It’s been three weeks since Mizzou had its biggest five-day stretch of the offseason in which the team picked up a trio of transfers in Mark Mitchell, Tony Perkins and Marques Warrick. And a lot has happened in those three weeks — Anthony Edwards enacted a coup d'état in the NBA playoffs to try to crown himself the league’s best player, Kendrick Lamar and Drake took part in a rap beef that resulted in a loss for both parties, I took a few W’s off @JHamilton23 in pick-up.
Not much has happened for the Tigers, though. We’re in a bit of a holding pattern with the black and gold. We know Missouri needs and intends to add one more big man. I wrote in detail about why it’s an important roster hole to fill here. There just hasn’t been much info on who they might be interested in. There were reports on a few names a couple of days after Mitchell announced his commitment. But a lot of those guys ended up somewhere else and there haven’t really been any new names that have made MU’s interest public since.
I don’t think it’s time to panic yet. With the portal now closed to new entrants, we at least know that Dennis Gates and his staff aren’t waiting to see if better options become available. The guys who are in the portal now are the only guys who are going to be in the portal. At this point, it’s just a matter of settling on a target and going after him.
I can’t tell you why it takes three weeks (or even longer) for that to happen. But it doesn’t mean there’s nothing happening. The team’s been pretty quiet about their intentions all offseason. We didn’t know there was real interest in Jacob Crews until suddenly he was committed. We were told that there wouldn’t be any visitors Easter weekend, and then suddenly Perkins was on campus. Crews was the Tigers’ only addition for a month before the next three all committed the same week.
I don’t think the concerns about what happened last year, when Mizzou waited until June to grab Connor Vanover, are completely invalid. But it seems like these past two months specifically, outside of the odd situation with Jevon Porter, the team’s gotten whoever they wanted in the portal. The fear that going winless in conference play would lead to shortcomings in the portal has mostly been put to bed. And so, I don’t know why that’d suddenly stop now. The team can offer serious playing time in one of the “big 2” conferences. I have no idea what kind of NIL funds it can offer, but I’d guess it’s not chump change. The appeal is there. I’d save my apprehension for once we know who the actual guy is and whether or not he’s capable of fitting in and playing at this level.
With that being said, I do think the wait to find out who Missouri’s next center will be has taken away from what Gates has accomplished with the four transfers he’s already brought in. The Tigers’ portal class ranks sixth in the country according to EvanMiya.com. What stands out to me the most about that is, while it’s not exactly a small class, it’s also far from the biggest. Among the 16 SEC schools (I have to get used to that number), 10 have brought in at least four transfers. The only team whose class ranks higher is Kentucky, which has brought seven players in through the portal.
Here’s how I currently view MU’s roster at each position:
I can’t stress enough how important it was to get Perkins and Warrick. Say what you want about the hole at the five, this was the more important spot to get right. I think Perkins can give the team a steady hand on both ends of the floor. He’s huge for a point guard and puts that size to good use, bullying defenders inside and using his wingspan to get his hands on steals. Warrick — the nation’s career points leader — should provide a scoring punch in the backcourt.
We all know what Robinson is capable of defensively and any improvement he can make on the offensive end will lead to more minutes. I don’t know that we’ll see a ton of Barrett as a rookie, but I thought the same about Robinson last year, so who knows? Barrett might not ever be a big-numbers guy in his career, but that’s exactly why Mizzou fans are going to love him. I’m very confident he’ll be ready whenever his number is called.
The biggest question with this group is just how much of a threat they can be from beyond the arc. If you took the total numbers each player shot and made from 3 last year, including Barrett’s 12 games in the EYBL Scholastic League, they combined to go 29.5% from deep. The Tigers are going to need a significantly better number than that from the group next year to be a bubble team or better.
This was the team’s weakest unit this past season, mostly because of injuries to Grill and John Tonje, but I’m tempted to say it’ll be its deepest next year. A thought that popped into my head recently: What does Bates focus on this summer? He made a big leap in his first year in Columbia, how much better can he get in his second? He’s got the potential to be the best player on this squad if he can keep up his hyper-efficient shooting percentages on more volume. He needs a better touch around the rim, less hesitation firing from distance and more productivity on the defensive end, but I don’t think it’s a complete reach that all three of those things happen.
With Grill, you mainly just want to see him healthy. You’d like to see his jumper return to form, sure. But assuming he brings the same level of intensity on defense and on the boards, Grill’s best ability is going to be his availability. It’s easy to forget, but Missouri was 7-2 with Grill in the lineup and I doubt they would’ve gone 0-19 in conference play if he hadn’t hurt his wrist.
I think Boateng and Allen are going to see the floor some. They’ve both got the requisite size, strength and athleticism to make an impact as defenders. Boateng’s got the skill to be a contributor on the offensive end, too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they were the Tigers’ starting shooting guard and small forward as sophomores in the 2025-26 season.
Another reason I wouldn’t panic about not having a center yet is because of Mitchell’s presence on the roster. I don’t think I’d want to play him at the five full-time because of how good he’d be at the four, but he’s more than capable enough of holding down the fort in that spot and I’d expect, regardless of who Mizzou brings in, that he’ll spend some time there in the rotation. The only real concern with him is the hitch in his jumper, but he’s going to be so good everywhere else that it honestly might not matter.
Crews is the swing player to me, the difference between a decent season and a good one. He was top 10 in offensive efficiency at Tennessee Martin, but a big part of that was his ability to convert at the rim. Close-range shots accounted for 30% of his field goal attempts, where he made 60% of his looks. What will those numbers look like with SEC bigs protecting the paint? If the stats translate, he’ll be one of the sneakiest steals of the portal cycle.
I think it was the right call to keep Shaw and Pierce around. Shaw’s still got another level to hit. He’s too athletic to keep on the bench. I thought he made some strides as a defender and rebounder last year. You just need him to bring something other than dunks to the table on offense. If he can develop a reliable shot from the elbows or corners or on the block, I can see him being a regular part of the rotation. But that’s a big if. Pierce needs to flush last season down the drain. He obviously was doing something right to receive the praise he was getting last summer. He has to show it in the winter to prove it was warranted.
You can’t really evaluate this group until you know which transfer the team is bringing in. I think Marshall’s probably the more college-ready of the two freshmen because of his size but that doesn’t mean I’d feel comfortable playing him huge minutes from the get-go. However, a rotation with these two, plus Mitchell, plus another experienced big man that can help pull down boards and block shots? I think that’d be the best group at the position in the Dennis Gates era — which isn’t saying a whole lot, but still.
Not much has happened for the Tigers, though. We’re in a bit of a holding pattern with the black and gold. We know Missouri needs and intends to add one more big man. I wrote in detail about why it’s an important roster hole to fill here. There just hasn’t been much info on who they might be interested in. There were reports on a few names a couple of days after Mitchell announced his commitment. But a lot of those guys ended up somewhere else and there haven’t really been any new names that have made MU’s interest public since.
I don’t think it’s time to panic yet. With the portal now closed to new entrants, we at least know that Dennis Gates and his staff aren’t waiting to see if better options become available. The guys who are in the portal now are the only guys who are going to be in the portal. At this point, it’s just a matter of settling on a target and going after him.
I can’t tell you why it takes three weeks (or even longer) for that to happen. But it doesn’t mean there’s nothing happening. The team’s been pretty quiet about their intentions all offseason. We didn’t know there was real interest in Jacob Crews until suddenly he was committed. We were told that there wouldn’t be any visitors Easter weekend, and then suddenly Perkins was on campus. Crews was the Tigers’ only addition for a month before the next three all committed the same week.
I don’t think the concerns about what happened last year, when Mizzou waited until June to grab Connor Vanover, are completely invalid. But it seems like these past two months specifically, outside of the odd situation with Jevon Porter, the team’s gotten whoever they wanted in the portal. The fear that going winless in conference play would lead to shortcomings in the portal has mostly been put to bed. And so, I don’t know why that’d suddenly stop now. The team can offer serious playing time in one of the “big 2” conferences. I have no idea what kind of NIL funds it can offer, but I’d guess it’s not chump change. The appeal is there. I’d save my apprehension for once we know who the actual guy is and whether or not he’s capable of fitting in and playing at this level.
With that being said, I do think the wait to find out who Missouri’s next center will be has taken away from what Gates has accomplished with the four transfers he’s already brought in. The Tigers’ portal class ranks sixth in the country according to EvanMiya.com. What stands out to me the most about that is, while it’s not exactly a small class, it’s also far from the biggest. Among the 16 SEC schools (I have to get used to that number), 10 have brought in at least four transfers. The only team whose class ranks higher is Kentucky, which has brought seven players in through the portal.
Here’s how I currently view MU’s roster at each position:
- GUARDS
I can’t stress enough how important it was to get Perkins and Warrick. Say what you want about the hole at the five, this was the more important spot to get right. I think Perkins can give the team a steady hand on both ends of the floor. He’s huge for a point guard and puts that size to good use, bullying defenders inside and using his wingspan to get his hands on steals. Warrick — the nation’s career points leader — should provide a scoring punch in the backcourt.
We all know what Robinson is capable of defensively and any improvement he can make on the offensive end will lead to more minutes. I don’t know that we’ll see a ton of Barrett as a rookie, but I thought the same about Robinson last year, so who knows? Barrett might not ever be a big-numbers guy in his career, but that’s exactly why Mizzou fans are going to love him. I’m very confident he’ll be ready whenever his number is called.
The biggest question with this group is just how much of a threat they can be from beyond the arc. If you took the total numbers each player shot and made from 3 last year, including Barrett’s 12 games in the EYBL Scholastic League, they combined to go 29.5% from deep. The Tigers are going to need a significantly better number than that from the group next year to be a bubble team or better.
- WINGS
This was the team’s weakest unit this past season, mostly because of injuries to Grill and John Tonje, but I’m tempted to say it’ll be its deepest next year. A thought that popped into my head recently: What does Bates focus on this summer? He made a big leap in his first year in Columbia, how much better can he get in his second? He’s got the potential to be the best player on this squad if he can keep up his hyper-efficient shooting percentages on more volume. He needs a better touch around the rim, less hesitation firing from distance and more productivity on the defensive end, but I don’t think it’s a complete reach that all three of those things happen.
With Grill, you mainly just want to see him healthy. You’d like to see his jumper return to form, sure. But assuming he brings the same level of intensity on defense and on the boards, Grill’s best ability is going to be his availability. It’s easy to forget, but Missouri was 7-2 with Grill in the lineup and I doubt they would’ve gone 0-19 in conference play if he hadn’t hurt his wrist.
I think Boateng and Allen are going to see the floor some. They’ve both got the requisite size, strength and athleticism to make an impact as defenders. Boateng’s got the skill to be a contributor on the offensive end, too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they were the Tigers’ starting shooting guard and small forward as sophomores in the 2025-26 season.
- FORWARDS
Another reason I wouldn’t panic about not having a center yet is because of Mitchell’s presence on the roster. I don’t think I’d want to play him at the five full-time because of how good he’d be at the four, but he’s more than capable enough of holding down the fort in that spot and I’d expect, regardless of who Mizzou brings in, that he’ll spend some time there in the rotation. The only real concern with him is the hitch in his jumper, but he’s going to be so good everywhere else that it honestly might not matter.
Crews is the swing player to me, the difference between a decent season and a good one. He was top 10 in offensive efficiency at Tennessee Martin, but a big part of that was his ability to convert at the rim. Close-range shots accounted for 30% of his field goal attempts, where he made 60% of his looks. What will those numbers look like with SEC bigs protecting the paint? If the stats translate, he’ll be one of the sneakiest steals of the portal cycle.
I think it was the right call to keep Shaw and Pierce around. Shaw’s still got another level to hit. He’s too athletic to keep on the bench. I thought he made some strides as a defender and rebounder last year. You just need him to bring something other than dunks to the table on offense. If he can develop a reliable shot from the elbows or corners or on the block, I can see him being a regular part of the rotation. But that’s a big if. Pierce needs to flush last season down the drain. He obviously was doing something right to receive the praise he was getting last summer. He has to show it in the winter to prove it was warranted.
- CENTERS
You can’t really evaluate this group until you know which transfer the team is bringing in. I think Marshall’s probably the more college-ready of the two freshmen because of his size but that doesn’t mean I’d feel comfortable playing him huge minutes from the get-go. However, a rotation with these two, plus Mitchell, plus another experienced big man that can help pull down boards and block shots? I think that’d be the best group at the position in the Dennis Gates era — which isn’t saying a whole lot, but still.
