Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin announced on Friday that senior forward Snudda Collins has decided to take a step back from the team ahead of the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels are the No. 7 seed in the Albany 1 region and take on Marquette in the first round on Saturday.
McPhee-McCuin said that Collins did not even make the trip to South Bend, Indiana.
"Snudda decided to step back for a second," McPhee-McCuin said. "I mean, the timing couldn't be any worse if you ask me. But I support our players. Snudda's getting ready to graduate. She's been a part of the program. We did not have talks about her coming back like (Madison Scott). I didn't know if that would be a possibility anyway. We support her 100%."
Collins did not play in Ole Miss' most recent game, a loss to LSU in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on March 9. The program described her absence for that game as a "coach's decision." There was no indication at that time that Collins would not play in the NCAA Tournament.
After beginning the season as a reserve, Collins ended up starting 20 of the 28 games she played this season, and averaged 9.6 points and 1.8 rebounds. While her production was inconsistent, the Rebels will miss the additional scoring boost she could provide. Collins scored in double digits in 14 games and had nine games with 14-plus points.
While McPhee-McCuin said "we're prepared to play with who we have," there's no question this is a loss for the Rebels. It may not affect them in the first round, but it certainly hurts their chances of making a bracket-busting run. The Rebels are in the tournament for the third consecutive season, and hoping to make back-to-back Sweet 16s for the first time since 1989-90.
