Ole Miss’ SEC Tournament run ended just short of another game in Nashville, but head coach Chris Beard made it clear afterward that the story of this team goes beyond the final score. Sitting alongside seniors AJ Storr and Malik Dia, Beard reflected on a season defined by adversity, praised the leadership of his veterans, and emphasized the fight his team showed until the very end.
Here’s everything he said:
Opening Statement…
Does everybody need to stand up and stretch a little bit? Maybe do a couple of jumping jacks? When we meet with our team it’s eight to ten minutes before attention spans go away, so we’re about there after waiting quite a long time.
Normally in my years of college basketball the SID or media relations requests which players come up here, but tonight that was a special request from me. I wanted to be joined by these two guys. I want to be very clear about something. I really appreciate AJ Storr choosing to come play for us at Ole Miss. It wasn’t the season either of us envisioned, but AJ is one of the most misunderstood stories in college basketball. I’ve never coached a more loyal, poised, even-headed guy.
I feel like I know AJ as well as I could possibly know someone in a one-year setting because we went through everything together. There were a few highs — this weekend was a good run — and obviously some lows. But I’ve got a lot of respect for AJ. He’s going to play basketball as long as he wants to, until his body tells him otherwise. I really appreciate him and I’ll have his back forever.
Malik Dia, same thing. I appreciate Malik choosing our program two years ago when he had other options. At that time we weren’t coming off an NCAA Tournament or anything like that, but Malik believed in the vision. He was a huge part of our Sweet 16 team last year — arguably one of the best teams in Ole Miss history. I’ve got a lot of respect for Malik. I coached him hard and the outside world saw that, but don’t get it twisted: I always had his back and he always had mine.
From our first conversation in a coffee shop here in Nashville, Malik told me what he wanted out of basketball and out of life. I’m still as confident as ever that he’ll achieve whatever goals he sets. This season was a journey with a lot of ups and downs. Your true character comes out during adversity and we had our share of that. But the way we finished here speaks highly of everyone in our locker room, including these two seniors. I have a lot of respect for them.
Briefly on the game: we made more shots than the opponent, we made more threes than the opponent, and turnovers were about even. The glaring difference was the free-throw differential — 22 fouls to 10. We fouled twice intentionally at the end, so it was really closer to 20-10. That’s frustrating, but it also gives us a chance to learn this offseason — how we can get to the free-throw line more and how we can keep opponents off it. I thought our guys played with a lot of courage today. We played the game to win. We didn’t lose the game — we just ran out of time. AJ had two potential game-winners. He made one and another rimmed out. I wish we had one more minute.
On lasting memory of this team…
They didn’t quit.
You wake up one day and it’s your eight-year-old daughter’s birthday party. You’re sick, you don’t want to get out of bed, but you have to. On the way to work you get a speeding ticket. The clown you hired for the party cancels. Your boss wants to talk to you. You go out to the parking lot and your tire’s slashed. But you can’t quit. You’ve got to get to that birthday party. And when you get there, you can’t act like you had a bad day. You’ve got to put a smile on your face and make it happen. That’s what these guys did. They didn’t quit. Our fans know that. The national media probably just sees the scores and the record, but this team competed until the end.
The speech I gave them in the locker room after the game is one of the hardest things you do every season. Everyone has to give it except one team. Unless the confetti is falling on you, that season-ending speech is coming. Today was a different speech than I imagined giving this team. After the run we made here in Nashville, I’m just proud of them. There are lessons from this year they’ll carry with them — not just in basketball, but in life as husbands and fathers.
We didn’t lose today. We ran out of time. Big difference. We’re one inch away from sitting here preparing for the championship game tomorrow.
On potential interest in playing in NIT…
I haven’t even thought about that. This is the first time it’s been mentioned to me.
On team’s growth during SEC Tournament…
We just kept fighting.
After heartbreak or a loss, the next day we’d have a 10 a.m. film session. You walk into the gym and guys are already working on their game, shooting free throws, watching clips. Then you walk into the film room and there are 15 players sitting there ready to go back to work.
Two things matter in our program: mental toughness and physical toughness. The mental side is four times as important. These guys were mentally tough. Tough times pass. Tough people last. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a team embody that more than this one.
On carrying momentum into next season…
That’s a good question. I’m probably not in the mental space to fully answer it right now. But I know this — we’re going to support our players 100 percent. In college basketball guys make decisions about whether to return, go elsewhere, or pursue pro opportunities. Those will be conversations we have. Our seniors, including AJ and Malik, we’ll support fully in their professional paths. Our relationship with these players is just getting started. Whether we coach them next year or not, we’ll have their backs for the rest of our lives.
On message to Ole Miss fans…
First thing is thank you. Attendance this year — the season ticket holders, the students — was tremendous. We had a lot of people travel here to Nashville. I saw a lot of students here. Thank you to the community and to our administration, Chancellor Boyce and Keith Carter.
You really learn about relationships when you go through tough times, and our fan base was nothing but supportive this year. We’re going to keep building this program. We’re just getting started. Over the next two months we’ll work to put the roster together, and over the next 11 months we’ll work to put ourselves in position so that next year, no matter what happens here in Nashville, this won’t be our last tournament of the season.
