And-One: Martin prepared to lean on true freshmen at four spot
The morning after each Mizzou basketball game this season, we will highlight a few notable takeaways from the performance in the ‘And-One.’
It took about 10 minutes to become clear that Missouri’s first opponent of the 2019-20 college basketball season, Incarnate Word, was undersized and overmatched compared to the Tigers. Missouri ultimately took care of business, cruising to a 40-point victory.
Typically, it’s unwise to draw definitive conclusions from a blowout of the No. 345 team in the KenPom ratings, but a season-opening game always answers a few offseason questions. In this case, Wednesday showed that Cuonzo Martin is indeed going to rely on two true freshmen, Tray Jackson and Kobe Brown, to fill Missouri’s biggest problem position from a year ago, the power forward spot.
Brown started and played 22 minutes Wednesday. Jackson played 12. Aside from a brief stretch when Martin put four guards around Tilmon and the final few minutes of the blowout, one of the two manned the four spot. While neither player posted an eye-popping stat line — Brown chipped in nine points and two rebounds while Jackson had six points and five boards — their teammates said they can already see the difference they make in the lineup.
“Kobe, he can shoot the ball very well and he can move for his size, and then you got Tray, he’s very aggressive and athletic,” Javon Pickett said. “And they’re hungry. Both of them are very athletic, and they’re strong and they can play that four spot, they’re going to hold their own.”
During their recruitments, both Brown and Jackson were lauded for their versatility. The 6-foot-7 Brown even spent much of his youth basketball career playing point guard. That versatility makes Missouri’s offense more dynamic because the duo can provide the Tigers with a fourth capable three-point shooter or take advantage of a smaller defender by scoring in the post.
“They both can make shots,” Martin said last week. “They can make perimeter shots. But the thing I say to both of them, don’t settle for three-point shots. Be assertive, attack the rim. They have to be aggressive off the dribble, and both have those qualities.”
The main attribute that Brown and Jackson appear to bring to Missouri’s offensive lineup that was lacking with Kevin Puryear and K.J. Santos is a credible three-point shooting threat. Brown hit two three-pointers Wednesday and made three during the team’s preseason scrimmage last Friday. Jackson didn’t make a shot from behind the arc against Incarnate Word but showed a willingness to shoot, attempting three three-pointers. Point guard Xavier Pinson said having a fourth shooter on the floor opens up the lane for center Jeremiah Tilmon to operate and for guards to penetrate.
“It extends the court a lot,” Pinson said. “It opens up a lot of things because we can drive and you can either give us the layup or we can kick it out to our three-point shooters.”
Addressing reporters last week, Martin identified the power forward position as an especially important one in Missouri’s lineup. It is perhaps the easiest spot to create an offensive mismatch, either with a shooter who can bring a big defender out of the post or a player who can post up smaller opponents. But by the same token, it’s also a position that can be exploited by opponents on the defensive end of the floor.
Martin, however, expressed no qualms about leaning on two true freshman at the position. His players, too, said that Brown and Jackson haven’t shied from the responsibility.
“I just seen no fear,” Pinson said. “Just beast. They came right in and, Kobe, he’s starting. He came right in and he didn’t show any nervousness.”
Jackson wasn’t available after Wednesday’s victory, but for his part, Brown said he doesn’t feel any nerves about being asked to start in his first year on a college campus.
“I don’t feel too much pressure,” he said. “Coach believes in me, so that helps with that. As long as he’s believing in me, I believe in myself.”
Pinson provides spark off bench
Pinson teased Missouri fans with flashes of brilliance as a freshman, but for every successful no-look pass or sizzling offensive move, he turned the ball over. His turnover rate of 30.6 ranked second-worst on the Tiger roster last season, better only than Santos.
Wednesday, however, Pinson looked like a new player — at least in some respects. He still made a few highlight-reel plays, including a no-look pass to Jackson for a dunk and an alley-oop to Tilmon. But he appeared in control of the floor, turning the ball over just two times even as he sought to push the tempo. He finished with 15 points, three rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes. Martin said he provided “a great boost” in the first half.
Martin attributed Pinson’s ability to get into the lane and draw contact — he attempted 11 of Missouri’s 29 free throws — to his improved strength from last season. Pinson said his biggest strides since his freshman year have come with simply playing under control.
“I felt like I was too fast and not controlling of the game (last year),” he said, “but today I felt like I did a way better job of controlling the tempo and getting everything we wanted.”
Even without much shooting, Dru Smith leaves his mark
Even more so than Jackson or Brown, Missouri’s most hyped addition to the 2019-20 roster was Evansville transfer Dru Smith. Smith, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, started at point guard for the Tigers Wednesday.
Those expecting Smith to light up the scoreboard might have been underwhelmed by his performance. He didn’t attempt a field goal in the first half and finished with eight points on just three shots. But Martin said “that’s how Dru is.” He noted that Smith impacted the game in other ways, such as with his five assists and four rebounds.
Still, he wouldn’t mind seeing the junior shoot the ball more, especially when he’s open.
“He took that three-pointer in the second half late because I said to him, ‘you have to take that shot,’” Martin said. “Because Dru doesn’t mind facilitating, getting other guys the ball. He wanted to make a conscious effort to get Jeremiah involved, get other guys shots, because he knows he can get his shots. … He knows that shot is available. Let me do other things. And I think that’s the maturity of a basketball player.”
Increased tempo could be here to stay
Martin’s first two teams at Missouri have played at a snail’s pace, finishing No. 296 and No. 318, respectively, in tempo. Wednesday, the Tigers didn’t suddenly turn into North Carolina, but they showed a bit more willingness to push the pace, especially off steals and missed shots.
Two years ago, Missouri averaged 69.6 possessions per game. Last season, it dipped to 67.8. The Tigers had 79 possessions Wednesday. While they likely won’t always get to that number this season, Pinson said the coaching staff is encouraging the team to push the pace at select times this year.
“I think it’s a way big difference, because last year I felt like it was times we lost the shot clock, and next thing you know it would be like six seconds and we’d be like, ‘oh,’ and have to do something real quick and it wouldn’t look too good. But this year, we do a really good job of noticing the shot clock and executing our plays.”
Game at a Glance
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM: Missouri didn’t shoot the ball well from three-point range but still won with ease. Last season, the team suffered through prolonged stretches where it seemed like, if the three ball wasn’t falling, the team couldn’t score. The Tigers ranked No. 285 in percentage of points from two-pointers and No. 259 in percentage from free throws a season ago. While Wednesday’s opponent was just Incarnate Word, it was refreshing to see Missouri score 61 points from inside the three-point arc while shooting 7-31 from three.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: It’s hard to come up with anything here, but I guess you could be a bit worried about the production of the big men behind Tilmon. Against an Incarnate Word team that only has one player taller than 6-foot-7 on its roster, Mitchell Smith and Reed Nikko combined for two points, five rebounds and four fouls in 16 minutes.
STOCK UP: Xavier Pinson. Martin repeatedly praised Pinson’s offseason development in the past few months, and he showed it Tuesday, looking in control when he was asked to run the point but also mixing in a couple flashy passes that led to dunks.
STOCK DOWN: Mark Smith. The junior was held scoreless Wednesday, missing all four of his field goal attempts (all of which came from three-point range). While Missouri would probably like to see Mark Smith put the ball on the floor and look for shots inside the three-point line, the performance certainly doesn’t constitute cause for panic. Mark Smith tied Tilmon for the second-highest plus/minus on Missouri’s roster at plus-29.
UP NEXT: Missouri (1-0) will host Northern Kentucky (record) on Friday at Mizzou Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.