2000-01 record: 27-8; 11-5 in SEC (1st in West) Final Ranking: No. 9 ESPN/USA Today Postseason: Lost to Arizona 66-56 in third round of NCAA Tournament. RETURNING LEADERS Points: Reed 11.0 ppg | Rebounds: Reed 5.9 rpg | Assists: Harrison 3.0 apg | FG %: Sanders 50.3% | 3pt %: Harrison 36.2% | FT %: Harrison 83.3% 00-01 Stats: Mississippi | SEC

		Tuesday, Nov. 6 Three Rebels went to Provine High School in Jackson, Miss., -- 2000 SEC Freshman of the Year Justin Reed, David Sanders and Aaron Harper -- all are outstanding athletes. And if the "Provine Posse" is back again and playing like they always have -- watch out. The question for Ole Miss is inside. Without Rahim Lockhart, the Rebels don't have enough quality players inside to make a serious run this year. They've got good athletes, but inside could end up biting them before it's over with.

Outlook
Rod Barnes won SEC Coach of the Year honors last season, and the school wisely moved to sweeten his deal before other programs got serious about stealing him away from his alma mater. Now all he has to do is follow the best season in school history.

Three starters are gone from the team that won 27 games, the SEC West and advanced to the final of the SEC tournament and Sweet 16 of the NCAAs. The leading man coming back is sophomore Justin Reed, who averaged 11 points and 5.9 rebounds, but also turned it over about three times for every assist. Look for Reed to assert himself as The Man this year.

Ole Miss made its hay with defense, and that doesn't figure to change while Barnes is coach. The Rebels were particularly tough on the perimeter, holding teams to 29.6 percent 3-point shooting and making 78 more 3s than the opposition.

Now Ole Miss just needs to make sure quarterback Eli Manning attends basketball games, because the crowds sure seem to follow him around. Last year the Rebels didn't bring in more than 5,600 fans for any non-conference game. This program would seem to deserve better than that.

What we like: Ole Miss opponents committed 227 more turnovers than they had assists last year. An astounding number.

What we don't like: Widebody Rahim Lockhart patrolled the post fiercely last year for this team. John Gunn is big (6-foot-10, 250 pounds) but brings precious little athleticism or offensive ability to the lineup. Who steps forward as this team's banger?

The bottom line: This glamor-deprived program remains underappreciated, despite a solid run under Rob Evans and now Barnes. The Rebels might still sneak up on a few teams looking for All-Americans but instead finding a tough and resourceful bunch of no-names.

Key Players Returning
Player	Yr.	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Justin Reed	So.	F	6-8/225	PTS: 11.0 | REB: 5.9 | AST: 0.9
Aaron Harper	So.	G/F	6-5/205	PTS: 9.2 | REB: 2.9 | AST: 2.0
Jason Harrison	Sr.	G	5-5/155	PTS: 7.1 | REB: 1.9 | AST: 3.0

Key Losses
Player	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Rahim Lockhart	F	6-8/255	PTS: 13.0 | REB: 8.1 | AST: 0.9
Jason Flanigan	G	6-1/180	PTS: 7.2 | REB: 3.1 | AST: 2.2

Mississippi Signings
Player	Pos.	Ht.	High School/College
Justin Johnson	G	6-0	Fayetteville, N.C./Seventy-First H.S.
Jonathan Loe	G	6-3	Memphis, Tenn./Bartlett H.S.
Mario Jointer	G	6-2	Jackson, Miss./Jim Hill H.S.
Chris Rhodes	F	6-7	Stafford, Texas/Houston Westbury Christian H.S.
Kendrick Fox	F/G	6-7	Oxford, Miss./Lafayette H.S.