Also my really big question that I'd love for someone to answer,

Why did Mosley decide to play? Is he actually the one making the decision to sit out or is that the coaching staff? Why is he randomly playing every few games? Shit doesn't make a bit of sense.
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I’ve done what Kobe did to his foot a few times in my life, it hurts like hell for a couple days and then you’re fine as long as nothing is broken, it will be stiff tomorrow though.
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He's dealing with some stuff off the court. Hopefully this is a sign he's throught it. Deep shot wasn't connecting tonight, but he made some big plays in the 1st half for them.
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Maybe he failed a few classes and wasn’t eligible until 2nd semester which just started?
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NIL stuff, mental health stuff, or academic stuff?

At first I thought that there was no way that it was academic issue, but now I'm not so sure. Last game he played was 12-17 and grades were due 12-20. He then missed every game during the winter break and just suddenly plays now that it's a new semester.
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Loved the win, but damn, that was terrible game to watch. Those idiot refs wouldn't let a decent basketball game break out. No one wants to watch a two and half hour free throw shooting competition.
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It’s not academics. He has remained eligible and wouldn’t be playing now if he grade issues after Fall Semester.

No indication it’s NIL. I think it’s general off-court stuff.

But don’t be surprised if he’s back in Columbia next season for a COVID year.
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That was a very entertaining game. If Diarra continues to develop that could help fill a big hole for them. Extremely impressed with Dennis Gates so far.
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Diarra didn't look like a Power 5 basketball player.

I liked his energy, but he didn't move like a top level player. The handles weren't there and he just seemed to be less fluid than you need from an energy guy.

And that three he made was a flat-footed prayer. That guy will struggle to hit 30% of his shots.

He's built like a 3 and D power forward. He looks like a stretch 4 who needs to add 25 lbs. But his feet aren't graceful enough to stay in front of wings and he's not sturdy enough to body off 4s. He's a pretty clear 'tweener right now, IMO.

And man, this team isn't gonna do anything of note if Nick Honor is in your crunch time lineup. I don't understand what that guy brings to the table at all.

They need some development from Shaw and Mosely. And if they can get that to develop a crunch time lineup of:

Brown
Gholston
Shaw
Mosley
East

They'll struggle a bit with teams with size, but they'll be so sound with the ball and do such a good job of clogging the passing lanes that they can simply go score for score, IMO. That needs to be their best lineup, IMO. If they develop that way, this is a Sweet 16 team. Maybe you get Carter in there for Shaw if Shaw's not ready and you're still solid.

But seeing Diarra at least provide some quality energy was nice. I think as an 10th man in the rotation you can get by with him. And fortunately Mizzou has the depth to manage that.

But right now Brown, Honor and Hodge are this team's top 3 guys and I just can't see that being a recipe for meaningful success against quality opponents.
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I feel you still have to have Hodge in your crunch time line up. He’s the one guy besides Gholston that can create their own 3 pt shot with a defender on them.
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I mean, Diarra isn't ready to be a meaningful contributor... but his comfort level took a major jump the past 2 games. Two games ago, he looked a year away from even being able to give you emergency minutes. Last night, he at least looked like a serviceable "oh crap, real foul trouble" option.

I think his length is a nice weapon and actually was pleasantly surprised at his lateral agility. Literal different read than you. I think he's helpful against Florida simply because Castleton isn't very athletic and Diarra's length bothers him.

Anyway. I think he's improved alot just in the past few weeks and that there's more in the tank. May be next year, but I think he'll be quality for them.

Re: crunch time lineup... Honor is steady and is a good outside shooter. I think that's his value on the floor. I don't know that qualifies him for the crunch time offense.

If Mosely stays on the court, that looks much different than options without him.

East
Hodge
Mosely
Shaw
Brown

would be a pretty interesting lineup. Lot of length and versatility and switchability there.
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Starting with the Illinois game, when we started playing tough competition, Hodge is 13 of 44 from 3pt range. He's shooting 29% from deep over that time.

And he's just going to keep shooting. Frankly, I think his biggest problem is his inability to create his own look. He's a spot up shooter with a relatively slow release and no conscious.

Maybe if he's on in the first half, I could talk myself into him in the crunch. And frankly, Gates loves the guy so he's gonna be in there. But I've just seen him take too many poor shots and/or miss wide ass open looks where he just cratered the teams momentum.

He's a poor man's Clarence Gilbert.
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I think the issue for me is that they were trying to use him as a wing. And his lateral quickness, while decent for a guy his size, just couldn't hang with those wing players and it was making him look a little rough.

Which is why I say he's a tweener right now. He's just not strong enough to defend against guys his height and while his quickness is solid for that height, it's not enough to hang with wing guys.

But yeah - he definitely looked better last night than I've seen and yes, 'oh crap, foul trouble' is exactly where I'd say he can contribute. That's what your 10th guy in the rotation is for.

I just don't think we need to be looking to find minutes for him. The top 9 seem pretty obvious and I can't see any reason to put him ahead of any of them (again, presuming Mosley is here to stay). And so 10 comes down to Degray or Diarra. I can see moving Diarra ahead of Degray based on his development.

As for your lineup - I just prefer Gholston over Hodge. He just seems like a more measured and intelligent player. And I think he's a more versatile player on offense so he can help your spacing more.
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I like Hodge and wouldn't mind swapping out Shaw for him (at least on the offensive end).

Hodge's sniping ability is something defenses are definitely accounting for, and I think he gives you a lot of utility from the corner 3 spot.

With Gholston in instead, I think teams would collapse in A LOT. With Hodge, you're pulling teams to at least one corner.

Offensively, I think the design probably works best with a shooter in each corner, a wing that initiates pick and roll, and a wing that rotates behind the P and R action to the top of the key.

Looking at it, I think Gates' vision as he was putting this team together was:

Honor
Hodge
Mosely
Carter
Brown

In that setup, Mosely is the guy with the ball initiating the action. Honor and Hodge sit in the corners. You have Carter as your P and R guy because of his ability to pop, and Brown is working opposite the P and R action. It gives him the ability to come to the top for the 3 there (he's good from that distance/spot) and gives him the ability to drive and create against collapsing D that reacted to Mosely.

Mosely can either get downhill and get to the rim, or pitch it to a corner if the help comes from there, or kick it back to the top to let Brown create against a scrambling D that is unlikely to get the right body on him to limit his impact.
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And if you like Hodge, that's absolutely a reasonable conclusion.

I just don't. You're looking at a completely random set of outcomes anytime he's on the court. He's a fire and forget shooter and on nights that shot isn't falling - and it hasn't been falling against quality opponents - he's going to take you right out of the game.

This team is simultaneously too good and not good enough to deal with that sort of thing. This isn't a team that NEEDS a high variance bomber to win nor is it a team that is good enough to carry a high variance bomber out there going 0-6 behind the arc.

My preference for Gholston over Hodge would be similar to Gates preference for Honor over Mosely. I'm content taking the more stable player because I don't think you NEED the gunner out there dropping 15 from behind the arc.
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