The good news for Ole Miss is that Ilias Kamardine just picked up something every coach in the country wants for their best players: another year of eligibility.
The timing is great for him, and honestly, he’s earned it. In his first season of college basketball, he’s been one of the few steady bright spots on a team that hasn’t had many. 11 points per game and nearly four assists. (News first reported by Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.)
NEWS: The NCAA has approved a waiver granting Ole Miss guard Ilias Kamardine an additional year of eligibility, a source tells DraftExpress.
The 22-year-old Frenchman—averaging 11.3 PPG and 3.9 APG—was initially cleared for just one season. Now, has the option for a second. pic.twitter.com/q4FXK1Hajj
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) February 27, 2026
There’s still growing and adjusting to basketball on this continent and he might be better suited for a shooting guard role. But he’s played well this season. That includes 26 points in a double‑overtime game at LSU that matched his season high, carrying the offense for long stretches, and looking every bit like a player you can build around.
But this is college basketball in 2026, and the obvious question hangs over all of it: Will that extra year be spent in Oxford?
A year ago, Ole Miss was in the Sweet Sixteen for just the second time in program history. Today, it’s sitting at 11-17, tied for last in the SEC, riding a 10‑game losing streak after once being 3-2 in league play.
That kind of season doesn’t just test a locker room. It tests the roster itself.
Players who produce, players who show upside, players who look like they could take a leap are the exact players who get poached in the portal era. Kamardine fits that profile.
He’s been solid, he’s been durable, and he’s been one of the few reasons Ole Miss has stayed competitive in games that could’ve gotten away. That’s the kind of résumé that draws attention, especially when the team around him is struggling to keep pace.
None of this means he’s gone. Sometimes a tough season pushes a player to stay and help fix it. Sometimes the relationships matter more than the record. Sometimes a guy wants to finish what he started. But the reality is that Ole Miss hasn’t been the belle of ball this season and eyes tend wonder in times like this.
So yes, the extra year is a win for Kamardine. It gives him more time to grow, more time to showcase himself, more time to shape his career.
The question now is whether that growth happens in Oxford or somewhere else. And with the way this season has gone, that answer may depend less on him and more on what Ole Miss does next to convince him it’s worth staying.
