2021 Macadoodle's Mailbag: 1st Edition

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GD: Well, this is a timely way to start the mailbag for 2021 after Missouri went 5/21 and completely collapsed in a loss to Mississippi State.

I like the clarification in your question because Missouri does not lack shooters. What it lacks is makers. This is a team that can score in transition, can score when Jeremiah Tilmon dunks the ball five times a game and can score when it gets to the free throw line. It is not a team that appears to be able to score very often at all when it is forced to run a half-court set or when it shoots the ball more than five feet from the basket.

The problem is not getting open shots. They get quite a few. The problem is that they don't go in. And one argument is that the wrong people are taking those shots. The issue is that there are no right people to take those shots on this team. Mark Smith is the best three-point shooter on the team. He is currently shooting 39.5% on the year. It's not a bad number, but you should have someone better. Also, Smith's problem is this: In SEC games, he is 3/11. Against Tennessee, he didn't even attempt a three. Throw in the Illinois game (likely the best opponent Missouri has played outside of the league this year) and he is 4/17. Adding the Oregon game (his best), against Power Five competition, Smith is 7/23, which comes out to 30.4%. Still above average for this team, but not good at all.

Dru Smith is 9/24 this season, including 3/4 the last two games, which puts him at 37.5%. That's a decent percentage. But he's got a little bit of a Mark Smith thing happening too. At Evansville, he was a 41% three-point shooter. At Mizzou, he has been a 30.8% three-point shooter. Perhaps the jump in competition has made it more difficult for him to get open and get those shots off. In addition, he averages about one made three per game over a four-year career. Even if he makes them at a higher clip, he just doesn't take that many. It's not that big a part of his game.

Next you have Xavier Pinson who inexplicably leads the team in three-point attempts. He has many strengths. Three-point shooting isn't one of them. He is shooting 25% this season (11/44). For his career, he is shooting 31%. This is not a person who should be taking more than five threes a game.

Then, there's the oft-taking, rarely-making duo of Kobe Brown and Mitchell Smith. The pair was a combined 1/7 from three-point range in Starkville. Mississippi State's entire team attempted six threes all game. Brown and Smith are a combined 8/41 from deep (that's less than 20%).

As far as the recruiting, well, that's kind of the million dollar question. It obviously wasn't addressed in this class. Maybe it will have been in the next one. I don't think by any means it's an intentional move by Cuonzo Martin to recruit players who aren't particularly good shooters. It just so happens that pretty much all of the players he has on the current team fit that mold. Maybe one or more of the six players coming in next year's class will be that guy. Missouri fans sure hope so. They need someone who can make a shot. Two someones would be better.

GD: As a head coach, Tom Herman. I don't think any of them will be head coaches this year. Malzahn is older than the other two. Muschamp has now failed twice. Herman wasn't awful at Texas and actually improved the record over time, but Texas kind of has its own set of standards and he didn't meet them. He'll get a job. I think it might even be a Power Five job. But I don't think it's gonna be this year. I think all three might be in some sort of analyst role this year.