The Missouri men’s basketball team starts its season on Friday as it plays host to University of Missouri-Kansas City at Mizzou Arena. With the exhibition season now complete, here are some notes heading into the season.
**Williams III making his way back**
Sophomore forward Johnathan Williams III made his return to live-game action in Saturday’s scrimmage against University of Missouri-St. Louis, leading the team in rebounding with 12 boards. Williams also had 13 points, including a big 3-pointer at the end of the first half as well as an 8-for-10 performance from the free-throw line.
Williams, midway through the first half, seemingly re-aggravated his leg and had a hitch in his step transitioning back on defense. However, he quieted those fears and shed light on the situation after the game.
“I tripped and fell,” he said. “It’s kind of funny … But that was my first time playing in a live-game situation. It was pretty fun getting out there with my teammates again, loving the game of basketball. (The knee) is healthy, so that’s the big thing.”
Williams reported no significant pain in the knee after his first game action since March.
“I got stiff going to halftime, but that’s about it,” he said. “(The recovery) is going quite well. I’m getting stronger each and every day.”
**Slow starts a recurring problem for young Tigers team**
Missouri looked sluggish out of the gate in Saturday’s game, and coach Kim Anderson knew it.
“I called that timeout with four or five minutes to go in the first half because we were getting our you-know-what kicked on the boards,” Anderson said. “That’s not Missouri basketball. That’s not how we’re going to play. We may lose, but we’re not going to play that way.”
But while the first half performance was underwhelming, the Tigers looked much more in-form after halftime.
“The second half we were more aggressive defensively,” Anderson said. “We talked about holding them to 60 points. We did that. Overall, we still have a lot to work on, but I’m pleased about how we fought back and were able to come away with a 20-point win.”
After the game, Anderson acknowledged that the slow start wasn’t a new issue, but something that has been a problem in the practice gym over the last few weeks.
“They start slow in practice,” Anderson said. “That’s something that concerns us all. Last weekend, we played William Jewell (College), we took a day off, we practiced on Halloween and we were great; it might have been one of the greatest practices of the year. Then we had four bad practices in a row after that. I mean bad ones; four unacceptable practices. Then we came back and we were pretty good Thursday and Friday. That comes with youth … They have to be able to react and they have to be able to respond.”
**Shamburger’s play catches Anderson’s eye**
Senior guard Keith Shamburger had arguably the most well-rounded performance in Saturday’s win, putting up 13 points (including three three-pointers), six assists and six rebounds. His name has been thrown around often during the preseason as a potential starter, and according to Coach Anderson, it sounds like Saturday’s showing may have helped his cause.
“He’s had experience,” Anderson said. “And experience is hard to teach. Having played for three years at this level, I think that’s made him a much more steady performer. He’s a guy that you can talk to and tell him, ‘Hey, here’s what we need to do,’ and he’ll go out and get it done. He’s also a guy that, the more we go along, the more you listen to. Sometimes guys that are playing, they have better ideas than coaches … Keith is a mature guy and plays with that level of maturity.”
Shamburger said that it was a talk with Anderson that fueled him to showcase his leadership on and off the court.
“Coach came to me the other day and said he wanted me to be more aggressive,” Shamburger said. “So I took that (upon) myself … I knew he wanted me to be a leader. So I came in and I talked a lot. But I’m used to playing with the players now and as long as I keep getting more comfortable I’ll lead this team as far as I can.”
