At Mizzou basketball’s first major media event of the year, coach Dennis Gates didn’t shy away from entailing high expectations. When the first part of a question asked where Mizzou would like to get to, “Final Four and national championship” shot out of Gates’ mouth faster than MU in transition.
The words were nothing new for Gates, who had those expectations for each of his previous three teams at Mizzou. The heightened standard, among other things, has helped the Tigers to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
This time around, MU is looking to advance past the Round of 32, which hasn’t happened since 2009.
“I’m excited about being able to go to the NCAA Tournament,” Gates said. “I’m not excited because I truly believe we had a national championship team last year, and we did not advance in the tournament. It’s one thing to get there. It’s another thing to advance, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to not only get there, but also win some games.”
With Mizzou’s season-opener at Howard still three weeks away, hope remains abundant across college basketball, and MU is no different. The Tigers are ranked No. 28 in KenPom, No. 7 in the SEC Preseason poll, appeared on four AP Top 25 ballots and had one player on a preseason All-SEC team (Mark Mitchell, second team).
In his fourth year at the helm, with two less-than-ideal postseason performances and a treacherous campaign under his belt, a breakthrough seems top-of-mind for the program.
“There are good days and bad days,” Gates said, “But you’ve got to lean on your great days and push the program toward moments that haven’t happened in a long time.”
Here are some notes from Media Day, where reporters got a chance to talk to players and coaches for almost an hour.
Taller, longer, faster, stronger
When I asked players what makes this year’s team unique from the last few, one common sentiment prevailed: Mizzou’s personnel has a lot more size and length than usual.
“The coaches keep saying that we’re the biggest team in the country,” guard Aaron Rowe said. “It’s going to be really scary.”
The Tigers have seven players listed at 6-foot-9 or taller which, according to Mizzou Athletics and College Basketball Reference, is the most in program history. Four of them — Shawn Phillips Jr., Jevon Porter, Luke Northweather and Nicholas Randall — are newcomers.
“Our size is by far one of the most unique things of the Dennis Gates era,” graduate assistant Tre Gomillion said. “That allows us to be better defensively. Shot-blocking, deflecting passes, guarding the ball, challenging shots. I think all of those will benefit from our size.”
According to Trent Burns, blocked shots have been frequent during practices. Aaron Rowe said he’s opted for floaters and mid-range jumpers whenever he gets near the paint. Anthony Robinson II said that having an elite shot-blocker like Phillips to protect the paint is comforting.
“They’re all so different and versatile,” Gomillion said. “Shawn Phillips is a very athletic, very long bruiser. You’ve got Trent Burns, who’s currently doing rehab, but he can stretch the floor, shoot the ball and block shots. Then, you’ve got Luke Northweather. He can run the floor real good, can pick and pop, shoot the ball real good. Jevon (Porter) can shoot, and we know what Mark (Mitchell) can do.”
That group is also adept at running in transition, a staple of Gates’ Mizzou teams since his first season in 2022-23.
“I believe we’re going to have one of the best defenses in the country,” guard Anthony Robinson II said, “We’re gonna block shots and get out and run. It’s going to be exciting basketball.”
Rising Robinson
The junior guard, who’s garnered buzz as a potential NBA Draft pick next summer, is looking to build upon a super sophomore season.
With increased playing time came increased production in almost every facet of the game. And while defense has been his calling card since high school, Robinson made a major leap in terms of volume on offense. His free-throw rate skyrocketed, and he nearly tripled his points per game total from his freshman season.
However, the most fascinating leap was his 3-point shooting improvement. His per-game total was the same as his freshman season (1.5 attempts/game), but his percentage increased by almost 20 points.
“My confidence went up from freshman to sophomore year,” Robinson II said.
In the past, Gates would often stop practice if Robinson II (or anyone else) passed up an open 3-pointer. Times have apparently changed.
“He hasn’t called it that much on me lately,” Robinson II said. “I’ve just been shooting it freely. No hesitation.”
Gates wants him to shoot even more this season, and Robinson said he’s aiming to do so. Such a leap in volume while maintaining high efficiency would likely warrant further NBA Draft consideration.
Other notes
- Mizzou will not only be pushing the pace once again this season, but they’ll continue shooting a lot of 3-pointers, too (close to 800, according to Gates). The Tigers shot 806 3-pointers last season, 730 the season before and 904 in Gates’ first season at MU.
- Trent Burns is “ahead of schedule” on his foot rehab.
- When asked what he likes about the newcomers, Gates mentioned two things: one was their experience, as four of MU’s five transfers averaged at least 18 minutes per game last season (Phillips, Porter, Jayden Stone and Sebastian Mack). The other is familiarity with Gates before getting to Mizzou, as Gates said that he’d recruited everyone on the roster at some point before this past year.
- Gates on sophomore guard T.O. Barrett: “I would love for T.O. Barrett to have the same jump that Ant Robinson had as a freshman to a sophomore,” Gates said. “That’s something I’m looking forward to seeing. We saw flashes of him doing such in big games, whether it was a win on the road at Florida or even throughout his growth during the year behind the scenes.”
Player comps/inspirations
Last season, I asked a handful of MU’s newcomers who they modeled their game after or, at the very least, tried to take little things from and apply them to their own game. Here’s this year’s crop of answers:
Sebastian Mack: Charlie Moore and Marcus LoVett (Mack, like those two, is from Chicago)
Shawn Phillips Jr.: Evan Mobley
Nicholas Randall (take a deep breath): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Derik Queen, Danny Wolf and Ace Bailey
Aaron Rowe: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Garland
