‘It was a simple choice’: Kamardine explains why he traveled 5,000 miles to play for Ole Miss basketball

Ilias Kamardine traveled nearly 5,000 miles to be a member of the Ole Miss men’s basketball program. The 6-foot-5 guard from Marseille, France, had just wrapped up a season with JDA Dijon Basket when he received a surprising call from Rebel frontman Chris Beard in the spring.

That phone call sparked a desire for Kamardine to uproot and venture into unfamiliar territory. And despite visa-related delays in getting the international professional onto campus as early as Beard had hoped, Kamardine officially landed in Oxford nearly four months after committing to play for Ole Miss.

As for what drew the Frenchman to the university — of which he had no knowledge until his conversation with Beard — the Rebel head coach’s approach to developing basketball players was the ultimate selling point.