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MU's rebuilt front line
Posted on: June 9, 2017 at 15:31:35 CT
FIJItiger MU
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http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/eye-on-the-tigers/matter-s-five-for-friday-tilmon-remakes-mizzou-front-line/article_b869ddf1-4e09-5ed2-bac3-98246ba98111.html
By the end of the Kim Anderson era, Mizzou’s frontcourt consisted of Russell Woods, a 6-8 senior whose creaky knees made running and jumping look painful at times; 6-7 sophomore Kevin Puryear, a productive player but undersized by SEC standards; and 6-10 freshman Reed Nikko, who played on two surgically repaired hips and a sprained ankle.
Woods, a starter in every game, was a foul machine who earned a whistle every six minutes. He became a better post defender and occasionally provided some inside scoring, but he didn’t protect the rim. His five blocked shots were fewer than guard Cullen VanLeer (eight) and forward Willie Jackson (six), who transferred at midseason. Five teammates averaged more rebounds per 40 minutes than Woods’ 7.8 and five shot better from 2-point range than his 48.3 percentage. In other words, as much as the Tigers struggled from 3-point range, they didn’t get much from their biggest man on the floor either.
Puryear gets the most out a body that’s probably more suited for the perimeter in today’s game, but he’s had to play more on the low block. He floated to the perimeter more often last season and became a credible 3-point shooter in the second half of the season. He’s worked on his off-the-dribble handles and shooting this offseason and wants to be more versatile offensively.
Nikko showed flashes of inside production but was never truly healthy. Jackson’s transfer and Mitchell’s Smith January knee injury left the frontcourt depleted for the rest of the season in terms of players at the traditional four (power forward) and five (center) positions.
My, how things have changed.
After the offseason roster reboot, Mizzou will have at least four, possibly five players who are 6-10 or taller on the 2017-18 roster. Michael Porter (6-10) is more of a perimeter player but will add size to the rotation. Jeremiah Tilmon (6-10) will figure into the mix inside, along with a healthy Nikko and the 6-10 Smith, once he’s fully recovered from last year’s torn ACL. Jontay Porter, a 6-11 forward, could reclassify and join the roster a year ahead of schedule. That would give MU five players 6-10 or taller for the first time since 1995-96 and just the second time in school history.
According to Mizzou historian Tom Orf’s records, Norm Stewart’s team in ’95-96 featured the 7-foot Haley twins, Sammie and Simeon, plus Monte Hardge (6-11), Derrick Grimm (6-10) and walk-on Dustin Reeve (6-10). No other team in Mizzou history featured that many 6-10 players.
Quin Snyder’s seven Mizzou teams featured only two players 6-10 or taller: Pat Schumacher and Jeffrey Ferguson.
Mike Anderson never coached a player taller than 6-9 in his five seasons at MU.
What does it mean for Mizzou this season? The Tigers were historically bad from 3-point range last year but struggled inside by several measures that are typically defined by inside size. Mizzou ranked No. 209 nationally in average height by KenPom.com, which measures a roster’s inches weighted by minutes played. Only five teams from the six major conferences were shorter than Mizzou — and only one from the SEC, Tennessee. Other relevant rankings:
Offensive rebound percentage: 28.2, No. 210
2-point shooting percentage: 45.0, No. 319
Percentage of shots blocked: 12.6, No. 343
Percentage of opponent’s shots blocked: 6.2, No. 310
The last two numbers are striking. Only eight teams in the country and zero from the major conferences had a greater percentage of their shots blocked than Mizzou. Only one high-major team blocked a lower percentage of its opponent’s shots.
Will a bigger collection of bigs improve those numbers this year? Through just a couple full-team workouts, point guard Terrence Phillips was already intrigued by MU’s sudden supply of tall bodies.
“We’ve got guys,” he said. “We’ve got Kevin, J.T., Mitch when he gets back, and Reed. And we’re deep.”
Tilmon is the most intriguing of the bunch. The Tigers might not need the freshman from East St. Louis to be a prolific scorer, but if he can finish at the rim and protect it on the other end with any semblance of competency, the front line will be upgraded. On Thursday, Tilmon was named to the tryout roster for the Under-19 U.S. team for the World Cup, coached by John Calipari.
“He can run the floor and dunk and block shots, set screens and just play hard,” Phillips said. “There are a lot of bigs in this league who aren’t really back-to-the-basket guys but they just play hard and they get scrappy minutes. Playing hard in this league can take you so far. Look at (John) Egbunu at Florida. He doesn’t have a back to the basket game but he plays so hard and he’s so big and so strong that he’s a factor. If J.T. can just block shots, rebound and score when we need him to he’s going to have a great career here.”
By the end of the Kim Anderson era, Mizzou’s frontcourt consisted of Russell Woods, a 6-8 senior whose creaky knees made running and jumping look painful at times; 6-7 sophomore Kevin Puryear, a productive player but undersized by SEC standards; and 6-10 freshman Reed Nikko, who played on two surgically repaired hips and a sprained ankle.
Woods, a starter in every game, was a foul machine who earned a whistle every six minutes. He became a better post defender and occasionally provided some inside scoring, but he didn’t protect the rim. His five blocked shots were fewer than guard Cullen VanLeer (eight) and forward Willie Jackson (six), who transferred at midseason. Five teammates averaged more rebounds per 40 minutes than Woods’ 7.8 and five shot better from 2-point range than his 48.3 percentage. In other words, as much as the Tigers struggled from 3-point range, they didn’t get much from their biggest man on the floor either.
Puryear gets the most out a body that’s probably more suited for the perimeter in today’s game, but he’s had to play more on the low block. He floated to the perimeter more often last season and became a credible 3-point shooter in the second half of the season. He’s worked on his off-the-dribble handles and shooting this offseason and wants to be more versatile offensively.
Nikko showed flashes of inside production but was never truly healthy. Jackson’s transfer and Mitchell’s Smith January knee injury left the frontcourt depleted for the rest of the season in terms of players at the traditional four (power forward) and five (center) positions.
My, how things have changed.
After the offseason roster reboot, Mizzou will have at least four, possibly five players who are 6-10 or taller on the 2017-18 roster. Michael Porter (6-10) is more of a perimeter player but will add size to the rotation. Jeremiah Tilmon (6-10) will figure into the mix inside, along with a healthy Nikko and the 6-10 Smith, once he’s fully recovered from last year’s torn ACL. Jontay Porter, a 6-11 forward, could reclassify and join the roster a year ahead of schedule. That would give MU five players 6-10 or taller for the first time since 1995-96 and just the second time in school history.
According to Mizzou historian Tom Orf’s records, Norm Stewart’s team in ’95-96 featured the 7-foot Haley twins, Sammie and Simeon, plus Monte Hardge (6-11), Derrick Grimm (6-10) and walk-on Dustin Reeve (6-10). No other team in Mizzou history featured that many 6-10 players.
Quin Snyder’s seven Mizzou teams featured only two players 6-10 or taller: Pat Schumacher and Jeffrey Ferguson.
Mike Anderson never coached a player taller than 6-9 in his five seasons at MU.
What does it mean for Mizzou this season? The Tigers were historically bad from 3-point range last year but struggled inside by several measures that are typically defined by inside size. Mizzou ranked No. 209 nationally in average height by KenPom.com, which measures a roster’s inches weighted by minutes played. Only five teams from the six major conferences were shorter than Mizzou — and only one from the SEC, Tennessee. Other relevant rankings:
Offensive rebound percentage: 28.2, No. 210
2-point shooting percentage: 45.0, No. 319
Percentage of shots blocked: 12.6, No. 343
Percentage of opponent’s shots blocked: 6.2, No. 310
The last two numbers are striking. Only eight teams in the country and zero from the major conferences had a greater percentage of their shots blocked than Mizzou. Only one high-major team blocked a lower percentage of its opponent’s shots.
Will a bigger collection of bigs improve those numbers this year? Through just a couple full-team workouts, point guard Terrence Phillips was already intrigued by MU’s sudden supply of tall bodies.
“We’ve got guys,” he said. “We’ve got Kevin, J.T., Mitch when he gets back, and Reed. And we’re deep.”
Tilmon is the most intriguing of the bunch. The Tigers might not need the freshman from East St. Louis to be a prolific scorer, but if he can finish at the rim and protect it on the other end with any semblance of competency, the front line will be upgraded. On Thursday, Tilmon was named to the tryout roster for the Under-19 U.S. team for the World Cup, coached by John Calipari.
“He can run the floor and dunk and block shots, set screens and just play hard,” Phillips said. “There are a lot of bigs in this league who aren’t really back-to-the-basket guys but they just play hard and they get scrappy minutes. Playing hard in this league can take you so far. Look at (John) Egbunu at Florida. He doesn’t have a back to the basket game but he plays so hard and he’s so big and so strong that he’s a factor. If J.T. can just block shots, rebound and score when we need him to he’s going to have a great career here.”
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MU's rebuilt front line - FIJItiger MU - 6/9 15:31:35