****Official 2017-2018 Missouri Tigers Basketball Thread****

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Back up in your ass with the resurrection. Follow the Cuonzo Martin era here.

Recruiting Commitments:

2017:
Michael Porter Jr., SF, *****, Gatorade National Player of the Year
CJ Roberts, PG, ****
Blake Harris, PG, ***/****
Jeremiah Tilmon, F/C, ****
Kassius Robertson, Grad Transfer
Jontay Porter (possible re-classification from Class of '18), ****

Departures: No one that matters
Returning Players: No one that matters

Overall class ranking: #6 nationally.

[siberian khatru]

Mizzou announces that men’s basketball season tickets have officially sold out

— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) November 7, 2017

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Beerthirty

Is CJ Roberts fitting in anywhere? Haven't heard much about him

Don't think he's going to be much of a factor this and maybe never will be.


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[Mizzou_8541]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Don't think he's going to be much of a factor this and maybe never will be.


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Wow. Wasn’t he a rivals 4-Star?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Mizzou_8541

Wow. Wasn’t he a rivals 4-Star?

Yes. Great athlete, big HS stats, but that 4-star status is a little questionable. Probably wouldn't have stuck if he/his dad weren't connected in Texas. KJ Walton was a Rivals 4-star too. Beware the guys ranked there only by rivals...


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[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by Beerthirty

Is CJ Roberts fitting in anywhere? Haven't heard much about him

Ask and ye shall receive:

https://www.rockmnation.com/2017/11/...-rotation-spot

Pros: Roberts’ pros are harder to nail down because... well, we’ve never seen him play in a game with Division 1 competition. We did get a short look at him in the Kansas game, but almost nothing substantive (more on that later.) Outside of highlight tape, all we have to go on is past scouting reports. Here’s what Rock M Nation’s Sam Snelling had to say when Roberts originally committed to Kim Anderson’s staff:

Roberts is an explosive athlete and high volume scorer with the ability to make shots at all three levels. He’s played both on and off the ball in high school and projects to play both at the college level, although primarily he’ll be thought of as a point guard due to his size. At 6’0 and 175 lbs, Roberts could stand to put on a little weight but should provide an immediate impact for a program that has struggled to score the last few years. Roberts has the ability to catch fire and carry the offensive load and has perhaps as high of a ceiling as any guard (outside of to top 3 or 4 guards) in the country.

This is a pretty common consensus on Roberts across the board: he’s a gifted offensive player and one hell of an athlete. Now the question is whether or not that will show up in a college game. And the only way we’ll be able to tell is if he’s getting minutes.

Cons: Take almost everything I just said and repeat it again. We know about the promise of CJ Roberts, but we don’t know if it’ll translate. It’s obvious he hasn’t adjusted as well as the other freshman on the roster — he only played two minutes against Kansas. So what’s the source of the issue? Is his defense not up to snuff yet? Is his offense struggling to develop? It could be a combination of the two.

He’s also got a size disadvantage, playing at only 6’0 and 180 pounds. That’s point guard size, but he’s got three people ahead of him on the depth chart: Phillips, Harris, and maybe Robertson too. So if Roberts can’t provide some scoring punch off the bench, he’s going to need to find his defensive game in a hurry.

Outlook: At this point, there’s almost no certainty surrounding CJ Roberts. I think he’ll see more time as the year goes on, but we just haven’t seen anything to suggest the coaches trust him with extended minutes yet. He’s ending up fourth on my list.

If I had to personally rank who I want to see take up that spot I’d rank them like this:

(1) CJ Roberts

(2) Reed Nikko

(3) Cullen VanLeer

(4) Jordan Geist

I think Roberts has the potential to be a really good four-year player for this program, and I think the best way to develop him will be getting him on the court with players like Kassius Robertson and Michael Porter Jr. while they’re here.

[DJ's left nut]

Well the fact that he committed to a program led by Kim Anderson suggests that he probably wasn't getting his door kicked in by big time offers. And that he was the centerpiece of Anderson's class pretty much confirms that Anderson was a god-awful piece of shit of a coach.

But beyond that, I didn't see any standout skills in his limited time against KU. Just something of a guy; maybe a slightly slower version of Phillips. He'll be fine, but he's not someone that should be getting major minutes as a freshman for a potential tournament team.

I think we kinda forget that some of the freshman we've been playing were only playing because the team suu*******ed. Ideally a true freshman coming into a program, unless we're talking about a top 25 guy, should not be at/near the top of the depth chart.

Roberts sitting a bit shouldn't be seen as any different than when someone like Stokes or Thomas Gardner came in to decent programs as freshmen and got limited run early on before establishing themselves by their JR years. That's what happens with good, not great prospects on good teams and it's not necessarily an indictment on Roberts as much as the fact that we're surprised by it is an indictment of Kermit's stupid ass.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Ask and ye shall receive:

https://www.rockmnation.com/2017/11/...-rotation-spot

The best part of that article was the VanLeer section because by golly they just tried so hard to make him sound like he doesn't suck at everything.

"VanLeer’s skill is pretty one-dimensional in nature, but it’s a pretty valuable skill to have: he’s a shooter with range. Now, that has yet to fully translate to Division 1 basketball. He only shot 34% from deep last year and had a 50% effective field goal percentage (eFG%)"

Well, you see, he does this one very important thing well. Okay, I mean he doesn't really do it well at all, but maybe some day he could?

Sure fellas, if he were playing for Truman State. And ideally coming off the bench for Truman State at that.

I cannot ****ing believe this guy has a Division 1 scholarship.

[DJ's left nut]

Kassius Robertson will start at PG on Friday.

That really makes a lot of sense. Like I said after the KU game, his handles and vision were far better than I expected. He looked like the seasoned guard his experience said he should be. Getting his distance shooting out there on the floor alongside Barnett, MPJ, Tilmon and probably Jontay (though I'd prefer Puryear) is going to provide a lot of different strengths. They're lacking a little quickness at G in that event but there's enough length on the floor that they may be able to close out dribble penetrations anyway.

They're going to have to play a very cohesive defensive game under that alignment; lots of good, smart rotations and help. But I think it makes their offensive ceiling sufficiently high enough to justify it.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Kassius Robertson will start at PG on Friday.

That really makes a lot of sense. Like I said after the KU game, his handles and vision were far better than I expected. He looked like the seasoned guard his experience said he should be. Getting his distance shooting out there on the floor alongside Barnett, MPJ, Tilmon and probably Jontay (though I'd prefer Puryear) is going to provide a lot of different strengths. They're lacking a little quickness at G in that event but there's enough length on the floor that they may be able to close out dribble penetrations anyway.

They're going to have to play a very cohesive defensive game under that alignment; lots of good, smart rotations and help. But I think it makes their offensive ceiling sufficiently high enough to justify it.

I read that Robertson sliced his shooting hand earlier in the week. Anything to that?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

The best part of that article was the VanLeer section because by golly they just tried so hard to make him sound like he doesn't suck at everything.



"VanLeer’s skill is pretty one-dimensional in nature, but it’s a pretty valuable skill to have: he’s a shooter with range. Now, that has yet to fully translate to Division 1 basketball. He only shot 34% from deep last year and had a 50% effective field goal percentage (eFG%)"



Well, you see, he does this one very important thing well. Okay, I mean he doesn't really do it well at all, but maybe some day he could?



Sure fellas, if he were playing for Truman State. And ideally coming off the bench for Truman State at that.



I cannot ****ing believe this guy has a Division 1 scholarship.

It's astounding that so many Mizzou fans and basketball people refuse to be honest in assessing VanLeer, Nikko, Smith, Geist, etc.

Anyone with a brain knows those guys aren't good enough for any role on a good team.

VanLeer has a slow, low-release shot that he has to rush to get off against legit Power 5 talent at the 2/3. His feet are cement shoes and he's a complete liability defensively.

Nikko is a stiff and limited athletically. He could be useful as a third option/foul machine. Maybe.

Geist is worthless. Smith is likely to be worthless.

Kim Anderson and his staff weren't just bad at acquiring high profile players. They were also really bad at evaluating the players they could get (Puryear over Morgan, Anonouby, etc).


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[Perineum Ripper]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

It's astounding that so many Mizzou fans and basketball people refuse to be honest in assessing VanLeer, Nikko, Smith, Geist, etc.

Anyone with a brain knows those guys aren't good enough for any role on a good team.

VanLeer has a slow, low-release shot that he has to rush to get off against legit Power 5 talent at the 2/3. His feet are cement shoes and he's a complete liability defensively.

Nikko is a stiff and limited athletically. He could be useful as a third option/foul machine. Maybe.

Geist is worthless. Smith is likely to be worthless.

Kim Anderson and his staff weren't just bad at acquiring high profile players. They were also really bad at evaluating the players they could get (Puryear over Morgan, Anonouby, etc).


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They recruited these guys to train for the Special Olympics..Mizzou Basketball will wreck shit

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Kassius Robertson will start at PG on Friday.

That really makes a lot of sense. Like I said after the KU game, his handles and vision were far better than I expected. He looked like the seasoned guard his experience said he should be. Getting his distance shooting out there on the floor alongside Barnett, MPJ, Tilmon and probably Jontay (though I'd prefer Puryear) is going to provide a lot of different strengths. They're lacking a little quickness at G in that event but there's enough length on the floor that they may be able to close out dribble penetrations anyway.

They're going to have to play a very cohesive defensive game under that alignment; lots of good, smart rotations and help. But I think it makes their offensive ceiling sufficiently high enough to justify it.

I like it.

I was really pleasantly surprised by how good Robertson is. Harris is going to be good and has a ways to go.

Hopefully Barnett steps it up and starts playing some quality D. He's got the tools to be a big wing stopper, ala Josh Richardson at UT for Cuonzo.


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[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

It's astounding that so many Mizzou fans and basketball people refuse to be honest in assessing VanLeer, Nikko, Smith, Geist, etc.

Anyone with a brain knows those guys aren't good enough for any role on a good team.

VanLeer has a slow, low-release shot that he has to rush to get off against legit Power 5 talent at the 2/3. His feet are cement shoes and he's a complete liability defensively.

Nikko is a stiff and limited athletically. He could be useful as a third option/foul machine. Maybe.

Geist is worthless. Smith is likely to be worthless.

Kim Anderson and his staff weren't just bad at acquiring high profile players. They were also really bad at evaluating the players they could get (Puryear over Morgan, Anonouby, etc).

Depending on matchups, I actually think Nikko might be more useful than you think. Trying to view college ball through a 'modern NBA' lens will tell you that he serves no purpose, but there aren't many teams that can really function at that high of a level. Most teams can't really abuse a conventional 5 that badly and I think Nikko has the bulk and just enough touch to be a fine option to come in when Tilmon/Jontay inevitably get in foul trouble.

Geist as a member of the 2nd unit to come in and soak up a few minutes and not be a sieve defensively (and in a pure energy role) could also be semi-useful, but you're effectively playing 4 on 5 offensively with him out there. Or worse, 1 on 5 when he decides to play hero ball and just wastes a possession. But honestly, if you're starting Robertson at the 1, there aren't any minutes left for Geist because you have Phillips/Harris/Roberts to fill that same role and they can do everything Geist can do but better (and can all score to some degree).

Mitchell Smith...well see he creates an issue for me. Because I see a little bit of Torren Jones there in terms of ability. And Jones, while a lunatic and probably a dickhead, could've been a solid depth player on a power 5 team if he kept his head on. But there I recognize that I might be overrating him because I felt like Anderson underutilized him and his tools stood out on a team that was sorely lacking them. So the fact that the players around Jones sucked so badly may be leading me to overrate Smith's potential. I'd honestly rather see them red-shirt him and give him another year to develop to see what we have there.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Depending on matchups, I actually think Nikko might be more useful than you think. Trying to view college ball through a 'modern NBA' lens will tell you that he serves no purpose, but there aren't many teams that can really function at that high of a level. Most teams can't really abuse a conventional 5 that badly and I think Nikko has the bulk and just enough touch to be a fine option to come in when Tilmon/Jontay inevitably get in foul trouble.



Geist as a member of the 2nd unit to come in and soak up a few minutes and not be a sieve defensively (and in a pure energy role) could also be semi-useful, but you're effectively playing 4 on 5 offensively with him out there. Or worse, 1 on 5 when he decides to play hero ball and just wastes a possession. But honestly, if you're starting Robertson at the 1, there aren't any minutes left for Geist because you have Phillips/Harris/Roberts to fill that same role and they can do everything Geist can do but better (and can all score to some degree).



Mitchell Smith...well see he creates an issue for me. Because I see a little bit of Torren Jones there in terms of ability. And Jones, while a lunatic and probably a dickhead, could've been a solid depth player on a power 5 team if he kept his head on. But there I recognize that I might be overrating him because I felt like Anderson underutilized him and his tools stood out on a team that was sorely lacking them. So the fact that the players around Jones sucked so badly may be leading me to overrate Smith's potential. I'd honestly rather see them red-shirt him and give him another year to develop to see what we have there.

Downside of Robertson starting is that it apparently meant major minutes for VanLeer and a start at the 2 for him. Ugh.

Unless he's hitting 45 percent from deep, I think he gives away more than he helps.

Nikko drives me nuts because he's so stiff. I'm fine with him being a deep bench guy who sees some time when foul trouble strikes or for a minute or two a half based on matchups, but that part is critical. He also would really restrict the flow of this open offensive style because he can't handle or shoot.

Smith has some potential, I guess, because he's tall and decently skilled. But he is also is a goddamn beanstalk who struggles on D because of it and has average explosiveness at best.

I don't want to redshirt him because I want that scholarship cleared ASAP. I don't get the Torren Jones comp... Jones was a really well-built 6-8 with crazy long arms and above-average athleticism.


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[dirk digler]

Tigers looking good and the crowd is raucous