Yolett McPhee-McCuin has a pretty good idea of what it takes to build an NCAA Tournament basketball team.
She’s done it five consecutive years at Ole Miss, turning a program that once struggled to reach March Madness into one where postseason appearances have become the expectation.
But ask her what to expect from this year’s Rebels, and even she might shrug her shoulders.
“This is that kind of season where I don’t know either, so don’t ask me because I don’t know,” McPhee-McCuin said after Ole Miss’ 112-37 exhibition win against Lane College. “I’m learning as you’re learning.”
That’s not exactly the sort of preseason confidence fans might expect from a coach whose program has become a regular fixture in March Madness.
But it might be the most accurate assessment of where Ole Miss stands heading into the 2026-27 season.
There’s no shortage of talent on this roster. What there is, however, is a shortage of familiarity.
Nearly the entire team is new, and while several transfers arrived with impressive resumes, putting together talented players and building a talented team aren’t necessarily the same thing.
“This team has really good days and then has not-so-good days,” McPhee-McCuin said. “So, I expect until we learn how to be consistent for it to kind of reflect that way.”
The challenge goes beyond learning an offensive system or understanding defensive assignments.
Previous Ole Miss teams had experienced players who knew what McPhee-McCuin expected. They could demonstrate those standards in practice, hold teammates accountable and provide leadership when things weren’t going well.
This group doesn’t have that luxury.
“They have no one to look to and say, ‘OK, this is the standard. This is how we play,'” McPhee-McCuin said. “It’s pretty much a brand-new team, and so the leadership comes from pretty much the coaching staff, and we’re not on the floor.”
That makes the early portion of the season particularly important, especially with several newcomers being asked to take on significant roles right away.
Jada Richard, whom McPhee-McCuin identified as her No. 1 point guard, brings SEC experience and a competitive mentality. She also gives the Rebels someone capable of setting the tone offensively.
Kenesha Godfrey earned praise from her coach for her defense, while Richard pointed to the number of guards capable of handling the ball and pushing the tempo.
“We have a lot of guards, a lot of guards that can push the ball in transition,” Richard said. “That’s what we want to do. We want to get out and play fast.”
The exhibition also provided an encouraging number, with Ole Miss collecting 70 rebounds against Lane College.
But even that wasn’t enough to get McPhee-McCuin particularly excited.
“Shoutout to Lane College, man. I think everybody on their team is my height, so I don’t know if I’m going to be excited about them getting 70 rebounds, but the effort was there,” she said.
It’s a fair point. There’s only so much anyone can learn from an exhibition against an opponent with a significant size disadvantage.
McPhee-McCuin wanted to review the film before making any sweeping judgments about individual performances.
And with Monday’s season opener against Alcorn State approaching, her attention is firmly on the next game rather than what awaits several weeks down the schedule.
In fact, she admitted she had to ask who the Rebels play after Alcorn State.
It’s a day-by-day approach that could come with some uncomfortable lessons.
“Sometimes we kind of just have to let them play through that and work through that until they figure out what that standard is,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Sometimes we’ll figure that out through a loss.”
Ole Miss has reached a point where fans expect another NCAA Tournament appearance. McPhee-McCuin understands that, and she isn’t backing away from those expectations.
But the program’s reputation won’t automatically translate into wins for a group that is still learning how to play together.
The standard has already been established.
Now Team 52 has to figure out how to meet it.
