Andy Kennedy and the rest of his Ole Miss basketball crew hauled in their highest rated recruiting class this past cycle. The recruiting class features four-star guard Devontae Shuler and Memphis grad transfer Markel Crawford.
Bill Armstrong was a key factor in this Ole Miss basketball recruiting class. He was instrumental in landing Parker Stewart, a three-star shooting guard. Naturally, Armstrong left for LSU.
Several weeks ago it was leaked that Stewart was asking to be released from his letter of intent. In the weeks since, there have been several reports both contrasting and agreeing with the initial leak. Some stated the staff was not aware of his request, while others disagreed quite frankly.
Earlier this morning ESPN’s Jeff Goodman tweeted that Stewart had finally received an unconditional release from his LOI.
Various other reporters were quick to confirm this.
More from Ole Miss Basketball
- Ole Miss Basketball: Auburn Transfer Forward Flanigan commits to the Rebels
- Ole Miss Basketball: Rebels land another top player from the transfer portal
- Ole Miss Basketball: Chris Beard lands a pair of highly-rated recruits
- Ole Miss basketball lands Western Kentucky transfer Jamarion Sharp
- Ole Miss Basketball gets another transfer, Arizona St. guard Austin Nunez
So what exactly will Ole Miss be losing? Stewart is a combo guard with a knack for the three ball. Parker would have brought much-needed versatility to the Rebels.
In today’s game versatility is a must, as so many teams have turned to small ball. Players simply must be able to guard multiple positions.
Ole Miss is quickly losing bodies at the guard spots. The transfer of Cullen Neal coupled with losing Stewart has thinned depth at the shooting guard position.
The overload of guards has now been trimmed to a normal depth. The Rebels still have Deandre Burnett and Breein Tyree. In addition to these two the rebels will add Shuler and Crawford to the back-court.
Ole Miss has also announced the signing of a foreign combo guard from the Ukraine. Illya Tyrtyshnik is rated as one of Europe’s top 2017 guards.
Losing Stewart will sting, but it will not be a crippling blow to Kennedy’s squad.