Three things I know and three things I think I know

Three things I know. Three things I think I know...

THREE THINGS I KNOW

1. The Kermit Davis era is about to close

There's just no way Kermit Davis can keep his job beyond this season. The Rebels are currently tied for dead last in the SEC standings and, if we're being totally honest, there is one and at most two more chances for a league victory. Davis is a great guy and has represented Ole Miss basketball well, but as far as being competitive, this team is not. They play hard, but that's about it. His failure to recruit a scorer or two more into the Pavilion is costing him dearly. Keith Carter put all his eggs into the basket of Davis' recruiting class last year, and while it looked OK on paper, it has not translated to success on the floor. I expect we are just weeks away from Carter correcting the course of Ole Miss hoops.

2. The Ole Miss women are going dancing

At 17-4 and 6-2 inside the conference (and with a lot more winnable games in front of them), the Ole Miss women will punch their ticket to the Big Dance for the second straight year in just a few weeks. This team is better than last year's squad, because when the game is on the line there is no Shakira Austin to have to turn to. Instead, it has been a steady rotation of capable shooters and rebounders and defenders making the necessary waves for the Rebels. Look at the box scores. It's almost impossible to predict who will step up big on any given night. The bench is deep and talented and that will take Ole Miss far in the postseason.

3. A quarterback battle is coming

Jaxson Dart is here. Spencer Sanders is here. Walker Howard is here. It all adds up to perhaps the best and deepest quarterbacks room in the country. Yes, Dart is the returning starter, but is he established? It is difficult to argue that he is, given Lane Kiffin's QB portal activities. Is he the favorite? I'd say yes, considering he just put an entire season into the running of the offense (and did quite well, in my opinion). But Spencer Sanders did not come to Ole Miss to hold a clipboard, and Kiffin has said he doesn't ideally favor a two-quarterback system. When spring practice rolls around, there will be a healthy competition at quarterback. And don't just write Walker Howard off as simply the future. The future is constantly arriving.

THREE THINGS I THINK I KNOW

1. Baseball is ready for its defense

Ole Miss baseball is the national champion. How does that strike you heading into a new season? The Rebels did lose a lot of talent off of last year's magical team, but they aren't coming into a new season empty handed. Pitching ace Hunter Elliot is back. So, too, is shortstop Jacob Gonzalez. So many guys who played instrumental roles down the stretch return. I don't think there will be a slow start for college baseball's defending champion. I also don't believe there will be a mid-season slump that made 2022's ending so sweet. These guys will be solid and they'll play that way from cold, cold February to hot and steamy June.

2. Pete Golding will make a difference

Pete Golding comes to Ole Miss from Alabama where he had some pretty darn good defenses. Get ready for the same in Oxford. Now, we're not pretending he has the talent level at Ole Miss that he did at Alabama, but he is working on it. Just watch the recruiting trail. Ole Miss has offered just about every four-star or better defensive lineman it has bumped into on the recruiting trail, a sure sign that Golding is preparing to load up his coffers. The improvement, though, will be immediate and severe. And once he gets his players on the defensive side of the football, watch out.

3. Mississippi is alive

Remember a few years back when the word was Lane Kiffin didn't value the quality of football players inside the state? It might have been a soft rumble, but it was a rumble. I'd be willing to bet that over the course of the last few weeks there isn't a traveling salesman or campaigning politcian anywhere in the Magnolia State that has seen as many one-horse towns in Mississippi as Kiffin. Yes, the 2024 class inside the state is loaded and Kiffin is going to go where the players are. In this upcoming cycle, a lot of them are right here at home.