The Missouri basketball team has two seniors this season. One, Keith Shamburger, a two-time transfer, will be playing in his first year at Mizzou. The other, Keanau Post, now in his second season as a Tiger, saw an average of 8.1 minutes per game last season.
So it makes sense that Missouri coach Kim Anderson has concerns about leadership on his squad.
“Who’s the person that’s going to step up and be a leader?” he asked. “It doesn’t have to be a verbal or vocal leader, but who’s going to be that guy?”
That guy could be Post, who, according to Anderson, has stepped up and made his presence known this preseason. Last season, the 6-feet-11-inches, 270-pound center scored 1.5 points per game.
“I’m excited to be able to coach that guy,” Anderson said of Post. “He’s really been good — not only from a basketball standpoint, but he’s trying to be somewhat of a leader.”
Post said he has had a lot of moments where freshmen teammates have come to him for advice. Post said he just tries to be there for them and develop trust.
But Post admitted that he, and other upperclassmen, are also learning from the freshmen.
“Just being the upperclassman — somebody the underclassmen can come to when they hit the wall or something like that,” Post said. “We want them to be comfortable with us.
“I feel like everybody on the team has a role in leading the team,” Post added. “I’m not going to go out and say, ‘I’m the leader of the team.’ Everybody has a role.”
Anderson said the role of the rallying force has yet to be filled.
“Hopefully it will be a team thing, or where a guy like Keith Shamburger or Ryan Rosburg or ‘J-Three’ (Jonathan Williams III) just commands their respect on the floor and commands that leadership without being a cheerleader,” Anderson said.
Shamburger isn’t bubbly, and he doesn’t display his enthusiasm. Anderson described the redshirt senior guard as a “mature young man.”
“I think he’s still evolving,” Anderson said. “He’s been at a couple different schools and scored. I think he’s an integral part of whatever success we have. He’s not a big talker. He’s not a big ‘rah-rah’ guy. He just kind of goes out and plays.
“From observing him early on, I think his play will exhibit some leadership.”
Shamburger said he has been trying to be a more vocal leader. After growing up in Los Angeles, Shamburger played his freshman and sophomore seasons at San Jose State University, where he averaged 12.7 points per game and 3.7 assists per game over two years.
Shamburger then transferred to Hawaii. He was redshirted his first season there, and then he started 30 of 31 games at point guard last season as a junior. Shamburger led Hawaii in assists (5.4) and free throw percentage (.832) last season.
Now in Columbia, Shamburger said he’s in the type of college town he has always wanted in his life. Though he’s a senior, he recognizes that he’s also a newcomer, and that he hasn’t done anything on the court yet for Missouri to earn the respect of his teammates.
“I didn’t expect to just have it once I got here,” Shamburger said. “You’ve just got to keep working, and eventually everybody will respect you.”
There may not be a singular leader of this Mizzou team. There may not be “that guy” Anderson mentioned; it may be “those guys.”
When Post was asked what characteristics he thinks make up a good leader, he went back to his original multi-leader theory.
“I don’t think it’s someone with all the characteristics,” Post said. “I think every guy holds a certain characteristic. When it all comes together and everyone is comfortable and trusts each other, then we’ll have a good team. Every guy holds something.”
This season, the average Southeastern Conference team has fewer than three seniors on its roster. Like last season, the Tigers have two seniors.
“I’m hoping that somebody will step up and be a leader,” Anderson said. “But you know, you don’t have to have a leader. If everybody is buying into things and doing things, maybe everybody leads. Maybe everybody is a leader. It’s something that is going to continue to mature as the season goes on.”