every game during his four year career in Jackson and was named the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year three times.
“Jayveous had a fantastic career at Jackson State,” Davis said. “He is an elite-level athlete. He was second in the nation in rebounding two years ago, and against us two seasons ago he had 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.”
McKinnis is 10th in the NCAA in career active Double Double leaders with 38 while averaging 10.4 points 9.7 rebounds 2.2 blocks and 1 steal over the course of his career. The only returning bigs are Jaemyn Brakefield and an injured Robert Allen. McKinnis will likely be the first big off the bench as a primary role this season as Brakefield and freshman Malique Ewin should be the starters.
Jayveous will join Robert Allen and fellow transfer Myles Burns as the seniors on roster as Coach Davis has 4 true freshman joining the program this fall.
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