Rebels basketball coach Kermit Davis addressed the media Thursday before his team's upcoming foreign tour.
OXFORD – Ole Miss Basketball coach Kermit Davis had taken the podium as an Ole Miss basketball coach several times before, but as he sat down in front of the gathered media at the Tuohy Center Thursday, he finally was on the precipice of coaching an actual game.
The Rebels basketball team is headed to Canada Saturday for its foreign tour Aug. 5-9.
It will be head coach Kermit Davis' first opportunity to evaluate his new team in a game setting since Ole Miss hired him in March. The Rebels will take on four different Canadian teams (McGill, Concordia, Carleton and Ottawa) in their five-day trip through Montreal and Ottawa.
The foreign tour, which the NCAA allows basketball teams to go on once every four years, comes with the bonus of 10 extra days of practice over the summer. Before practice Thursday, Davis discussed the upcoming trip and the development of his team.
Davis and the Ole Miss coaching staff opted for a condensed tour, squeezing four games and team bonding at an amusement park into five days in order to avoid cutting their recruiting efforts short and give the players a chunk of time off before classes start.
As for their opponents, Davis expects them to test the Rebels.
McGill went 26-12 last season and beat Concordia in the RSEQ championship game.
Because of the summer trip, Ole Miss had to alter its approach to preseason. It had to be ready to put something on the court, polished or not.
He said he's confident that will pay off once they hit preseason games in October and November.
Don't be fooled by his pleasant demeanor. One thing the Rebels will soon learn about Davis, if they haven't already, is that he's serious about limiting things like defensive breakdowns and turnovers.
He harped on it in his press conference as well, bringing up the work senior Terence Davis has to put in to return to making the simple plays, not the spectacular.
Kermit Davis said he plans to play a lot of combinations in Canada as he continues to learn about his new team.