I'm going to write a full story with quotes from the guys and from Anderson. But in looking back, I did something after last year that I wanted to do again. We're going to run through each player on the team and do a best-case/worst-case. So here we go.
Terrence Phillips
Best-Case: He cuts down on the turnovers, eliminates the silly fouls and gives Anderson 30 minutes of at least SEC honorable mention type point guard play. His leadership was fantastic, his jump shot was better than expected. But he's going to be counted on to carry a very heavy load for this team.
Worst-Case: Mizzou doesn't sign another point guard capable of lightening the load, Phillips continues to have foul problems and the Tigers spend all season looking for a point guard that can allow them to survive when Phillips isn't on the floor.
KJ Walton
Best-Case: He continues to work on his jump shot and expands his all-around offensive game. Walton is one of very few Mizzou players who was really good at getting his own shot last season. Because of that, he has the ability to be a high-level scorer for the Tigers if he adds a serviceable jumper to his arsenal. Of the four-man freshman class, he may have the most room to grow between year one and year two.
Worst-Case: He is inconsistent and continues to see his minutes go back and forth. The issues impacts his effort and he is the same player next year that he was this year.
Jordan Barnett
Best-Case: He leads Missouri in scoring and rebounding. He's got that type of ability. People in Columbia saw it up close in high school. A change of scenery reinvigorates Barnett and he's the centerpiece of getting Mizzou hoops turned around.
Worst-Case: He's the player he was at Texas for a year-and-a-half, isn't consistently producing and is an average player on a below average team.
Jakeenan Gant
Best-Case: That he becomes the player many people thought he was two years ago. The first two years of Gant's career were marred by suspensions, injuries and inconsistency. He has shown flashes of being a good player. He's clearly a good athlete and at times a pretty good rebounder. Gant needs to live in the weight room and become a guy who gets more points in the paint and falls out of love with his three-point shot. In a perfect world, he leads this team in rebounding.
Worst-Case: With the rest of his classmates gone (who had Gant as the last man standing from that group?) Gant never fully buys in and continues the inconsistence we've seen in the first couple of years. He's a bit player who never delivers on the potential some still believe he has.
Kevin Puryear
Best-Case: He builds upon a strong freshman year, gets stronger, improves his rebounding and is the best player on a Missouri team that is much better than the last two.
Worst-Case: There's nobody to take the focus off him offensively, teams can concentrate on shutting him down and his numbers go down while nobody else can pick up the slack.
Russell Woods
Best-Case: He finds something like Ryan Rosburg did in the last month of the season and turns into a productive player for Missouri. He gives you points around the rim, solid defense and rebounding. He gives a Tiger team that will desperately need it some size inside.
Worst-Case: He's an extra five fouls against bigger, more physical opposition.
Cullen VanLeer
Best-Case: He finds his shot and becomes a three-point killer off the bench while continuing to improve other parts of his game. With more talent around him, he can focus on what he does well and fills a specific role as a shooter and offensive weapon.
Worst-Case: He continues to struggle from three-point range, it gets in his head and his all-around game suffers because of it.
Willie Jackson
Best-Case: He's good enough to start from day one on the wing for Missouri. He is a versatile scorer who can handle the ball well enough to help out the backcourt and rebound well enough to help Puryear, Barnett and others down low.
Worst-Case: He isn't ready for the college game quite yet, but has to play more minutes than he should due to the roster and struggles as a freshman.
Reed Nikko
Best-Case: He is allowed to be brought along at an appropriate speed, getting his feet wet early on and by the end of the year is a contributor on the glass and on defense.
Worst-Case: He redshirts
Mitchell Smith
Best-Case: His versatility provides him a role to get a few points and rebounds a game offensively while becoming a decent shot blocker on defense.
Worst-Case: He's simply not strong enough to play and redshirts.
We know Missouri will add at least two more players to this list, potentially three. But these are the ones we know are here right now. We don't expect any other departures. Like I said, I'm writing a story with some quotes from Anderson and some of the players, but wanted to throw this out there for discussion.
Terrence Phillips
Best-Case: He cuts down on the turnovers, eliminates the silly fouls and gives Anderson 30 minutes of at least SEC honorable mention type point guard play. His leadership was fantastic, his jump shot was better than expected. But he's going to be counted on to carry a very heavy load for this team.
Worst-Case: Mizzou doesn't sign another point guard capable of lightening the load, Phillips continues to have foul problems and the Tigers spend all season looking for a point guard that can allow them to survive when Phillips isn't on the floor.
KJ Walton
Best-Case: He continues to work on his jump shot and expands his all-around offensive game. Walton is one of very few Mizzou players who was really good at getting his own shot last season. Because of that, he has the ability to be a high-level scorer for the Tigers if he adds a serviceable jumper to his arsenal. Of the four-man freshman class, he may have the most room to grow between year one and year two.
Worst-Case: He is inconsistent and continues to see his minutes go back and forth. The issues impacts his effort and he is the same player next year that he was this year.
Jordan Barnett
Best-Case: He leads Missouri in scoring and rebounding. He's got that type of ability. People in Columbia saw it up close in high school. A change of scenery reinvigorates Barnett and he's the centerpiece of getting Mizzou hoops turned around.
Worst-Case: He's the player he was at Texas for a year-and-a-half, isn't consistently producing and is an average player on a below average team.
Jakeenan Gant
Best-Case: That he becomes the player many people thought he was two years ago. The first two years of Gant's career were marred by suspensions, injuries and inconsistency. He has shown flashes of being a good player. He's clearly a good athlete and at times a pretty good rebounder. Gant needs to live in the weight room and become a guy who gets more points in the paint and falls out of love with his three-point shot. In a perfect world, he leads this team in rebounding.
Worst-Case: With the rest of his classmates gone (who had Gant as the last man standing from that group?) Gant never fully buys in and continues the inconsistence we've seen in the first couple of years. He's a bit player who never delivers on the potential some still believe he has.
Kevin Puryear
Best-Case: He builds upon a strong freshman year, gets stronger, improves his rebounding and is the best player on a Missouri team that is much better than the last two.
Worst-Case: There's nobody to take the focus off him offensively, teams can concentrate on shutting him down and his numbers go down while nobody else can pick up the slack.
Russell Woods
Best-Case: He finds something like Ryan Rosburg did in the last month of the season and turns into a productive player for Missouri. He gives you points around the rim, solid defense and rebounding. He gives a Tiger team that will desperately need it some size inside.
Worst-Case: He's an extra five fouls against bigger, more physical opposition.
Cullen VanLeer
Best-Case: He finds his shot and becomes a three-point killer off the bench while continuing to improve other parts of his game. With more talent around him, he can focus on what he does well and fills a specific role as a shooter and offensive weapon.
Worst-Case: He continues to struggle from three-point range, it gets in his head and his all-around game suffers because of it.
Willie Jackson
Best-Case: He's good enough to start from day one on the wing for Missouri. He is a versatile scorer who can handle the ball well enough to help out the backcourt and rebound well enough to help Puryear, Barnett and others down low.
Worst-Case: He isn't ready for the college game quite yet, but has to play more minutes than he should due to the roster and struggles as a freshman.
Reed Nikko
Best-Case: He is allowed to be brought along at an appropriate speed, getting his feet wet early on and by the end of the year is a contributor on the glass and on defense.
Worst-Case: He redshirts
Mitchell Smith
Best-Case: His versatility provides him a role to get a few points and rebounds a game offensively while becoming a decent shot blocker on defense.
Worst-Case: He's simply not strong enough to play and redshirts.
We know Missouri will add at least two more players to this list, potentially three. But these are the ones we know are here right now. We don't expect any other departures. Like I said, I'm writing a story with some quotes from Anderson and some of the players, but wanted to throw this out there for discussion.
