Just scattershooting some thoughts here:
*KJ Walton is the candidate for a breakout player. I thought he deserved more time last year honestly. He's athletic, he can get to the rim, he said he worked all offseason on his defense. If he can shoot well enough to keep people honest, he's one of this team's best players.
*Cullen Van Leer looks like a better all around player. Last year, he was out there to do one thing. And when his shot didn't go in, he just didn't bring a lot. He's easily the smartest player on this team, just always knows where to be and where everyone else should be (as evidenced when he shoved Willie Jackson about six feet to pick up a player on a break). Now, obviously, he's got to make shots. He was just 1-3 tonight and missed his only three. The ball has to go in for him to be a guy that's on the court a lot. But I saw signs he can be a better all around player.
*Jordan Barnett is going to be the best player on this team. He's a good athlete and capable of being a great shooter. Too bad he will miss the first eight games.
*Kevin Puryear grabbed 10 rebounds in 15 minutes. And that's good. But you wonder how much of it had to do with the guys he was rebounding against. Because...
*This team is going to be SO limited inside besides Puryear. Russ Woods will be the starting five, if they start a five. There's no doubt about that. He couldn't stay on the floor last year due to fouls. Mitchell Smith is active and has some athleticism, but there's no way he can hold up down low until he adds some bulk and some muscle. And Reed Nikko is a project. I just don't see the athleticism. Maybe it will come after time from the hip surgeries, but I don't see Smith/Nikko being able to give Mizzou much more than 10-12 minutes.
*Willie Jackson isn't as big as I thought. Another person on press row had a good comparison: Physically he looks a lot like Kim English. He's a three/four in a two guard's body right now. Again, that could change, but just sheer size is something he doesn't have. Now everybody says he's a heck of a rebounder and that's a plus for sure, but I wonder how he can hold up over 30 games.
*Which means they're going to have to play small and probably fast. Which means Terrence Phillips is the most important guy on the team. He simply has to be more under control than he was last year. For every good play he made, he made a bad one. He played at 600 miles an hour last year. That has to be about 300 miles an hour this year. And he has to avoid foul trouble.
*Frankie Hughes likes to shoot. A LOT. He took 13 of his team's 29 shots in 16 minutes. Hopefully he'll make more than the three he made tonight.
*I see no way Jakoby Kemp doesn't redshirt.
*I'm not going to do something stupid like predict a number of wins or anything. I haven't even seen them play another team. I'm concerned with the post play for sure. And on nights when the jumpers aren't falling, I'm not sure how much they can score. They'll have to shoot it well and they'll have to be good on defense to get to the point where we can say they're significantly improved.
*First exhibition game is next Friday against UCM. Schiffer will be here for that while I'm in South Carolina for the football game. Kickoff tomorrow morning at 11, talk to you then.
*KJ Walton is the candidate for a breakout player. I thought he deserved more time last year honestly. He's athletic, he can get to the rim, he said he worked all offseason on his defense. If he can shoot well enough to keep people honest, he's one of this team's best players.
*Cullen Van Leer looks like a better all around player. Last year, he was out there to do one thing. And when his shot didn't go in, he just didn't bring a lot. He's easily the smartest player on this team, just always knows where to be and where everyone else should be (as evidenced when he shoved Willie Jackson about six feet to pick up a player on a break). Now, obviously, he's got to make shots. He was just 1-3 tonight and missed his only three. The ball has to go in for him to be a guy that's on the court a lot. But I saw signs he can be a better all around player.
*Jordan Barnett is going to be the best player on this team. He's a good athlete and capable of being a great shooter. Too bad he will miss the first eight games.
*Kevin Puryear grabbed 10 rebounds in 15 minutes. And that's good. But you wonder how much of it had to do with the guys he was rebounding against. Because...
*This team is going to be SO limited inside besides Puryear. Russ Woods will be the starting five, if they start a five. There's no doubt about that. He couldn't stay on the floor last year due to fouls. Mitchell Smith is active and has some athleticism, but there's no way he can hold up down low until he adds some bulk and some muscle. And Reed Nikko is a project. I just don't see the athleticism. Maybe it will come after time from the hip surgeries, but I don't see Smith/Nikko being able to give Mizzou much more than 10-12 minutes.
*Willie Jackson isn't as big as I thought. Another person on press row had a good comparison: Physically he looks a lot like Kim English. He's a three/four in a two guard's body right now. Again, that could change, but just sheer size is something he doesn't have. Now everybody says he's a heck of a rebounder and that's a plus for sure, but I wonder how he can hold up over 30 games.
*Which means they're going to have to play small and probably fast. Which means Terrence Phillips is the most important guy on the team. He simply has to be more under control than he was last year. For every good play he made, he made a bad one. He played at 600 miles an hour last year. That has to be about 300 miles an hour this year. And he has to avoid foul trouble.
*Frankie Hughes likes to shoot. A LOT. He took 13 of his team's 29 shots in 16 minutes. Hopefully he'll make more than the three he made tonight.
*I see no way Jakoby Kemp doesn't redshirt.
*I'm not going to do something stupid like predict a number of wins or anything. I haven't even seen them play another team. I'm concerned with the post play for sure. And on nights when the jumpers aren't falling, I'm not sure how much they can score. They'll have to shoot it well and they'll have to be good on defense to get to the point where we can say they're significantly improved.
*First exhibition game is next Friday against UCM. Schiffer will be here for that while I'm in South Carolina for the football game. Kickoff tomorrow morning at 11, talk to you then.
