At long last, Tigers set for opener
For 239 days the momentum has built. Cuonzo Martin accepted the head coaching job at Missouri on March 15th. Nine days later, Michael Porter Jr. committed. Blake Harris, Kassius Robertson, Jeremiah Tilmon and Jontay Porter followed. C.J. Roberts stayed in the mix as the lone holdover from Kim Anderson’s class.
The hype machine has been in full force for eight full months as of Thursday. And now it’s run it’s course.
“I’m happy to be here,” Martin said on Wednesday. “Excited about Friday’s game.”
That was the entirety of Martin’s opening statement before he fielded questions about the most anticipated season opener at Mizzou in years—perhaps ever. Nine words. A little more than one for every month he's been on the job.
What more is there to say? Talking season is over. There has been plenty of talk about Missouri. Most of it has surrounded Porter Jr. and his younger brother Jontay. From coast to coast, people have heaped expectations on this young Missouri team which Martin will guide through his maiden voyage at Missouri. Martin has been asked about the expectations ad nauseam over that time.
“Not to sound negative, but I really don’t care. I really don’t,” he said. “If they’re consumed with what people are saying about them then they’re not making progress like they should. I don’t know that it really matters.”
Just more than 48 hours from the season opener against Iowa State on Friday night, expectation has been replaced by anticipation as the buzzword around this season. Season tickets officially sold out on Tuesday. Christmas morning is almost here.
“It’s going to be the biggest environment I’ve played in my whole life,” Kassius Robertson said. “I can’t wait to hear the crowd go crazy.”
“This is going to be new for the newcomers and for us, because we’ve never had a sold out crowd before,” Kevin Puryear said. “To me, this is what Missouri basketball is about. This is what I grew up watching. To have a sold out crowd is extremely big for the University. We deserve it as players and the fans and the community of Columbia deserve it.”
Even the Tiger veterans admit to be anxious about Friday night…though they’d be anxious for the first game of any season.
“There’s always a little pit in my stomach like butterflies every year,” Puryear said. “I think when you lose that bit of anxiousness, you probably shouldn’t even be playing basketball anymore.
“Anytime the first game of the season comes around, no matter what year I was, whether I was a freshman in high school or now, I still get it.”
Martin spoke a few weeks ago about having a nine-man rotation. He later softened that stance, saying it would likely take a few games to figure out. But he does have at least the first part of the equation settled in his mind.
“Unless somebody gets injured, I think we have the five set for Friday,” Martin said.
Porter Jr. will certainly start. Tilmon and Barnett are safe bets as well. But the lone news out of Wednesday’s media session might cause a shakeup to those projected starting lineups. Martin was asked about the point guard position.
“I would say right now if we started the game I would go with Kassius (Robertson),” Martin said. “Maybe (Jordan) Geist and Blake (Harris) in there, but I would say Kassius right now.”
Robertson was brought in as a graduate transfer from Canisius for his shooting ability. He was expected all along to be Missouri’s starter at shooting guard.
“Watch him on film, when he got here, I just felt like his ability to make shots, you want him catching and shooting,” Martin said. “But he’s been a better ballahndler than I anticipated as far as handling the ball and making decisions with the basketball.”
“I’ve been wanting to play point guard for a long time in my career,” Robertson said I’ve never had a coach actually trust me as much as Coach Martin has. “It’s definitely a different mentality so I’ve been making strides trying to play both positions.”
That move could put Cullen VanLeer at the two guard to start on Friday night against the Cyclones. It could also mean Barnett or Porter Jr. could play shooting guard with Puryear at power forward to go with a big lineup.
The talk is over. Everyone will know the answer soon. And then the most anticipated season in recent memory will finally get going. And the understated coach falls back on an age old cliche when asked for his own expectations:
“You always want to be a successful team,” Martin said. “I know it’s not what you want to hear but really one game at a time. That's all we can control.”