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OLE MISS

New Mexico's Cullen Neal intends to transfer to Ole Miss

Daniel Paulling, and Will Sammon
The Clarion-Ledger

OXFORD — Ole Miss may have found next season’s starting point guard.

Redshirt junior Cullen Neal intends to transfer from New Mexico to Ole Miss. The 6-foot-5 Neal is immediately eligible to play as a graduate transfer and has two seasons’ worth of eligibility remaining.

"They just made me feel like home," Neal told ESPN. "I just felt like it was the right place for me, and I think they have a chance to be really good in the next few years."

ESPN’s Jeff Goodman first reported the news, but it was later confirmed by Ole Miss.

Neal averaged 30.2 minutes, 12.3 points and 3.7 assists in 31 games last season, shooting 35 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from 3-point range. Neal, however, struggled with turnovers, committing 3.3 per game.

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Neal visited Ole Miss for a weekend in late March. He had interest from a long list of schools including Texas A&M and Ohio State. At New Mexico, Neal played under his father, Craig, who has a strong working relationship with Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy.

“We are very excited to have Cullen join our program,” Kennedy said in a statement. “He is a versatile, experienced player who has performed at a high level under his father at New Mexico. His impact on our program will be felt immediately. I have known Cullen and his family for many years, and his father and I go back 30 years to our playing days. It feels like we just signed my nephew.”

The Rebels started the 2015-16 season with junior college transfer Sam Finley and true freshman J.T. Escobar atop the team’s depth chart at point guard, but Stefan Moody, who has since exhausted his eligibility, took over that role shortly into the season because of their poor play.

Finley, according to Goodman, and Escobar plan to transfer.

The Rebels return sophomore Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey and redshirt junior Deandre Burnett as possible options at point guard. Burnett sat out last season after transferring from Miami.

Contact Daniel Paulling at dpaulling@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @DanielPaulling on Twitter.