2022-23 Mizzou hoops player preview: Nick Honor

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking an individual look at the strengths, weaknesses and expectations of each of Missouri’s scholarship players.

Of the 10 players who transferred to Mizzou in the offseason, just one came from another high-major school: graduate point guard Nick Honor. The Orlando, Fla. native began his career at Fordham but spent the last two years at Clemson, averaging 7.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season.

Honor describes himself as a scoring point guard, something he proved by posting 15.3 points per game as a freshman at Fordham. It likely doesn’t come easy at 5-foot-10, but Honor is savvy in the way he gets his buckets. He constantly moves off the ball, consistently getting open looks at the rim off of backdoor cuts. He takes unique angles to get to the paint and mixes speeds to keep defenders off balance. And what he lacks in height, he makes up for in size at 200 pounds.

While Honor has never been a high-level facilitator, he does, at least, take care of the ball, committing turnovers on just 12.7% of his touches, which ranked 301st in the country according to KenPom.

The concerns with Honor are the same concerns that come with any undersized guard, which is how well they can hold up on the defensive end. While most of the Tigers’ roster is full of rangy players who can switch across multiple positions, it’ll be more difficult for Honor to slow down an opponent with a significant height advantage.

Still, Honor will bring a consistent, reliable presence for Missouri, whether he’s starting or on the bench. His teammates seem ready to lean on him, too, as they voted Honor one of their three captains. With as many newcomers as the Tigers have, Honor will be someone relied upon to bring the team together.