The University of Mississippi Athletics
FLASHBACK FEATURE: Remembering 1997 and 1998 Ole Miss Hoops
12/1/2017 | Men's Basketball
By Brian Scott Rippee, OleMissSports.com
The 1997-98 Ole Miss basketball teams will be honored at halftime of Saturday's game against Virginia Tech at The Pavilion. The Rebels made the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history during that time.
The group embodied the blue-collar mentality of head coach Rob Evans. Keith Carter was a guard on those two teams and described them as group of under-recruited guys who came together as a unit to maximize their abilities.
"We got everything out of our ability," Carter said. "We loved playing together and had a guy leading us that we all believed in."
Evans remembers his peers warning him about taking the job at Ole Miss, saying it was hard to win.
"I was told not to take the job," Evans said. "I was told 'you could take John Wooden and Dr. Naismith and you still can't win at Ole Miss. It is a graveyard.' I believed I could. There was never a doubt in my mind."
After four seasons with marginal results, the program began to turn the corner in 1997. The Rebels won 20 games, won the SEC West and knocked off 5th-ranked Kentucky at home. The team made the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history.
"Coach Evans threw some of us young guys in the fire, and we kind of took some lumps," Carter recalled. "Towards the end of the season, we started playing better. We came back in 1997 with some energy and excitement. We played really well. We won some big games. That was the year we beat Kentucky at home. We built a lot of confidence that year."
Carter was second in scoring on both NCAA Tournament teams behind Ansu Sesay, who blossomed into a prolific scorer and defender for the Rebels under Evans.
"He was the best player I have ever played with," Carter said. "He just did it all for us. Having him develop from a guy that was not highly recruited to a guy that got better each year, he was a bonafide superstar by the time he left Ole Miss."
The Rebels were beaten in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament by Temple. The group raised their expectations for the 1998 season.
"I think the first year our goal was just to get there. Internally and subliminally that was our goal," Carter said. "We didn't show up and did not play well that day against Temple "The second year we had an expectation we were going to not only get in, but make a run."
In 1998, Ole Miss was ranked as high as 10th in the country and beat the eventual national champion Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena. It was the first time the Rebels had won there since 1925.
"Ole Miss hadn't won there since 1925," Evans said. "I told my team after the game, they can't say that now. I felt like my guys had a tremendous amount of confidence that year and during that time."
The team really embodied the blue-collar mindset Evans brought. Evans remembers one instance in which they arrived back at Tad Smith Coliseum from Christmas break and the heater had not been turned on. It was so cold, they could see their breath in the building. Evans tried to cancel practice. The players had other ideas.
"I finally told those guys we can't work out today," Evans said. "They said 'no coach we are working out.' They put gloves on and ski caps on and worked out. That is the type of team they were."
The practices were physical. Evans wanted his team to be tough, and they bought into that philosophy.
"The games were a lot easier than practice because they were a very physical group," Evans said. "No easy baskets given and a lot of physical play. That is the way I wanted it. I wanted those guys to play like I played. Tough and physical. They took on that challenge."
The 1996-97 and 1997-98 teams laid the foundation for one of the most successful stretches in Ole Miss Basketball history. The program made the NCAA Tournament three consecutive years and then made a Sweet 16 trip in 2001. Most of the faces from the 1997 and 1998 teams were gone, but they were well aware of the foundation they built.
"That group of guys did a great job of getting to the second weekend where we had never been before and taking our brand to the next level," Carter said. "We wanted them to go as far as they could go. It was one of those deals where it was a magical period of Ole Miss Basketball. There were a lot of people who played a part in that."
This reunion will be a special one for these teams. Many of them will be seeing The Pavilion for the first time. Evans will get to reconnect with some of his old players. He says it is the closest-knit group he has ever coached.
"There is not a holiday or birthday that goes by where I do not hear from all of them," Evans said. "It is very gratifying."
For Carter, he's most excited about Evans being honored as Ole Miss' 2018 SEC Legend. A man that took Ole Miss Basketball to heights it had never been.
"None of this would have been possible without him," Carter said. "He was the mastermind that got this group together and kept this group together. He came in with not a lot of resources and things going for him. He fought through it and made it a lot of fun for a lot of people."