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1) Every week I start out thinking this is the week everything comes into focus and is finalized for Missouri basketball. That might be true this week. One thing I know for sure: By the time I write this piece again, we're going to know every transfer that is available. Not every one of them may have made a decision, but to be eligible to play somewhere next season, players have to be in the transfer portal by May 1, which is Sunday. So we will at least know all the available targets by that point in time. So far, we've seen Mizzou tied to 35 transfer targets. As of Monday morning, 23 of them have made a decision on their future. You can see all the updates here.
2) Here's what is left as far as the undecided transfers, with the latest information we have:
Fairdaws Aimaq--Not considering Missouri
Antonio Reeves--Most expect a commitment to Kentucky this week
Xavier Pinson--Xavier and Mississippi State are the final two, Missouri never seemed overly involved
Dylan Penn--We've been told Missouri is no longer involved
Xavier Foster--Visited SMU this weekend, no indication Missouri is a factor
Adam Miller--Check our Sunday update here
Isaiah Adams--Never any indication Missouri had any traction
Kyrell Luc--Taking visits, but not one to Mizzou. The visits are all mid-majors other than Cal
Femi Odukale--Has a top five, Missouri not included
Courtney Ramey--Not much reason to think Missouri has been a factor
Souley Boum--Entered the portal last week, no new info here
Efe Abogidi--Had an initial list of about 40, it's been cut down and doesn't include Mizzou
So realistically, there seems to be just one player on that list who is still much of a possibility.
3) The Tigers currently have one spot open. We expect them to add more than one player. If we were placing wagers, we would say two more will be added. That means one has to leave. The most likely candidate would seem to be Amari Davis in our opinion. Again, we should get a better idea how many players Missouri will add this week. If no one else enters the portal from the current roster, that means Missouri only has one spot. So just as important as who enters the portal from elsewhere will be watching who and how many enter the portal from Mizzou. Either way, we're looking at a roster that includes nine newcomers at a minimum. A complete revamp in what has so far been 34 days since Dennis Gates accepted the job.
4) Some are starting to ask whether this remodel makes Missouri an NCAA Tournament team. I honestly have no idea. We don't know what the schedule looks like and other rosters are not set yet either. It's too early to talk about that. But the fact that it's even a point of discussion is a good thing. I've talked a lot about one of the reasons to make a change being the ability to return hope to a fanbase that seemed to have lost it. That's been done. And, truthfully, that was going to happen no matter who the coach was or what he did with the roster. It's the nature of fans. The new guy hasn't failed yet, so there is always belief that he won't fail. It's the honeymoon period. That period for Gates will last until at least the middle of the 2023-24 season. And that's good. You should have hope. How warranted it is for this upcoming season, I don't really know right now. There are a lot of things to like about what's been done with the roster and the optimism will only grow if my predictions come to fruition. But I'm going to hold off on proclaiming a return to glory until we see at least a few games played.
5) The one thing the last month proves to me is that not nearly as many Missouri fans have quit caring about college basketball as they say. And that's good. Basketball is still Missouri's best shot to be a relevant factor in the SEC on an annual basis. Missouri fans care about it more than most in this league do. Kentucky cares more because Kentucky cares more than anyone. Arkansas cares at least as much. Other than that? Basketball is more important to Mizzou fans than anyone else in this league. And outside of those two programs and Florida, Mizzou has as much history of success as anyone in the league. I don't want to get into whether Mizzou is more a basketball school or a football school because I don't think it really matters and we've beaten it to death. But Missouri, Arkansas and Vandy are the only three schools in this league where it's even a point of discussion (Kentucky is a basketball school and the rest are football schools). Simply because of that, Missouri should be much better at basketball than it has been since joining this league.
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