Malik Dia embraces leadership role in Ole Miss return

Malik Dia officially announced his return to Ole Miss basketball the same day the Rebels secured their first transfer commitment for next season.

Third-year head coach Chris Beard and staff went on to build out a roster of three returners, eight transfer and three Top 100 recruits. But retaining Dia, who had options in the portal and professionally, was inarguably one of the off-season’s biggest developments.

The former Belmont and Vanderbilt transfer started all 36 games in his debut as a Rebel and averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

“It’s kind of shocking, but it’s kind of the way it is,” Dia said of the remade Ole Miss roster. “March or April when the season was over, coach Beard brought me into his office and basically said, ‘It’s time to raise the level coming back as a returner.’ There’s just another level I had to take it with maturity and learning from the seniors and the guys from last year.

“Basically, I’m a work in progress, but I’m just trying to stack days every single day and be a good leader for these guys. Understanding what it takes to win at the level that we do. Not only that, keep going.”

Ole Miss last season won 24 games.

The Rebels matched the program’s greatest-ever single-season accomplishment in reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Dia, sophomore Eduardo Klafke, now-scholarshipped guard Zach Day and walk-on Max Smith are back.

The Rebels’ transfer class was ranked Top 20 in the country by On3.

Dia averaged 24.3 minutes in Ole Miss’ three NCAA Tournament games and scored 11 against Michigan State. He shot 64 percent from the floor this season, including 35 percent from 3-point range.

“We’ve done an unbelievable job changing the direction of Ole Miss basketball,” Dia said after the Sweet 16 loss to the Spartans. “I know we’re not a big brand like Kentucky, Duke or Michigan State, but what we’ve done this year with coach Beard, he’s changed the program. Not just him, but these players.”

The included Ole Miss basketball practice photos were provided by Ole Miss Athletics.