Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Adds Jackson State Graduate Transfer Jayveous McKinnis

Ole Miss men’s basketball has added Jackson State graduate transfer Jayveous McKinnis, head coach Kermit Davis announced Tuesday.

McKinnis – a 6-foot-7, 225 pound forward from Brandon, Mississippi – started all 104 of his games played across four highly productive seasons at Jackson State, where he was a four-time All-SWAC member and a three-time SWAC Defensive Player of the Year.

“Jayveous had a fantastic career at Jackson State,” Davis said. “He is an elite-level athlete. He was second in the nation in rebounding two years ago, and against us two seasons ago he had 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. I think Jay will continue to make great strides facing up and shooting the ball. He comes from a great family, and he is truly Mississippi Made.”

Over his career, McKinnis averages 10.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.0 steals and shoots .608 from the floor. He owns 38 career double-doubles, putting him No. 10 on the NCAA active career leader list at the end of the 2021-22 season. Of his four All-SWAC appearances, three have been on the All-SWAC First-Team.

McKinnis was a force for JSU in 2021-22, earning his third SWAC Defensive Player of the Year nod and his third First-Team all-conference honor. He led the SWAC in rebounding (10.2), blocks (2.9) and shooting percentage (.558), and he led all Jackson State scorers with 12.3 points per game. He ended the season with 20 double-digit scoring games, 15 double-digit rebound games and 14 double-doubles, and he ended the regular season ninth nationally in blocks, 15th in rebounding, 15th in offensive boards per game (3.3), 17th in double-doubles, 25th in defensive rebounds per game (6.9) and 25th in shooting percentage.

In his junior season, McKinnis ranked even higher in the upper echelon of rebounders nationwide, ranking second in the NCAA at 13.2 boards per game while helping lead JSU to a share of the 2020-21 SWAC regular-season crown. In addition to his other honors, McKinnis was also named the 2018-19 SWAC Freshman of the Year.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports