I'm going to be a wet blanket first.
This only means something if they can replicate it and build on it. Every time we've tried to bury this team it has come back and thrown some of the dirt out of the hole. And just when we've started to believe, it's jumped right back in the hole and asked us to throw some more dirt on it. This game was big in that it erased the loss to Tennessee. But because of some of the other losses, obviously Missouri has to keep this up. At least one win in the two road games this week will be a good start. A sweep would be even better.
There are reasons to think maybe they found something though. Missouri scored 91 points. Against an SEC opponent. They've not done that in a long time. Yeah, they shot 98% (number is unofficial and may not be accurate) but they did it because they were moving the ball and playing different on offense. Dru Smith was taking (and making) threes. Mark Smith and Torrence Watson were taking (and making) twos. They weren't standing around in the half court waiting for someone to make a jump shot.
There are two guys I think are actually most important (behind Dru Smith who is the most important and best player on the team) to Missouri continuing to be able to play this way. First is Xavier Pinson. This is how he's meant to play. He's an up tempo guard who can beat most people down the floor and push the pace. He's a good enough shooter to be dangerous, but he's a hell of a passer who can make plays for other guys. Next is Reed Nikko. He was phenomenal in the first half tonight. Part of it's scoring, yes. But it's also rebounding and defending and the fact that he always knows where to be and Missouri has better spacing on offense when he's in there than when Jeremiah Tilmon is. Tilmon is a better player...Missouri might be a better team with Nikko...at least it was tonight.
The defense, even though they gave up 75 points, was still good. They had 11 steals and scored 17 points off turnovers and when this team is doing that, it's dangerous. Cuonzo Martin said when you defend as well as Missouri does, you can't waste opportunities to get points off that defense. They did that tonight better than they often have this season.
Cuonzo Martin gave Kobe Brown a lot of credit after the game saying that he made Kerry Blackshear work on the defensive end. He's strung some good efforts together and is a guy that's coming into his own mid-season.
This was the team the optimists among us thought they were going to see this season. Up-tempo, athletic, exciting. It's a team we haven't seen all season against a real opponent. Now we need to see it a few more times.
One last thing on Mario McKinney: I don't know exactly why he was suspended. I don't think it's a legal thing and I don't think it's because he's not eligible academically. But I thought it was interesting that Cuonzo Martin said "he isn't part of the team right now." I'm not all that certain he will be again to be honest, whether that's his choice or the team's. We'll see what happens.
This only means something if they can replicate it and build on it. Every time we've tried to bury this team it has come back and thrown some of the dirt out of the hole. And just when we've started to believe, it's jumped right back in the hole and asked us to throw some more dirt on it. This game was big in that it erased the loss to Tennessee. But because of some of the other losses, obviously Missouri has to keep this up. At least one win in the two road games this week will be a good start. A sweep would be even better.
There are reasons to think maybe they found something though. Missouri scored 91 points. Against an SEC opponent. They've not done that in a long time. Yeah, they shot 98% (number is unofficial and may not be accurate) but they did it because they were moving the ball and playing different on offense. Dru Smith was taking (and making) threes. Mark Smith and Torrence Watson were taking (and making) twos. They weren't standing around in the half court waiting for someone to make a jump shot.
There are two guys I think are actually most important (behind Dru Smith who is the most important and best player on the team) to Missouri continuing to be able to play this way. First is Xavier Pinson. This is how he's meant to play. He's an up tempo guard who can beat most people down the floor and push the pace. He's a good enough shooter to be dangerous, but he's a hell of a passer who can make plays for other guys. Next is Reed Nikko. He was phenomenal in the first half tonight. Part of it's scoring, yes. But it's also rebounding and defending and the fact that he always knows where to be and Missouri has better spacing on offense when he's in there than when Jeremiah Tilmon is. Tilmon is a better player...Missouri might be a better team with Nikko...at least it was tonight.
The defense, even though they gave up 75 points, was still good. They had 11 steals and scored 17 points off turnovers and when this team is doing that, it's dangerous. Cuonzo Martin said when you defend as well as Missouri does, you can't waste opportunities to get points off that defense. They did that tonight better than they often have this season.
Cuonzo Martin gave Kobe Brown a lot of credit after the game saying that he made Kerry Blackshear work on the defensive end. He's strung some good efforts together and is a guy that's coming into his own mid-season.
This was the team the optimists among us thought they were going to see this season. Up-tempo, athletic, exciting. It's a team we haven't seen all season against a real opponent. Now we need to see it a few more times.
One last thing on Mario McKinney: I don't know exactly why he was suspended. I don't think it's a legal thing and I don't think it's because he's not eligible academically. But I thought it was interesting that Cuonzo Martin said "he isn't part of the team right now." I'm not all that certain he will be again to be honest, whether that's his choice or the team's. We'll see what happens.
