Game 2: Alcorn State

The Tigers started the game really struggling as they didn't even get a shot off on their first two trips down the floor and didn't score their first basket until five minutes had run off the clock.  I was encouraged with the intensity that they brought to the second half as things went much better after halftime, but shooting 38% for the game is pretty ugly.  I will do my usual run-down of the players, but will now go in order from who I liked the best on down.

Stefan Jankovic
I have been Jankovic's biggest critic to this point, but tonight he finally won me over.  Why?  Because he led the team in assists.  The tallest player on the team was also the best passer in this particular game.  5 boards, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 4 assists and no turnovers from a 6'11" freshman?  Okay, I give up.  Grade: 9/10.

Earnest Ross
Ross started off slowly but turned it on in a big way, finishing with a nice double-double stuffing the stat sheet with all sorts of ridiculous numbers (7-8 from the field, 10 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 17 points).  I especially liked the way he played in the second half where he was driving to the hoop and finishing.  I hope to see more of this.  Grade: 8/10.

Alex Oriakhi
Oriakhi is a nice addition to this team.  He is the anti-Ratliffe in that he has absolutely no touch around the goal, but he is a mean dude if there is a rebound to be had.  I'll take 12 and 10 from him any day, every day. Grade: 7/10.

Negus Webster-Chan
I thought I might be the biggest Webster-Chan fan around, but I think Coach Haith may have me beat.  He is loving his do-it-all freshman.  Who doesn't mind a guy who can play three different positions and do all the little things that it takes to help a team?  Webster-Chan led the team in both minutes played and rebounds though only connecting on 12% of his shots.  I never would have believed that this guy would make it into the rotation, but he's looking like he belongs the more I see him play.  Grade: 7/10.

Laurence Bowers
Bowers is developing a pattern of stinking it up in the first half and catching fire in the second half.  In these first two games of the season, he has scored a total of 2 points in the first half and 32 points in the second half.  While I liked his scoring spurt in the second half which all came in the first 6 minutes of the second half, he was pretty quiet and a non-factor in the other 34 minutes of the game.  Grade: 6/10.

Phil Pressey
It's not very often when you can be slightly disappointed with a player's performance when he scores over 20 points, but this just wasn't one of Phil's better games.  He forced way too many shots and I get the feeling that he is frustrated with his teammates for blowing too many gimmies and just would rather take things over himself.  He ended the game with only 2 assists and 3 turnovers (though the statistician made a mistake and charged him for a turnover that was clearly Bell's on the first possession of the game).  Grade: 6/10.

Tony Criswell
I like Criswell a lot and think that he has the potential to help the team in a lot of ways.  However, this was not a good game for him.  While he is a big body and does a great job on the offensive boards, he has struggled defending and finishing shots.  Grade: 4/10.

Keion Bell
Those of us who expressed concerns about Bell before we even saw him play are even more concerned now because while talented, he just doesn't seem to fit anywhere.  He only logged 16 minutes against Alcorn State and most of those minutes it was hard to tell what he was doing.  I have previously praised Bell for his defense and felt like his defense was good in this game as well.  But on the offensive end, he doesn't bring much.  He seems to have a very slow (and long) first step which good defenders have no trouble stopping which puts him in a tough position since he hasn't shown that he has any type of jump shot.  His passing and ballhandling skills also aren't very strong.  As a result, I think Bell is going to be a niche player who will get lots of playing time against teams that he can exploit, but not so much time against others.  Grade: 4/10.

Ryan Rosburg
Seven rebounds in 9 minutes of playing time is pretty impressive, but the rest of his game is pretty ugly.  He just doesn't seem ready yet and is playing way too fast.  Grade: 3/10.

Overall Thoughts

• I was hoping for a 40-point win and Mizzou won by 37.  Alcorn State next faces Stanford on Thursday so it will be worth checking in on that game to see how they do since Stanford will be Missouri's first big test next Thursday.
• Not only were Denmon and English great shooters, but they were also great passers.  I've noticed that the ball doesn't zip around the perimeter like we were used to seeing last year.  While it's hard to let it go, we can't expect this team to be as efficient as last year.
• Mizzou will be so much better on offense once Dixon returns.  I really hope he will able to play in the Bahamas.  We need him.

Next up:  Nicholls State on Friday.

Game 1: Southern Illinois - Edwardsville

The season has begun!  Though the opponent was lowly SIUE, it was nonetheless a good start to the season, despite not having Dixon in the line-up.  But my goodness, Mizzou came out out of the gate looking dreadful, especially on the defensive end.  If this team is going to be good, they really need to improve on defense and rebounding because SIUE was consistently getting second and third looks early on.  The first half was characterized by Mizzou unable to grab rebounds and missing way too many point-blank shots.  Really concerning how poorly the Missouri players were able to finish right at the rim.

Alex Oriakhi
Oriakhi is very limited offensively as he missed a number of point blank shots, including a wide-open dunk from right under the basket.  My expectations were much higher for him as he just has not delivered at all on that end of the floor.  However, he did a pretty good job keeping the defensive glass clean as he ended the game with 15 rebounds.

Laurence Bowers
Bowers was awful in the first half and during a stretch in the second half, dominated as Missouri took control of the game.  It was nice to see some of the two-man game that Bowers and Pressey had going in the second half where Pressey would deliver and Bowers would finish.  I hope to see more of that.

Phil Pressey
Phil is great, but really needs Dixon back in the lineup to take some of the pressure off.  Phil tried to do everything in this game because no one else was able to do anything in the first half.  Guys weren't catching his passes, they weren't finishing plays.  He ended the game with a nice set of stats: 9 assists and 2 turnovers and looked like the great point guard that he is.

Negus Webster-Chan
Webster-Chan is really a great addition to this team.  He has really looked good in these early games and continues to impress with being solid in every phase of the game.  Early on, he got hung up on a couple of screens but closed out well and was able to keep his man from getting a shot off.  In the second half, he got stuck on some screens (as did a number of the Tigers late in the game) allowing some easy looks for SIUE.

Earnest Ross
Ross stunk.  Didn't rebound.  Couldn't guard.  Missed layups.  Threw airballs up from 3.  When SIUE was getting all of those open looks from 3, Ross was usually in no man's land and then would fly at the shooter after the shot was released.  It just wasn't his game.  Ross needs to start playing better defense or he's going to see most of his minutes go to Jabari Brown in December.

Keion Bell
Bell was pretty quiet.  After two early turnovers, he settled down and played much better in the second half. His outside shot sure hasn't looked good.  He's a slasher and was able to get into the lane and pick up some nice assists.

Tony Criswell
Criswell looked good in the first half as he was very active on the boards and grabbed a number of offensive boards to keep possession with the offense.  Unfortunately, he also had trouble finishing in close and seems very awkward on the left side of the goal.  He really favors his right side and doesn't seem to be able to use his left hand even when it's the right move.  He struggled defensively in the second half picking up four quick fouls which led to free throws for SIUE.

Stefan Jankovic
Jankovic continues to stroke it from the outside.  That's where his bread will be buttered this year.  He was a bit of a liability on defense I thought.  He just lacks strength.

Overall Thoughts
Right now, this team plays worse defense than last year's team.  I was just amazed at how easy a team like SIUE was able to get all the way to the basket time and time again.  There was little help defense and overall the team just looked lazy on D like they just weren't willing to play tough.  Even Oriakhi looked lousy on defense at times.

Dixon (assuming he returns) is going to cure a lot of the problems on offense as his quickness and reliability with the ball put additional pressure on opposing D's.  Mizzou scored 83 points on 76 possession which is not very efficient considering the opponent.  SIUE's zone defense late in the game really bogged Mizzou down, especially when Bowers wasn't in to man the high post.

Pressey, Webster-Chan and Jankovic were 7-9 from 3.  Ross and Bell were 0-7.  I know Ross lit it up in the first exhibition game, but he wasn't even close today.

Overall, it was a good early season game.  The team has plenty to work on.

Next up:  Alcorn State on Tuesday.

Exhibition 2: Missouri Southern

Some teams just don't provide a very good gauge for how far along Mizzou is.  It's especially hard when two of Mizzou's primary players don't even play.  Early on, I thought Missouri looked terrible.  Pressey was throwing up bricks from outside (0-5 from 3), Missouri Southern was outrebounding a much taller Missouri squad, Rosburg continues to look overmatched by Division II players and general sloppy play from the team as a whole.  I was happy to see the team start the second half with a little defensive intensity, but even then...it was a mixed bag.

Alex Oriakhi
Oriakhi sure did not impress in this game.  He didn't rebound, he turned the ball over and showed no touch on the offensive end.  I am really hoping that he can provide a solid inside presence this season, but this game sure was not a good sign.

Laurence Bowers
Bowers looked better this game than he did against Northwest Missouri State.  He played more within the flow of the offense and was more active on the boards.  That was encouraging to see.

Phil Pressey
Flip stunk.  But we know enough about him not to be concerned.

Earnest Ross
Ross also disappointed me in this game.  I was hoping that he would be a solid mid-range player, but he seems content to float around the perimeter looking only for 3-pointers.  I watched him on defense and he seems to do a pretty good job, but I never got a good feel for him and he's not near the rebounder that he was touted to be.  He did have 6 assists in this game though which shows that he's a pretty well-rounded player in that he can do a lot of different things to help the team win.

Tony Criswell
I really really like Criswell's game.  He's the mid-range player that this team needs.  He moves and plays like he's 6'4", but he's a 6'9" bruiser who is a great ballhandler and has a really nice touch on the offensive end.  Right before halftime, he had a nifty steal and then led the break the other way and made a great pass.  Criswell is definitely going to be a part of this rotation.  He finished the game with 13 points shooting 63% from the field, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and no turnovers.  I'll take those stats any day of the week.

Ryan Rosburg
Not ready.

Stefan Jankovic
Jankovic obviously scored some points today, but I'm not wild and crazy about his game.  I actually think his potential is that of Josh Kroenke, as a 3-point specialist.  He's a little wild and doesn't have the strength yet to bang with the big bodies that are going to be down low during the meat of the season.

Negus Webster-Chan
I saved the best for last.  If anything good came out of this exhibition game, it was the arrival of Webster-Chan.  I loved the way he ran the point as Pressey's backup.  I loved how steady he was.  He didn't showboat.  He didn't gamble for steals on defense.  He was all business and was super-solid at getting the job done.  He played the most mature game of all the Tigers, yet is only a freshman.  I had somewhat written him off based upon what I saw at Mizzou Madness and the first exhibition game, but I finally saw what the coaches have been raving about.  He ran the point way better than what we saw from Bell in the last game.  He is extremely versatile and based upon today's performance is going to be one of those players who can be counted on to do whatever it takes to get the job done.  Jankovic had the big dunk in the game, but what got me off my feet was the bounce pass that made it happen.

Overall Thoughts
Three thoughts, all of which are slightly negative but highlight the things this team needs to work on:

1. Defense.  This was a weakness last year and I don't yet see an improvement in that area.  Last year I kept thinking that teams were making a lot of "hail mary" type baskets, but that trend continued all the way through the Norfolk State game.  At some point, there has to be a correlation between the success of those "hail marys" and the defense that is being played.  That trend continued in today's game.
2. Rebounding.  Mizzou had a huge size advantage today and still let Missouri Southern (yes...Missouri SOUTHERN!) get tons of second-chance points.
3. Efficiency.  This is mostly an indictment of Pressey as he played pretty wild today throwing lots of ill-advised passes.  Missouri wasted lots of possessions in today's game with low percentage shots and bone-headed turnovers.  Unfortunately for us fans, we were spoiled last year with a ridiculously efficient offense that played within itself and was unselfish almost to a fault (much like our frustrations with the QB play from our football team of late after having NFL-caliber QBs for the previous 5 years).  Pressey really needs to become a leader in this regard and limit the wows for the sake of the good of the team.  Pressey is an incredible talent and doesn't need to be flashy to be good.  He obviously has some flash (which is fun), but what this team needs right now is for him to be steady and get the job done.
4. Okay, I lied.  One other thing: we have yet to see this team play with Michael Dixon.  I am a huge Dixon fan and sincerely believe that he is the best player on the team.  My hope is that his presence in the line-up will alleviate some of my concerns.  He is an extremely efficient player due to his ability to finish plays, to get to the free throw line and to make those free throws.  I look forward to seeing how he interacts with the rest of this team.

Next up:  SIUE on Saturday.