BIRMINGHAM, AL—The irony would appear to be thick to the average onlooker as they stood behind the microphone and looked at AJ Storr’s left bicep. The message tattooed vertically in black letters; “LOYALTY” tells a story about Storr’s life that a quick look at his career path could indicate may not be true.
Storr is on his fourth college in four seasons and his eighth school in the last eight seasons. He’s a player that skeptics around the sport cite as an example of what the current, Wild West-like system surrounding college basketball unfairly allows.
The Ole Miss wing has had his name dragged through the mud. He’s been looked down upon. He’s been made an example of. He’s likely been accused of not being about what he says he’s about.
A perception like that could cripple a weaker man’s confidence, but not Storr. He appears to be oblivious, perhaps for the best.
“I don't know how people see me,” Storr said while sitting seemingly unbothered on the podium at SEC Media Day. “I don't know, for real, but I'm just trying to live life and play basketball. That's it”
If that’s truly the case for the Ole Miss wing, his life is significantly simpler than it would be otherwise. Instead of fighting a perception and trying to live up to the billing of being one of college basketball’s highest paid transfers—which he was in the 2024-25 season—he’s just one of the guys.
In any case, Storr isn’t willing to sit in front of reporters and defend his honor throughout his 10-minute breakout session in Birmingham. That wouldn’t be true to form—or the words he’s chosen to live by. A "PUSH" tattoo on Storr’s right arm spells that out to remind him to “pray until something happens” rather than grasping for control of every scenario.
It’s perhaps the most grounding reminder that Storr carries with him. Through a life of inconsistent surroundings and situations Storr’s unrelenting prayers have been one of the lone sources of consistency.
“That's the main thing I love in life,” Storr told Basket Under Review in regard to prayer. “Just keep praying every day to stay humble, no matter where you at, what stage you at. Just always stay humble.”
Storr would never do it himself, but Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard isn’t afraid to stand in front of a room of college basketball’s most prominent reporters and figuratively roar like the lion tattooed next to the word loyalty on Storr’s left arm as he addresses the character of his transfer wing.
Beard feels the context has been lost in Storr’s situation and that it’s created a narrative that unfairly paints Storr as a transactional team hopper. Storr’s first jump was from Rockford Lutheran high school to Kankakee High School due to his mom getting a new job early in his high school career. Beard says that a few of Storr’s other jumps were due to a Covid “shut down,” an opportunity that he took to play for a “national brand” that “99 of 100 student athletes would take.”
The Ole Miss coach continued on his soap box as he addressed Storr’s exit from St. John’s,, which he indicated was caused by the firing of former head coach Mike Anderson after the season. Storr appeared to have a home at Wisconsin before reentering the portal to “listen where opportunities are presented” like “everybody in our country.” The then-junior wing ended up at Kansas where he played a career low 15.7 minutes per game before looking for an opportunity in which he’d be a go-to guy.
“AJ’s been to a lot of schools, but if you take the time and get the factual information you’ll see that he’s never ran from anything, he’s a great teammate, he’s a great person,” Beard said. “It’s obviously a reset year for AJ. He knows that, we know that. We’re proud to have him in Oxford.”
Beard’s idea of Storr wasn’t negative prior to his arrival on Ole Miss’ campus this summer, but the veteran head coach appears to have an elevated level of respect for the senior guard after observing him for over four months.
Storr’s character has seemingly impressed when Beard and his teammates aren’t around, as well.
Lipscomb wing Ross Candelino–a former walk-on at Wisconsin during Storr’s time there–didn’t buy the idea that Storr is selfish during their time at Wisconsin and doesn’t buy it now that his former teammate is three hours away at Ole Miss.
Candelino went to Ole Miss the weekend prior to SEC Media Day to visit his sister–who is a runner there–and needed a place to work out. The Lipscomb guard and Storr have stayed in contact since their days at Wisconsin, when Candelino says Storr was “one of the guys” and “was always with the team.” As a result, Storr took Candelino in and let him into the gym at 9:30 P.M. so he could get enough shots in for the weekend.
“High-character guy,” Candelino told Basket Under Review. “He’s very selfless. He’s a servant sometimes, as well. He’ll go out of his way and do things. That’s just the kind of guy he is.”
As Storr stepped through the double doors and on to the hardwood floor at SEC Media Day, Beard turned to him and cracked a joke to warn him about the questions he was likely to receive. If Storr didn’t already know before passing Beard, most of the questions he was set to receive weren’t about defensive assignments or what he’s worked on throughout the offseason.
Storr’s station in the SEC’s media room was among the most captivating of the day not because of his personality or his role on Ole Miss’ roster, it was due to his polarizing career path instead. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the soft-spoken Ole Miss guard and his perspective on his journey.
Some made an effort to understand him, some didn’t. Perhaps they should have, though.
“AJ gets such a bad rap for no reason, man,” Ole Miss forward Malik Dia said. “He’s had some unfortunate turns in his basketball career that made him make such decisions. But overall, I feel like he's not a cancer to the program at all. He actually adds energy to the program.”
If Storr is what Ole Miss thinks he is, the talk won’t be about his energy by year’s end. Storr’s mentality will always matter within Ole Miss’ program, but in Beard’s eyes Storr’s ability to take over a game, his natural scoring ability and his pedigree as an All-SEC player will be the most compelling narrative.
When Storr is at his best, he’s a go-to guy that can take over a game like he often did in his season at Wisconsin in which he averaged 16.8 points per game and was a second-team All Big Ten player.
The Ole Miss wing’s career-low 6.1 points and 1.7 rebounds per game were underwhelming the following season at Kansas, though. He needed a change. Perhaps this is the needed one.
“I think AJ has a chance to reestablish himself as one of the best players in college basketball,” Beard said. “It's obviously a reset year for AJ. He knows that, we know that. We're proud to have him in Oxford, and we're proud along with his teammates to give him the opportunity to write the final chapters of his college career in a winning way.”
Storr says he feels as if Beard has his back and gives him the chance to thrive in an up-tempo offense, now he’s got a chance to prove his head coach right in his evaluation of him.
“Definitely coming in this season with a chip on my shoulder,” Storr said. “I'm definitely hungry to get back on the court.”
The 6-foot-5 wing is likely to be a go-to guy for Beard’s team in his final season of eligibility, a near requirement in his transfer portal recruitment after a disappointing season at Kansas. Ole Miss freshman guard IIilas Kamardine says Storr has mixed in assertiveness with “good IQ” and making the right play consistently.
Storr has plenty of reasons to pout at this stage of his career. He’s got plenty of reasons to be selfish. Beard says “it’s a real question” in regard to the idea that he would have to find a way to get his former guard his confidence back, but he said he’s never had to assist the former Kansas guard in doing anything other than being more “assertive.”
Ole Miss’ head coach says his wing almost has too much humility and needs to flee from deferring to his teammates. A sentence like that could sound like a desperate attempt to push a favorable, untrue narrative. Beard says it’s who Storr really is, though.
“I’ll put this on my three daughters, this is the truth, AJ has never said one thing that’s even gray line perceived as excuse or negative,” Beard said. “I’ve been pleased this summer, there’s been some stories, even some national coverage that sets the facts right accurately.”
