Around this time a year ago, uncertainty surrounded Missouri men’s basketball, as many new players and a new coaching staff were set to take on a difficult SEC schedule. 

Although the amount of roster turnover this season isn’t too far off from last season — Missouri lost their top three scorers from 2022-23 over the offseason — all that fans have heard leading up to the 2023-24 campaign is talk of April 6 and 8 in Phoenix, Arizona.

This is the time and place of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the goal of many Division I programs across the country. To many around the Missouri program, talk of heading to Phoenix seemed ambitious a year ago, but that was before the Tigers won 25 games, finished fourth in the SEC, won a March Madness game and produced two NBA players in D’Moi Hodge and Kobe Brown, the latter of whom was a first round draft selection. 

While excitement is high in Columbia following the Tigers’ most successful season since 2011-12, this is a very different team from last year. This is a team that has only seven  returners, looking to replace its three top-scorers while looking to create their own identity.  

“We always talk about how this team hasn’t done nothing. We’re gonna have to make our own impact,” senior Sean East II said. “Last year is last year, we’re not gonna get involved in what we did last year.”

So, who are the players looking to continue the success in this new era of Missouri basketball?

The Returners

One of two returning starters from last year’s team is fifth-year senior Nick Honor. While Honor stands at just 5-foot-10, the lone returning captain from last season is the engine for the Tigers’ offense. Starting in all 35 games for the Tigers last season, Honor led Missouri in assists with 2.9 per game and did so while turning the ball over 0.9 times per game. He also is an efficient 3-point shooter, as he converted from deep at a 39.9% clip last season. While this year’s team has plenty of question marks, Honor is not one of them.

“Nick Honor is a coach on the floor. He’s very important to what we do,”head coach Dennis Gates said. “He’s very important to our team. He’s very important to me. I think he gives us a sort of disposition that’s needed. He has experience. He is a young man that thinks the game.”

One of the many players who will be looking to fill the Kobe Brown-sized hole is another fifth-year senior, Noah Carter. Carter was the leading scorer amongst returning players, averaging 9.6 points per game last year. Gates has not hid his expectations for Carter’s expanded role this season, hoping to see him play a part similar to what he was during his time at Northern Iowa.

“You look at Noah Carter, who averaged close to 17 points a game at Northern Iowa,” Gates said. “His usage was down because of, obviously, Kobe Brown, and he patiently waited. So now, I’m going to have a different expectation for Noah Carter to go out and perform the best that he can, but also make plays for other guys.” 

Carter often struggled to score consistently last season. Four separate times last year, he followed up a double-digit scoring game with a stretch of three or four games below 10 points. Carter found a groove in late February and all throughout March, reaching double-digit scoring totals in seven of Missouri’s final eight games.

Senior point guard Sean East II is back for his second year at Missouri and is once again looking to lead the Tigers’ second unit. East plays a much different and quicker style than Honor, which is useful for when Gates wants to change pace and go for a faster approach. Even though he plays the game at a faster pace, East still controls the ball fairly well, as he averaged just 1.5 turnovers per game last season. The biggest improvement that he will need to make is to his three-point percentage, as he sat at just 22% last year.

Explosive sophomore forward Aidan Shaw showed glimpses of his potential last season, developing into a solid defender and lob threat for Missouri. The improvements that he made in the summer have been showing during the preseason, with Gates calling this year’s version of Shaw a “different face.” Shaw averaged 2.7 points per game in his 10 minutes per game last year, and will have the opportunity to see that playing time grow with the departures of Brown as well as DeAndre Gholston, both of whom ate up a majority of minutes on the wing. 

For a second straight season, the player with the most excitement coming out of training camp is K. Brown. Except this time, it’s not Kobe; rather, it’s his younger brother, Kaleb. 

“Kaleb Brown is the most improved player that we’ve had all summer,” Gates said. “I look for him to make some strides and continue to do those things in a consistent way.”

This was one of three times during his Media Day press conference that Coach Gates talked about the improvement that Kaleb made in the offseason. Gates called the junior “a new person on and off the court.” Kaleb Brown put his name into the transfer portal following Kobe’s draft declaration, but later decided to return to the Tigers. He only appeared in 11 games last season for Missouri, and most came in situations when the Tigers had already put a game out of reach. If the hype Gates is generating out of camp proves to be real, Kaleb could prove to be a significant rotation piece. 

Rounding out the returners are senior Mabor Majak and sophomore Jackson Francois. Both played just eight games last year, although Majak played crucial minutes in the road win against Tennessee. The South Sudan native blocked a go-ahead Tennessee layup before being fouled and hitting a free throw to put the Tigers up one late in the game. Francois returns as a source of energy from the sidelines, an important role similar to that of Ben Sternberg last season. 

The Transfers

Missouri’s achilles heel last season proved to be their lack of rebounding. Among the returning Tigers, Carter was the leading rebounder at just four boards per game. The Tigers were last in the SEC in most rebounding categories, and it cost them greatly in their March Madness defeat to Princeton in which they allowed 16 offensive rebounds. 

MU took action accordingly. They brought in 7-foot-5 center Connor Vanover, fifth-year senior from Oral Roberts, a team that went 30-5 en route to a Summit League championship. Vanover averaged 12.7 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Golden Eagles, but decided to hop in the portal. Not only can Vanover help on the glass, he’s a capable shooter as well. He shot 32% from deep last year, and Gates has expressed a strong desire for him to consistently let it fly. 

“If he don’t shoot threes, I’m gonna take him out of the game. It’s that simple,” Gates said.  

The best pure scorer that was brought in during the summer is fifth-year senior John Tonje. Tonje spent the past four years at Colorado State, starting all 33 games last season for the Rams. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, Tonje has the strong frame and athletic ability to finish consistently at the rim, as well as a smooth shooting stroke that makes him a threat in the mid-range as well as beyond the arc, where he shot 38% last year. He averaged 14.6 points per game on an efficient 47% from the field during his senior year and will look to bring that same scoring prowess to the SEC. 

At Media Day, Gates entailed three goals regarding the way he wants Missouri to play this season. He wants Missouri to lead the nation in three-point attempts, makes and percentage. Few players were more excited to hear that than Iowa State transfer Caleb Grill. The fifth-year senior averaged 9.5 points per game on 36% shooting from deep for the Cyclones last season, putting up 5.8 three-point attempts per game. 78% of his shots last year were 3-pointers, so don’t be surprised to see Grill pulling up from deep whenever given the opportunity. 

Rounding out the transfer class are Tamar Bates, Curt Lewis and Jesus Carralero Martin. Bates joins Missouri after two seasons at Indiana, where he averaged 5.1 points per game in 67 games. Gates praised his ability to play in big games. 

“Tamar Bates, he played in the Big 10 at Indiana. There shouldn’t be a crowd that impacts him in a negative way,” Gates said. “He should be able to play in any environment.” 

Lewis makes his return to Division I basketball following one season in junior college where he led John A. Logan to their first national championship. He also won the NJCAA Player of the Year, as his 48% clip from downtown made him a lethal scoring threat. Carralero spent the past four years at Campbell, but only played in five games last season due to injury. It remains to be seen what he can do at the SEC level, but he has been a reliable player throughout his career so far. 

The Freshmen

Missouri’s freshman class is led by 6-foot-10 forward Trent Pierce. The four-star recruit out of Chandler, Arizona was ranked No. 84 in his class by 247 Sports and chose Missouri over Oklahoma, Illinois, Florida and other Division I programs. Pierce shoots the three well, and his versatility allows him to be a viable defender against multiple positions.

“Trent is one of the more versatile players we recruited and a welcome addition to the Mizzou family,” said Gates. “He has incredible length and as a wing, he can guard every position on the court. Our coaching staff has worked well with players of his skill set and he will fit in nicely within our system.” 

Next in the class is 7-footer Jordan Butler. Butler was ranked as the No. 131 recruit in the country according to 247 Sports and chose Missouri over SEC rivals Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Butler is a talented rim protector who averaged 3.4 blocks per game in his senior campaign, and will help Missouri’s rebounding woes if he’s able to earn playing time. 

The last of the scholarship players is freshman captain Anthony Robinson II. The 6-foot-2 point guard became the winningest player in Florida boys basketball history at Florida State University High School and was ranked No. 150 in his class according to 247 Sports. The strength of Robinson’s game lies in his pure athleticism. He has a 6-foot-7 inch wingspan which, coupled with his elite quickness, makes him a threat on the defensive side of the ball. While the backcourt is crowded with Honor, East, Grill, Bates and Lewis this season, Robinson has the potential to be a crucial piece for the Tigers over the next few seasons. 

Rounding out the freshman class are walk-ons Danny Stephens and JV Brown. Stephens was a 2,000 point scorer at Southeastern High School in Illinois and provides another big body off the bench at 6-foot-6 . Brown spent his high school years at Rolling Hills Prep in California and possesses a strong ability to shoot the three, tallying 140 3-point field goals made in his high school career. Gates has been very vocal about the importance of the duo. 

“Those guys are unreal walk-ons for our program,” Gates said. “In both a long-term fix, but also short-term what they provide.” 

Missouri will open their season at Mizzou Arena on Nov. 6, when they play host to Arkansas Pine-Bluff. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. 

Edited by Quentin Corpuel

Copy edited by Jackson Cooper and Grace Knight