Ole Miss Basketball's Eduardo Klafke Breaks Down First Taste of SEC Competition

Ole Miss freshman Eduardo Klafke broke down what it was like playing his first conference game in the SEC.

Jan 4, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Blue Cain (0) handles the ball as Mississippi Rebels guard Eduardo Klafke (8) defends during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The 2024-2025 Ole Miss Rebels basketball team has produced a lot of buzz so far this season. With a litany of fresh talent from both high school and the transfer portal, it's easy to understand why.

Rebels guard Eduardo Klafke is a big part of that excitement.

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound true freshman from Sao Paulo, Brazil, is the son of legendary Brazilian basketball player Rogerio Klafke who led the Brazilian National Team in the Olympics in 1996 and the FIBA World Cup in 1994, 1998, and 2002. Eduardo attended high school at the NBA Academy Latin America.

So far on the season, Klafke averages 2.7 points per game while shooting 63.2 percent from the floor, 62.5 percent from three-point range, and 80 percent from the free throw line.

Klafke played a key role in the Rebels' 63-51 win over Georgia this past Saturday. While not recording any offensive stats, he instead proved to be a lock-down defender, recording a steal. Impressive for a true freshman playing his first-ever SEC game.

"I already had that experience playing with the older guys (in Brazil)," Klafke said in an interview on Monday. "Knowing what to do when playing with more experienced guys, moving the ball and doing your roll, that absolutely helped me when I got here."

Klafke has been a sparkplug for the Rebels this season, with his high energy and overabundance of excitement always livening up the floor for the Rebels. Ole Miss will absolutely need his "sunny disposition" as conference play intensifies. While he may not be contributing a ton of offensive stats, Klafke finds other ways to help drive the Rebels successes.

"There's been a lot of good preparation these last two weeks," Klafke said. "We knew there were going to be hard games in the SEC. Georgia is a really good team. We've been through a really hard week of practice. It's a lot about the preparation and how we got ready for Georgia and the other SEC teams."

The Rebels travel to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.