Hugh Kellenberger

The Clarion-Ledger

OXFORD -- It is Aug. 12, and the Ole Miss men's basketball program is still down one assistant coach.

It's an unusual situation, certainly, and also not a well-kept secret regarding coach Andy Kennedy's reasons for leaving a staff position open past summer workouts, the July AAU tournaments and a team trip overseas.

And while not mentioning the principal figures -- five-star forward Skal Labissiere and guardian Gerald Hamilton -- once, Kennedy acknowledged today what is going on.

"You guys are pretty smart," Kennedy said. "You probably realize what I'm doing, if it evolves like I want it to."

"It" is an attempt to get Labissiere, a native of Haiti who lives in Olive Branch and plays at Evangelical Christian School in Memphis, to sign with Ole Miss, to sign with Ole Miss for the class of 2015. And if that happens, that third assistant job just may end up being Hamilton's.

It's completely legal within NCAA rules, but certainly not routine. It's a home run play, and also may be working -- Kentucky, Memphis and North Carolina are the other primary suitors for Labissiere, and when has Ole Miss ever recruited against those schools in basketball? When has Ole Miss ever had a chance to sign a five-star prospect? Jelan Kendrick was rated that highly, but was also clearly damaged goods by the time he transferred to Ole Miss.

This is a different deal -- Labissiere is 6-foot-11, is already a rim protector on the defensive end and is just as comfortable running the floor and shooting out to the 3-point line on offense. That's a skill set combination that screams NBA, and a potential program-changer for Ole Miss as it opens up the Pavilion and pursues more than just once-in-a-decade NCAA tournament appearances.

Kennedy is willing to wait this long, he said, because for the moment he does have a third assistant coach. Todd Abernethy was hired in June to a newly-created position as "coordinator of recruiting development." It's a non-coaching staff role, one Ole Miss has never had before. Abernethy quickly got Ole Miss into the game with a pair of highly-regarded 2016 prospects from Indianapolis, and is the "point guy" for several recruits.

Abernethy was promoted at some point this summer to be the third assistant coach, alongside holdover Bill Armstrong and first-year coach Tony Madlock, in workouts, on the recruiting trail and in the Bahamas.

"He did a great job for us," Kennedy said.

There's a chance that Labissiere does not work out in Ole Miss' favor. In addition to the college options, CBSSports.com reported last month that there's at least some interest in Labissiere following Emmanuel Mudiay's path overseas. In which case Ole Miss could reasonably keep Abernethy as the third assistant coach for the 2014-15 season, and re-evaluate in the spring.

That's not a bad plan B at all, and plan A is potentially great.