With seven minutes remaining, Florida guard Kasey Hill grabbed his own rebound and put the ball back up. The rubber Nike Elite basketball met the hand of a leaping Jakeenan Gant for his second of his three blocks Feb. 24.
The play did not stop there for the 6-foot-8-inch Missouri freshman forward.
Senior guard Keith Shamburger grabbed the loose ball and started a fast break to the other end. Gant hustled down the court and caught a lob pass from Shamburger, slamming it home for the alley-oop.
Gant said the block-to-dunk combination was not foreign to him, as he did it in high school multiple times.
“I was exhausted when I blocked the shot and started running,” Gant, who had three blocks, two dunks and six rebounds in Mizzou’s streak-snapping 64-52 win over the Gators last Tuesday, said. “I don’t know how I caught the ‘alley,’ but I caught it.”
Gant has displayed his athleticism all season long, putting up highlight-reel plays like he did against Florida. He ranks third on the team in blocks with 14 and first in blocks per game with 0.7. On the offensive end, Gant has the Tigers’ second-best field goal percentage at .518. Yet, the Tigers’ top-rated Class of 2014 recruit ranks last among the five Mizzou freshmen in minutes per game.
Gant averages 15 minutes on the floor per game, placing him eighth among Mizzou’s 11 scholarship players. Only senior forward Keanau Post and junior guard Deuce Bello play less. Gant has 14 blocks in 303 minutes, while sophomore forward Johnathan Williams III and junior forward Ryan Rosburg each have 17 blocks in 842 minutes and 452 minutes, respectively. To put it in perspective, Gant has just three fewer blocks than Williams in just over one-third the amount of time.
Much of Gant’s missed minutes can be found in the first month of the Tigers’ season.
Gant missed the first nine games of the season while the school reviewed his eligibility. He made his season debut Dec. 13, scoring 13 points in 15 minutes in a loss to Xavier. He also put up two blocks in the game.
Despite the double-digit scoring performance in his collegiate debut, Gant admitted that the suspension was “tough” and stunted his development.
“I didn’t have that experience, so I couldn’t go out and play how I wanted to play,” he said.
Gant has played in every game since coming off his suspension last semester, averaging 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. However, in five of those games, he spent less than 10 minutes on the floor. Four of those games came consecutively in late January. Gant found himself on the bench while the Tigers continued their historic losing skid.
Missouri coach Kim Anderson’s reasoning was the defensive liability Gant was tied with. Gant, a 215-pound forward in high school in Springfield, Georgia, weighed in at 207 pounds at the beginning of his freshman season at Mizzou.
“He’s going to be a good defensive player,” Anderson said. “But he’s got to get stronger so that he can guard bigger guys, and he’s got to get his footwork (down) so that he can guard smaller guys.”
Gant was getting muscled off the ball and overpowered for rebounds in the paint, which caught the 2014 “Mr. Basketball” of Georgia and the state’s top recruit by surprise.
“I didn’t know it was going to be this physical –– playing in the post (in college),” Gant said.
It was when this happened, Anderson said, that Gant hit a wall.
“Sometimes you hit the wall once, sometimes you hit the wall twice,” Anderson said, referring to Gant’s past struggles. “You hit a wall and you’re trying to find something positive.”
To find that something positive, Gant has been working in the weight room more, something his roommate can attest to.
“Jakeenan has been in the weight room every single day trying to get stronger,” Williams said. “He’s been working extremely hard.”
It doesn’t stop there for Gant. In addition, Anderson has had the freshman meet with a nutritionist. Gant said he is trying to gain 15 pounds and doing so by eating more fruit and vegetables.
“It’s going to help me out physically when I have to bang in the post and guard people in the post,” Gant said. “I can push them around.”
“Jakeenan’s main emphasis lately has been trying to get stronger, and that takes time,” Anderson added. “That’s going to be next year before that happens. He’s doing everything he can, it just takes his body to get it done.”
Yet Gant said he has already seen results. He said things have been clicking the last three or four games, as he’s starting to play more confidently. Gant has been averaging 7.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in his last four contests.
“I’m starting to feel my roll better and know where I get my shots from,” Gant said. “I’m not rushing now. I’m playing more myself.”
Gant’s play has caught his coach’s eye, too. Anderson said he has improved tremendously over the past month and that he sees the development every day in practice.
Lately, Anderson has used Gant on the floor with Williams down low.
“You get quickness, maybe a little more athleticism, maybe play a little faster,” Anderson said about the Gant-Williams combo.
Anderson wants to continue to use this smaller and “energetic” lineup option. As a result, Mizzou basketball fans can expect to witness even more blocks, dunks and block-to-dunk highlights from Gant.