Ole Miss basketball dealt with a stinging loss on Wednesday as guard Travis Perry announced his decision to enter the transfer portal yet again.
Securing Perry from the transfer portal last season was considered Beard's biggest portal win. Now it's about to turn into a major loss as the Rebels lose their roster's best pure shooter.
His 5.3 PPG average doesn’t scream 'superstar,' but his team-high 48 made threes and elite 88% free-throw shooting were a spacing threat that nobody else on the bench could replicate. That makes replacing him that much tougher.
His performance in Rebels' 76-72 win over Georgia in the SEC Tournament highlighted the best of him as the Eddyville, KY native hit four of his nine three-point shots and scored 16 points.
How Travis Perry entering transfer portal affect Ole Miss squad
Perry's announcement makes Beard's transfer portal talley out of Ole Miss go up to six.
Ole Miss basketball roster tracker: Who's staying, leaving, and joining the Rebels
Beard is already coming off the severe gut punch of losing Eduardo Klafke, Corey Chest, and more to the transfer portal. the squad was already losing out on their top scorers in AJ Sorr and Malik Dia wrapping up their college careers.
Plus, Beard lost a good amount of his safety net scorers in the transfer portal with the previous portal entries. Perry's announcement sets off the alarm for the Rebels to start aggressively chasing their top prospects, or they might not have enough scorers or veterans to get them through the next season.
Of course, Ilias Kamardine's return provides some relief, but dumping the entire package of expectations to carry the team as the veteran solely on Kamardine would be a recipe for another disaster.
The Rebels are yet to get any major transfer portal win this season, and they only have until April 21 to get any.