Mizzou chat with Dave Matter
Bring your questions and comments about Tigers basketball, football and recruiting, and talk to Mizzou beat writer Dave Matter in a live chat starting at 11 a.m. Thursday.
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It seems to me MU is particularly vulnerable to pressure defense. Press Virginia stole a game from MU in November. Arkansas built a lead pressing MU early in the game and held on to win by two. Mississippi St came from 12 points behind with a minute and a half to go to send the game to OT. This is exacerbated by the lack of a true point guard. I’m sure CM is aware, but with a tournament bid in sight, what is the solution to this obvious problem?
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Yes, they've struggled against the press, but the turnovers haven't always been on the point guard, at least not on Jordan Geist. They've had some bad inbounds passes. On Tuesday, Robertson flat dropped the ball on the inbounds. Teams know they probably can't press Missouri the whole game. It's too easy to get the bigs running to easy baskets when the press doesn't work. And late in a game when a team is down by double digits, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain to apply pressure. I expect teams to continue using that strategy and Missouri to continue working on it.
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He's got a lot of skills that NBA teams will love. The combination of his size and passing ability and shooting range is perfect for the modern day NBA. Will his upside be enough for scouts to overlook the areas of his game he needs to improve? I'm not sure about that. But he'll be an intriguing prospect.
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Last year, the SEC announced the conference awards on March 7, the day before the conference tournament started. Martin has a great shot to win SEC coach of the year, as does Bruce Pearl and Rick Barnes. Will Wade could get some votes, too. Ben Frederickson wrote about this very subject in today's paper. As for the national coach of the year, Chris Beard and Chris Holtmann and Brad Brownell would be on my radar as other strong choices.
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Cuonzo Martin updated the Michael Porter Jr. situation on KFNS 590 earlier today. Here's what he had to say:
Mizzou's Martin confirms Porter visits doctor Thursday, won't play at LSU
stltoday.com: In a St. Louis radio interview, Missouri coach says he'd be shocked if Porter plays next Tuesday. -
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Assuming Porter Jr. is the only current player who leaves this offseason, here's the projected roster:Bigs: Tilmon, Jontay Porter, Puryear, Nikko, SmithWings: VanLeer, K.J. Santos, Torrence Watson, Javon PickettBall-handlers: Geist, Xavier Pinson, PhillipsNow, there's a chance Phillips isn't back next year. If not, that leaves MU two more spots for scholarships. I would think they'd like to add another ball-handler in there at the minimum.**I accidentally left Mitchell Smith off the list of bigs earlier.
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Why are SEC Tourney tickets so high? Is their a big demand for them or is it mostly because of the amount of seats and they know they can sell them at higher prices. Are prices for SEC Tourney set by the SEC admin or by the city or venue that happens to be hosting it that particular year?
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No, he's not practicing. Read the story I posted just recently for more info:
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What will Ofodolie brng to the Tigers exactly, he has done nothing at Oregon. Is this a pick up we should be excited about? I realize he was a 4 star recruit when he laughed in the Tigers face and left for Oregon. Seems like he has been a bust. Not overly hyped about him coming to Mizzou. I hope he pans out and proves me wrong.
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He was barely productive at Oregon, but injuries stalled his progress there. If he's healthy he can help this offense. He was such a dynamic high school receiver playing against the best of the best competition in the state of Missouri - with his dad as the coach. And now his dad will be his position coach, so I would think if anyone can pull the best out of Alex it'll be A.J. He's got size and natural skill. I'm intrigued.
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Any updates on the issue with South Carolina and Sterk's comments? Seems like the comments from the SEC commissioner are vague and the comments from USC still sound like they think it is entirely our problem - we are liars, disrespectful and sore losers. Staley implied she may be considering legal action against Sterk. Do you think this will ever be resolved?
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I can confirm that both ADs met with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey at last week's SEC meetings in New Orleans. Sterk told me earlier this week that he didn't have anything more to say about it. Maybe the teams will meet again next month in Nashville - or in the Elite Eight? Would be fun.
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Xavier Pinson from Simeon Career Academy in Chicago committed to Mizzou last week. I'm going to presume the staff is high on him considering they offered him a scholarship and accepted his commitment. I suspect Geist will continue to see minutes next year at both guard spots. He's too good a defender to sit on the bench and he's cleaned up some of the turnover issues he had earlier in the year.
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Hi Dave! A few observations and a couple questions after the recent men's basketball victories:
Jeremiah Tilmon reminds me a bit of a young Tim Duncan--body type, graceful moves, the way he runs the floor and his footwork around the basket. Once he develops his jumper from 10-15 feet, he is going to be difficult to defend. And it looks like he's finally understanding better how to stay on the floor. I hope we can keep him around for at least three years, but I would imagine he'll be gone after next season to the NBA. Your thoughts?
Kassius Robertson is not only a great ballplayer, but a great representative of the University of Missouri. I saw him interviewed on TV after the game on Tuesday night-seems like a terrific young man. Do you find that to be true as you've talked with him?
Last, Nikko has really become an asset this year on the defensive end with his rebounding and shot-blocking ability. He has given the team some valuable minutes off the bench. Do you think this coaching staff can develop his skills on the other end, so that at least he's somewhat of a scoring threat on the inside? What are they saying about him? As always, thanks for the chat. -
I would compare Jontay Porter to Duncan more than Tilmon because of his range and passing ability. I think Tilmon is a pure center whose game won't evolve much outside of the paint. He might be able to add that 10-foot jumper but I don't see him shooting much beyond that for a few more years.Yes, I really admire Kassius in the short time I've been around him. He's been perfect for this team.Nikko is what he is. I don't think he'll ever be a high-scoring center, but he accepts his role as a reserve big man. He can block a shot. He can body up another big man and play some decent post defense. He's not afraid of contact. And he can hit foul shots. He's a really solid backup center.
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Hi Dave. Just an FYI, if any chatters have ordered SEC tourney tickets through Mizzou, the ticket office plans to mail them late next week or early the week of Feb 26th. My question is based on the NCAA pod system, what city do you see likely as an opening round game?
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