Terrico White

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A few notes and thoughts from Ole Miss' 84-65 NIT first-round win over Troy ...

Terrico White went off and played like you've seen him play before but haven't seen him play enough. "We'd like to see him do that every night, but maybe he's just not ready," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said.

For Ole Miss to be the best team it can be - not this year necessarily but next year - White needs to get ready and needs to become something closer to the 27-point phenom he was last night. This is assuming, of course, that White returns for a junior season. I think he will, but you never know in these cases. One more game like last night's, particularly if it comes against his hometown school Memphis Friday, and he might think he's ready.

Part of White's success last night had to do with the confidence that comes when you know you're just physically better than the guy across from you. White had a significant edge in height and hops against most of the players trying to guard him. ...

As a whole the Rebels looked looser and more within themselves last night. Maybe the pressure of trying to play their way into the SEC tournament was off.

There was some excitement on Troy's part and a good support system with some students who traveled to Oxford, their band, cheerleaders and a mascot who did a fine job in spite of not having Col. Reb, Admiral Ackbar or anyone else to play with.

Troy hung around early, beat the Rebels down the floor and took some quick shots before the defense got set, but ultimately the Rebels settled in. After a slow start the Rebels shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the second half, 38.5 for the game. They had a 47-32 edge on the glass, got 18 of those rebounds on the offensive end and had 26 second-chance points. ...

Chris Warren scored 16 points, about his average. He was more impressive with his overall floor game, however, in which he had five rebounds, six assists, two steals and no turnovers. ...

I thought the play of Eniel Polynice was a bright spot. Polynice had a very productive nine minutes in the first half with a basket, two rebounds, an assist and no turnovers. He appeared to be working very hard to play under control and play within the framework of the team.

I was surprised to see that he played only two minutes in the second half, and Kennedy was very guarded in his comments about Polynice afterward. “I wanted to get him in. He was the first guard off the bench. You could tell he didn't look very comfortable. He'll continue to get his opportunities,” Kennedy said.

I didn't think Polynice looked too uncomfortable. I'm thinking that Kennedy, who is very honest and open with us in his assessment of players, wants to take Polynice's re-entry into the atmosphere very slowly. That's not a bad thing. If Polynice quit the team before seeking to return - no one has confirmed that - he doesn't need to return too quickly to his earlier status. A certain comfort level within that status led to some poor decisions and ball-handling. Last night was a good start in Polynice's return, however. He could certainly be helpful against a more athletic Memphis team Friday at 5:30.