Ole Miss reached the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history.<\/p>\n
Storr started his career at St. John\u2019s. Last season at Kansas he averaged 6.1 points after putting up 16.8 as a sophomore at Wisconsin. The addition of Storr<\/a> helps off-set the scoring lost following the departures of Sean Pedulla, Matthew Murrell, Dre Davis and others.<\/p>\n Beard touched on Dia, Ole Miss\u2019 SEC schedule and more in his 10-minute-plus sit-down with local media. Here\u2019s everything he had to say.<\/p>\n ON IF OLE MISS IS WHERE HE WANTS THEM TO BE<\/p>\n Beard: No. Never where I want it to be. I think, overall, John Raybon, trainer, did a great job this summer. Above and beyond. Had some guys banged up. What he did with Koren [Johnson, Louisville transfer] was really impressive.\u00a0<\/p>\n But a lot of things in that training room. Young guys get here and they\u2019ve just got to adjust. Like all teams, we\u2019ve got some nickel and dime stuff, but that was impressive this summer. Raybon asks a lot of them. He basically runs an NBA training room philosophy. So, that was a victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n I mean, the summer is [Ole Miss strength and conditioning coach] John Reilly time. That\u2019s the priority. We kind of set it, your master calendar, kind of in the fall. The academic piece is always a priority \u2018cause class times. Guys got to take that class to graduate. That class is at 11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It\u2019s where it always kind of starts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then you start getting into, obviously, games, practice times [and] this and that off the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beard: But in the summer, it\u2019s John Reilly time.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s what we call it. Remember those Miller time commercials? This is John Reilly time, so he\u2019s the priority, and we try to get the guys as fresh as we possibly can before we play the intrasquads. But other than that, it\u2019s John.\u00a0<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t sacrifice anything in the strength and conditioning in terms of when the next practice is. It\u2019s OK if we\u2019re sore from time to time \u2014 shooting or film study or something like that. So, John Reilly, I thought he did a really good summer. We took some weight off some guys. We put some weight on some guys. We\u2019ve changed some mental habits. We\u2019ve changed some nutritional habits.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, that\u2019s where it always kind of starts from a player development standpoint \u2014 the training room, the weight room and the conditioning. Had a good summer academically. Made all As and Bs as a group except for one class. We didn\u2019t get it done, but it wasn\u2019t for a lack of effort. Basketball-wise, just a work in progress.<\/p>\n Beard: The way we coach is we\u2019ve got 15 players and we\u2019ve got a plan for those 15 guys.\u00a0<\/p>\n We talk about it, we stress it, we focus on it [and] we\u2019re really obsessed with it on a daily basis. These 15 guys getting better, executing a plan, constant evaluation, accountability. That\u2019s really where it kind of starts. In theory, if all 15 guys are playing as well as they can, our team\u2019s probably going to be OK. At the same time, we\u2019re always thinking about the offensive side of the ball. It\u2019s always ball security, spacing, balance. Don\u2019t talk a lot about scoring or points per game or nothing like that, especially in the summer. But we made some strides. We\u2019re getting some things done.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a new way to play for some guys. I think we did well. Defensively, you know, that\u2019s the bread and butter. That\u2019s where we invest most of our time in the summer. It starts by just simple coaching. If I had a chance to coach a team in the Peach Jam and only had five minutes with them in the parking lot before the game I would probably identify that we got to get back on defense. We\u2019ve got to finish possessions with blockouts. Those are what we call the bookends.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Beard: Nothing\u2019s more important all the way to the last game of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n You take care of the bookends, you\u2019re going to be in the game. You don\u2019t take care of the bookends, that\u2019s going to be a hard 40-minute deal for you. In between the bookends, you know, obviously ball-screen defense, our punches, our adjustments, our post defense. Are we going to deny? Are we going to be in the gaps? There\u2019s a lot of things in between those bookends.<\/p>\n Summertime, not so much. More quality over quantity, but we spend a lot of time on those bookends \u2014 trying to get back and trying to get a rebound. Third thing would just be our culture. Just trying to figure out who we are and making sure the guys understand the non-negotiables. I can sit around and talk to these guys about a lot of things. I\u2019ll even consider their point of view from time to time, especially the older guys. But there\u2019s a few things in our program that are just non-negotiables. There\u2019s nothing to talk about; this is what we\u2019re going to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n Certainly the relationship piece. Today\u2019s a great day. Just spending all day with the players. We\u2019re going to end tonight on Sardis Lake.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beard: So, yeah, good summer. Met my expectations? No. Pleased? I don\u2019t know.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s just the urgency involved. Every day, just on a good day, you just want to stack it. And on a day that came up a little bit short, you\u2019ll never get it back. But, overall, very appreciative of the guys\u2019 buy-in this summer \u2014 their time, their investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s not easy to play at Ole Miss. We tell recruits that all the time, but it\u2019s not easy to win. It\u2019s not easy to win in life. It\u2019s not easy. This is not an easy life. It\u2019s not the way deals set up if you want to be elite. So, I\u2019ve always recognized, especially as I get a little bit older each year, we ask our guys to do a lot physically and mentally in the summer. It\u2019s the biggest gift I can give them, \u2018cause you want to advance to the NCAA Tournament and you want those guys when it\u2019s all over to thank you. I\u2019ve never had a player really thank me after a disappointing deal. But you\u2019re going to get those thank yous when you win, and winning is not easy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n ON BEARD CHALLENGING OLE MISS STAR MALIK DIA<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SnapInsta.to_509621391_18516094765008222_6617084539151642042_n-1024x575.jpg\")
Ole Miss basketball strength and conditioning coach John Reilly (Photo credit: Ole Miss Basketball\/Instagram)<\/p>\n