After a surprising, disappointing, exciting, and depressing 2017-18 that both began and ended in typical Mizzou fashion, the Tigers begin the offseason with several holes in the roster and one major recruiting target remaining.
Losses from 2017-18:
Michael Porter Jr, SF
Jordan Barnett, SF
Kassius Robertson, SG
Injured Role Players:
Cullen Van Leer
Mitchell Smith
Returning Suicide Vest:
Jordan Geist
Spoiler!
Additions:
Transfer:
He will sit out the entire season, but will have 3 years to play 3 beginning in 2019-2020
Mark Smith (former **** recruit), SG, Illinois
2018 Commitments:
Not a lot to get too excited about at this point. The success or failure of the current recruits in his class will be based upon their development rather than their Day 1 skills.
Torrence Watson, SG, **** St. Louis, MO
Javon Pickett, SG, ***, Wichita, KS
KJ Santos, SF, ***, Tallahassee FL
Xavier Pinson, PG, ***, Chicago, IL
Next year is a rebuilding year. Jontay leaving was a possibility, but not a certainty. That, combined with losing two freshman PGs to transfer and a junior shitbag PG to Cosby means that Mizzou will be bereft of experienced playmakers and ballhandlers anywhere in the backcourt, and no one with the rare ability to create in the half-court like Jontay showed. It's probably a 14 win team next year.
5/30 Edit: Jontay Porter is returning, making this team a fringe NCAA contender.
Originally Posted by KChiefs1:
There’s something in that Porter gene that breaks down at 18-21. Too bad because the talent is undeniable.
Mostly genetics, possibly helped by the vegan diet. From the way they describe what they eat, I wonder if they’re getting all the essentials needed to build connective tissue up. [Reply]
BTW, an absolute heist of a victory yesterday. That game will drive UCF nuts for months. As one would expect for a team without a solid offensive system and no established go-to scorer, Mizzou could not get a good look in the closing stretch, but a few miracle plays (the in-bounds bouncing off a defender and straight to Geist underneath the basket, and the buzzer beater off a constipated, nothing play) overcame the offensive incompetence (inability to beat the five second clock when down 1 with 15 seconds left).
This team is likely an SEC cellar dweller, but they battle their asses off. Tilmon has shown growth on the defensive side, but his offense needs similar progression. All the young guards are just that--young. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
And fire Cuonzo?
I have to be honest, and I'm willing to bet just about veryone in this thread has watched it more closely than I have, but I am not the biggest Cuonzo fan. I was lukewarm to cold on the hire, till I saw the recruits (Porters, Tillmon). But my amateur eye sees a poorly coached team that has trouble often completing an inbounds pass. His resume reds as underachieving.
I love what he does to build young men. I think he's a good man. I won't hate if he is actually here. I just think we could upgrade. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sully:
I have to be honest, and I'm willing to bet just about veryone in this thread has watched it more closely than I have, but I am not the biggest Cuonzo fan. I was lukewarm to cold on the hire, till I saw the recruits (Porters, Tillmon). But my amateur eye sees a poorly coached team that has trouble often completing an inbounds pass. His resume reds as underachieving.
I love what he does to build young men. I think he's a good man. I won't hate if he is actually here. I just think we could upgrade.
He needs a good offensive second. There's no doubt about that. That aside, I think he's the kind of coach a program like Missouri needs if it wants to eventually build itself back up to a top-15 school. I don't think there are many coaches that could have overcome losing lottery picks with depleted rosters in consecutive seasons.
The excuses people used for Kim Anderson, which were invalid, actually apply to Cuonzo. I think that by year four this team will show some real signs of competing. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
He needs a good offensive second. There's no doubt about that. That aside, I think he's the kind of coach a program like Missouri needs if it wants to eventually build itself back up to a top-15 school. I don't think there are many coaches that could have overcome losing lottery picks with depleted rosters in consecutive seasons.
The excuses people used for Kim Anderson, which were invalid, actually apply to Cuonzo. I think that by year four this team will show some real signs of competing.
I'll take your word for it, as I'm sure you have more knowledge on the subject. I'm just disheartened right now. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sully:
I'll take your word for it, as I'm sure you have more knowledge on the subject. I'm just disheartened right now.
I totally get that. I've been checked out on a large portion of this season, too. We were supposed to get three years of Porters and ended up with one. We were robbed of seeing the most talented player Columbia has ever produced play for the hometown team. It is disheartening. It's...Mizzou.
However, to be a fan and maintain your sanity, I think you have to have a mixture of gallows humor and a quixotic nature. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
I totally get that. I've been checked out on a large portion of this season, too. We were supposed to get three years of Porters and ended up with one. We were robbed of seeing the most talented player Columbia has ever produced play for the hometown team. It is disheartening. It's...Mizzou.
However, to be a fan and maintain your sanity, I think you have to have a mixture of gallows humor and a quixotic nature.
I have a really close friend who graduated from Georgia. he's such a great guy and such a die hard that I root for the Bulldogs for him. When they choked it away the other night, I told him it was probably my fault from bringing my bad KC/Mizzou juju to the table by rooting for them. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
He needs a good offensive second. There's no doubt about that. That aside, I think he's the kind of coach a program like Missouri needs if it wants to eventually build itself back up to a top-15 school. I don't think there are many coaches that could have overcome losing lottery picks with depleted rosters in consecutive seasons.
The excuses people used for Kim Anderson, which were invalid, actually apply to Cuonzo. I think that by year four this team will show some real signs of competing.
I was at the Temple game; have some impressions that I just never got around to posting about individual players but they mostly just got lost in the fight the team displayed.
They had several opportunities to fold up and go home but they didn't. That game looked lost 3-4 times and yet a stop/score late and they'd have stolen it.
Cuonzo's teams battle their asses off, man. And yeah, the guards are super young and the inbounds shit...lord God how do we still keep messing that up? But these teams are tenacious and that's a reflection on him.
I absolutely think Cuonzo has flaws as a coach and there will be cries for his head far more often than there should be precisely because of them. But he's also exactly what the program needs, IMO. He's a great fit here and I do think he can get them back to being an annual tournament team. The resources are there; he just needs to re-build the depth and recruiting pipelines. It'll come together in time. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
BTW, an absolute heist of a victory yesterday. That game will drive UCF nuts for months. As one would expect for a team without a solid offensive system and no established go-to scorer, Mizzou could not get a good look in the closing stretch, but a few miracle plays (the in-bounds bouncing off a defender and straight to Geist underneath the basket, and the buzzer beater off a constipated, nothing play) overcame the offensive incompetence (inability to beat the five second clock when down 1 with 15 seconds left).
This team is likely an SEC cellar dweller, but they battle their asses off. Tilmon has shown growth on the defensive side, but his offense needs similar progression. All the young guards are just that--young.
The team clearly misses Jontay, but it misses Robertson even more. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
The team clearly misses Jontay, but it misses Robertson even more.
Hell, they haven't even found a replacement for Barnett. Puryear's trying to do it but he's just doesn't have the range.
Mark Smith is doing his best Cash impression and doing an okay job of it at times; just not as reliable as Robertson was. That's going to be a damn nice upper classman as he matures, IMO. [Reply]