The Chamber is back and of course it's just as taut and sexy as it's always been. Gabriel, Brian, Alex and Sean work hard to cultivate this information so for gosh sakes keep it on The Tigers' Lair.
We're going to start with Gabriel's trip through the lower class states. If you've missed anything from his tour of the Southeast, we're going to hit you with the highlights here:
FOOTBALL -- Barry Odom indicated there are some defensive tackles, particularly young ones, who could help at defensive end. The Tigers' numbers are down and we aren't expecting Nate Howard to factor in this season...even if he is still on the team, which is certainly in doubt. Chris Turner should help at that spot for sure. We've heard great things about him in talking to people close to the program. Adam Sparks and Kobie Whiteside have also drawn praise. Look for Whiteside to be one of those guys that plays on the outside at times possibly. With the Tigers looking to replace both starting corners, Sparks is a decent bet to see action this season.
Nothing new on the qualifiers. Nate Anderson, Walter Palmore and Malik Young should all arrive in the next couple of weeks. Da'Ron Davis remains the guy who is likely the most in limbo. If we get anything definitive on his future, we'll share that, but we haven't gotten it yet.
In talking to people around the program, there's a quiet optimism. They like the makeup of the team, they feel like they've gotten buy-in, etc. Now, let's qualify that: We can't remember a coach ever, even privately, saying in July "I think we're going to suck." And I'm not saying Missouri thinks it's going to go win ten games. But I'd say there's plenty of confidence they'll make a bowl game and win more than most of the so-called experts think they will. In a few months, we'll know if that was foresight or blind optimism.
BASKETBALL -- Jontay Porter is almost certainly going to play for the Tigers this year. We have to include the word almost just in case, but every indication we have from anybody (even before Jontay more or less said that to Gary Parrish on Thursday) is that he's planning to be on the team. Even talked to one person who said he thought another year of high school might have been a good idea "but the decision was pretty much made already."
So what do you expect out of Jontay? He's a good player. There's no question. Potentially an elite one. But most people we've talked to (some that know college basketball, some close to the AAU scene and some that know the family) think he's a multi-year college player. Now, if he turns out to be a one and done, that's obviously good for Missouri because it means he had a hell of a year, but that's not really anyone's expectation going into the season.
Alex Lomax told us on Thursday that he plans to visit Missouri very soon. The Tigers are in good shape on Isiaih Mosley and Mario McKinney for the 2019 class. That would be a heck of a start in that class along with EJ Liddell, who we're planning to talk to later today. Mosley didn't have a great game when we watched him on Thursday morning, but his MoKan coach absolutely raved about the kid.
Missouri will lose Kassius Robertson, Jordan Barnett and Michael Porter Jr. after next year (sorry, guys, no way it's not happening). Add in at least one transfer (frankly, we'd probably expect at least two because there are going to be returning guys on this team that just don't play very much). So you're looking at a four or five man class in 2019. That means you could grab those three local guys and then still have a couple spots to go chasing some big fish (and remember Javon Pickett is planning to prep and IF THINGS GO WELL be at Missouri in a year, so that would take one of those spots).
From everything I'm hearing Tilmon is cleared and good on all fronts to be eligible game one.
One other thing. Gabriel's attempt to check out Augusta National was a bust.
Next up is a little bit of East Coast bias from Alex, our Garbage State correspondent. Young Mr. Schiffer is currently on assignment at some paper in Washington D.C. for who knows how long. He still brings his A game every Friday morning, however.
So it’s been an interesting week since the last Chamber was posted.
Ian Steere committed to Creighton, which surprised me. It didn’t surprise me that it wasn’t Missouri, though, seeing as he never visited and didn’t really express any interest in them when I spoke to him a few weeks ago.
Then Torrence Watson committed to Ohio State.
Yeah, didn’t see that coming.
A few people had mentioned Butler throughout Watson’s recruitment to me as a program not to sleep on. Obviously we had expected Michigan to be the program that put up the biggest fight to Missouri.
We don’t have all the details but I can say that the commitment of Javon Pickett definitely played a bit of a role from what I’ve been told. At the same time, Missouri loses Kassius Robertson, Jordan Barnett and Michael Porter Jr. (most likely) at the end of the season. And that doesn’t account for possible transfers. So to say the Pickett had that major of an impact doesn’t make sense to me. They’re probably going to take multiple wings in this class anyway.
And Missouri took Pickett because they think he helps out with the E.J. Liddell recruitment. I have a text out to Pickett to see if he found a prep school yet.
Back to Watson. This hurts. I know the opinion on the board has been that Watson was Plan A and while he’s a good plan A he’s not one you lose sleep over losing. But Fred Thatch and Carte’Are Gordon are going to SLU, Christian Bishop to Creighton and now Watson to OSU. Those are all of the top guys in-state not named Porter. And with all the talent in the tri-state area for 2019 it doesn’t help with some of those guys.
Could a great season from Missouri and Porter going no. 1 next year cure a lot of this? Hell yes. But that’s a year away.
A few things before I get to good news.
I texted a few scouts and some coaches who were watching Watson after he committed. All of them predict he will be a All-Big 10 player which is high praise. And some said it’s not a gigantic blow to Cuonzo but it certainly hurts. We’ll see what happens.
My biggest question after Watson committed is does it prompt Martin and his staff to try and flip Gordon or Thatch to nab someone in-state for the class. Gabe is going to try and talk to Gordon today. If he says he hasn’t heard from them then I think it’s fair to say they’re not interested.
It’s tough to see how the staff views it. We had said months ago we were hearing Martin wanted to recruit nationally, while others said Missouri was better off trying to nab Bishop and Watson before going for other guys outside the area. So maybe Missouri is on a few more guys better than Watson that we simply don’t know about. Time will tell.
Now to good news. I checked with some people after Gabe talked to Alex Lomax. Some in the know are still skeptical that Lomax would commit to a school with so many point guards like Missouri but after hearing what he told Gabe it’s safe to say the Tigers are in very, very good shape with him. T.J. Moss, Lomax’s high school teammate who also holds a Mizzouoffer, but he recently switched AAU teams so we won’t get him this weekend. He’s on the Adidas circuit. Should Lomax commit to Missouri by the end of the summer I think he could visit in the fall with him.
We are also trying to get Bryce Hamilton, who is a wing out of California out at the Peach Jam who plays with K.J. Hymes. I don’t even know if Hymes is worth Missouri’s time anymore. A lot of people I’ve spoken to seem to echo Eric Bossi’s words that he’s kind of a soft player. But Hamilton is intriguing to me.
I heard Missouri really likes Kaden Archie, who grew up with C.J. Roberts, but he’s blown up a lot since they last were in on him. Tough to gauge that situation but am told Roberts is in Archie’s ear a bit. Roberts connections from Texas and the AAU scene have been a big help to Missouri I’m told. He knows just about everybody. Looks like Missouri was smart to keep him.
We're going to start with Gabriel's trip through the lower class states. If you've missed anything from his tour of the Southeast, we're going to hit you with the highlights here:
FOOTBALL -- Barry Odom indicated there are some defensive tackles, particularly young ones, who could help at defensive end. The Tigers' numbers are down and we aren't expecting Nate Howard to factor in this season...even if he is still on the team, which is certainly in doubt. Chris Turner should help at that spot for sure. We've heard great things about him in talking to people close to the program. Adam Sparks and Kobie Whiteside have also drawn praise. Look for Whiteside to be one of those guys that plays on the outside at times possibly. With the Tigers looking to replace both starting corners, Sparks is a decent bet to see action this season.
Nothing new on the qualifiers. Nate Anderson, Walter Palmore and Malik Young should all arrive in the next couple of weeks. Da'Ron Davis remains the guy who is likely the most in limbo. If we get anything definitive on his future, we'll share that, but we haven't gotten it yet.
In talking to people around the program, there's a quiet optimism. They like the makeup of the team, they feel like they've gotten buy-in, etc. Now, let's qualify that: We can't remember a coach ever, even privately, saying in July "I think we're going to suck." And I'm not saying Missouri thinks it's going to go win ten games. But I'd say there's plenty of confidence they'll make a bowl game and win more than most of the so-called experts think they will. In a few months, we'll know if that was foresight or blind optimism.
BASKETBALL -- Jontay Porter is almost certainly going to play for the Tigers this year. We have to include the word almost just in case, but every indication we have from anybody (even before Jontay more or less said that to Gary Parrish on Thursday) is that he's planning to be on the team. Even talked to one person who said he thought another year of high school might have been a good idea "but the decision was pretty much made already."
So what do you expect out of Jontay? He's a good player. There's no question. Potentially an elite one. But most people we've talked to (some that know college basketball, some close to the AAU scene and some that know the family) think he's a multi-year college player. Now, if he turns out to be a one and done, that's obviously good for Missouri because it means he had a hell of a year, but that's not really anyone's expectation going into the season.
Alex Lomax told us on Thursday that he plans to visit Missouri very soon. The Tigers are in good shape on Isiaih Mosley and Mario McKinney for the 2019 class. That would be a heck of a start in that class along with EJ Liddell, who we're planning to talk to later today. Mosley didn't have a great game when we watched him on Thursday morning, but his MoKan coach absolutely raved about the kid.
Missouri will lose Kassius Robertson, Jordan Barnett and Michael Porter Jr. after next year (sorry, guys, no way it's not happening). Add in at least one transfer (frankly, we'd probably expect at least two because there are going to be returning guys on this team that just don't play very much). So you're looking at a four or five man class in 2019. That means you could grab those three local guys and then still have a couple spots to go chasing some big fish (and remember Javon Pickett is planning to prep and IF THINGS GO WELL be at Missouri in a year, so that would take one of those spots).
From everything I'm hearing Tilmon is cleared and good on all fronts to be eligible game one.
One other thing. Gabriel's attempt to check out Augusta National was a bust.
Next up is a little bit of East Coast bias from Alex, our Garbage State correspondent. Young Mr. Schiffer is currently on assignment at some paper in Washington D.C. for who knows how long. He still brings his A game every Friday morning, however.
So it’s been an interesting week since the last Chamber was posted.
Ian Steere committed to Creighton, which surprised me. It didn’t surprise me that it wasn’t Missouri, though, seeing as he never visited and didn’t really express any interest in them when I spoke to him a few weeks ago.
Then Torrence Watson committed to Ohio State.
Yeah, didn’t see that coming.
A few people had mentioned Butler throughout Watson’s recruitment to me as a program not to sleep on. Obviously we had expected Michigan to be the program that put up the biggest fight to Missouri.
We don’t have all the details but I can say that the commitment of Javon Pickett definitely played a bit of a role from what I’ve been told. At the same time, Missouri loses Kassius Robertson, Jordan Barnett and Michael Porter Jr. (most likely) at the end of the season. And that doesn’t account for possible transfers. So to say the Pickett had that major of an impact doesn’t make sense to me. They’re probably going to take multiple wings in this class anyway.
And Missouri took Pickett because they think he helps out with the E.J. Liddell recruitment. I have a text out to Pickett to see if he found a prep school yet.
Back to Watson. This hurts. I know the opinion on the board has been that Watson was Plan A and while he’s a good plan A he’s not one you lose sleep over losing. But Fred Thatch and Carte’Are Gordon are going to SLU, Christian Bishop to Creighton and now Watson to OSU. Those are all of the top guys in-state not named Porter. And with all the talent in the tri-state area for 2019 it doesn’t help with some of those guys.
Could a great season from Missouri and Porter going no. 1 next year cure a lot of this? Hell yes. But that’s a year away.
A few things before I get to good news.
I texted a few scouts and some coaches who were watching Watson after he committed. All of them predict he will be a All-Big 10 player which is high praise. And some said it’s not a gigantic blow to Cuonzo but it certainly hurts. We’ll see what happens.
My biggest question after Watson committed is does it prompt Martin and his staff to try and flip Gordon or Thatch to nab someone in-state for the class. Gabe is going to try and talk to Gordon today. If he says he hasn’t heard from them then I think it’s fair to say they’re not interested.
It’s tough to see how the staff views it. We had said months ago we were hearing Martin wanted to recruit nationally, while others said Missouri was better off trying to nab Bishop and Watson before going for other guys outside the area. So maybe Missouri is on a few more guys better than Watson that we simply don’t know about. Time will tell.
Now to good news. I checked with some people after Gabe talked to Alex Lomax. Some in the know are still skeptical that Lomax would commit to a school with so many point guards like Missouri but after hearing what he told Gabe it’s safe to say the Tigers are in very, very good shape with him. T.J. Moss, Lomax’s high school teammate who also holds a Mizzouoffer, but he recently switched AAU teams so we won’t get him this weekend. He’s on the Adidas circuit. Should Lomax commit to Missouri by the end of the summer I think he could visit in the fall with him.
We are also trying to get Bryce Hamilton, who is a wing out of California out at the Peach Jam who plays with K.J. Hymes. I don’t even know if Hymes is worth Missouri’s time anymore. A lot of people I’ve spoken to seem to echo Eric Bossi’s words that he’s kind of a soft player. But Hamilton is intriguing to me.
I heard Missouri really likes Kaden Archie, who grew up with C.J. Roberts, but he’s blown up a lot since they last were in on him. Tough to gauge that situation but am told Roberts is in Archie’s ear a bit. Roberts connections from Texas and the AAU scene have been a big help to Missouri I’m told. He knows just about everybody. Looks like Missouri was smart to keep him.
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