Cuonzo Martin talks secret scrimmages, upcoming season
Missouri men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin spoke with reporters via Zoom on Monday as part of the SEC's virtual media days. Martin fielded questions about the Tigers' recent closed scrimmages against Oklahoma State and Creighton and talked about what his new-look roster might look like. Below is video of Martin's press conference, plus a full transcript of everything he had to say.
Question: I don’t typically read too much into these preseason scrimmages, but I’m curious what you saw from some of the freshmen and how you plan to play them come the season?
Martin: “I saw some good things. Two quality scrimmages, Oklahoma State and then you’re talking about Creighton. Two different styles, one a physical brand, down your back, dribbling, making plays, and one still fast-paced, but four, sometimes five perimeter shooters. So they really spread you out. And I thought it was a great opportunity for guys like Jordan, especially guarding against bigs that can shoot the ball. But as far as our freshmen, I thought they did good things, because they’ve been in practices and they’re very competitive. They play hard, they understand that. And minus the things that you normally do as a freshman, mistake here, mistake there, the effort is always there. They have the ability to make shots, make plays. But I thought they were very productive, and against two quality opponents.”
You guys added the Paul Quinn College game to the schedule pretty recently. I was just wondering what the thought process was behind that addition.
“Just an opponent that was, you know, we have people trying to get games all the time, scheduling games, and we just felt like it was an opportunity, having relationships here and there, let’s go ahead and play those guys. And really, giving our guys the chance to play in games, because as you can see, our schedule is a very competitive one. One that I think is one of the best in the country. So far our guys, every game, we talk as coaches, no nights off. There’s simply no nights off. And so a game we feel like we can plug in there and give us another opportunity.”
What were the biggest things that you learned about the team in those two scrimmages?
“Again, really anxious to play them, more than I’ve ever been before with so many new guys. The things that we saw in practice, you saw the effort, you saw those things in practice, but to actually get in games, see our guys, how hard they play and be truthful. Starting out against Oklahoma State, it was slow for us, because Oklahoma State pretty much has all their guys returning. Physical presence, get after you, shot-blockers, guys getting in the passing lane, and I thought it was beautiful just to go up against them, especially the first five or 10 minutes, to go up against them, so our guys can see what that feels like. Especially our younger guys. Guys that have been in college games know what it feels like, you know what Oklahoma State’s reputation is. Because what we did with both teams, even with Creighton, we didn’t go into the game with a lot of scouting report, film. Both programs just wanted to kind of see, let’s see if our guys can go out there and make plays, and that’s always good, when you can go out, not having a lot of scouting report film and personnel, so now you rely on what you do in practice in most cases, and I thought our guys made some good plays on both sides of the ball. Thought we were aggressive getting into the paint, shooting the ball. We didn’t shoot as well the second game, but I thought we shot it well the first game. But I thought we got into the paint the second game, really did a good job of getting into the paint. So a lot of good things, but again, you have multiple guys that can make plays at the rim, guys that can shoot the ball at the perimeter. When you have multiple guys that can make plays at the rim and get out in transition, that’s a good thing. And then we also saw a lot with Kobe (Brown) at the point. I thought that was very productive for us, as well. Because he’s one of our fastest guys as far as getting downhill, getting into the paint. And he’s always been a willing passer. So that part was good, too.”
Who else stood out to you in those scrimmages?
“I mean, you don’t get more efficient, I think, in two scrimmages than Javon (Pickett), his production. But again, that’s a business-like approach. He’s battle-tested, he’s been in big games, so he understands. There’s a calming presence for a guy like that, who’s been in situations like that. But very productive making decisions, and yeah, you know, he had six assists and one turnover in the second scrimmage. Again, production. But he’s been in it. So it was just a regular game, it was a regular night. But I thought other guys played well, other guys made plays. Jordan (Wilmore) is really rebounding the basketball. He’s big in space, and really what we have to try to do is get him the ball more in scoring positions at the post, because he’s improved in that area. We have to make sure he’s a threat around the rim, not just getting rebounds and not just making plays as far as blocking shots and protecting the rim. We have to get him the ball where it’s productive.”
Just overall, where do you think the team is at with about two weeks left until the start of the season?
“I think, like anybody, we’re ready to play. Again, I could sit there and use coach-speak, like it’s one game at a time, we still have work to do. Well, everybody has work to do, even when everybody has guys returning, you always have work to do. But I’m ready to play a game, and I think they are, too. But again, it was two good signs. We played against two quality opponents, different styles, different approaches, and I thought our guys were very productive from start to finish in those scrimmages. And a lot of great footage to go by as you move forward.”
You’ve always had kind of a traditional big on the floor. This year, could that look different? Could there be times when you don’t have one of your biggest guys out there? How different does that make this team?
“What it shows, it makes it difficult to defend. Say you have Kobe or you have a Ronnie DeGray, two guys that play on the perimeter, because it makes it hard to defend if they have a traditional big. Now if they don’t, you can impose your will in and around the rim because you have multiple guys that can post up and make plays and force teams to make decisions. But I like those lineups right now. But also Yaya (Keita) and Jordan have been productive as centers, as well, because of Yaya’s ability to stretch the defense as far as making three-point shots, and his physical presence in and around the rim if there are switches that take place. But again, if you say Kobe’s your point guard and he’s considered guarding the center spot, that’s tough to go against. It’s just, we have to have a presence on a consistent basis when we’re on the defensive side of the ball, if they have a traditional big that’s very productive around the rim.”
With so many rosters turning over this year, not just yours but everybody’s, is it going to make scouting early in the season more difficult? Could that be an advantage because nobody really knows what this team looks like?
“I think it’ll help you from that standpoint, but on the flip side, if you’re not sound defensively, it can hurt you. Like I said, we went into both of those games with so many unknowns, so i thought that was great. Because we say it all the time as coaches and a staff, rely on your defensive principles. Because often times on the defensive side of the ball, if you can put the ball on the floor, then the other four guys should know where to be, just based on the ball-you-man philosophy. So we spent a lot of time on that. Again, you have very talented teams, team makes adjustments, now in most cases everybody you play has four guys on the floor that can make a shot, make a play. So you have to rely on your communication. I think we’ve done a good job with our communication. But yeah, I think from a scouting standpoint, it’s you do what you do best. And really it comes down to really imposing your will. And teams say it all the time, you do what you do best and you don’t get consumed with the opponent, and I think often times in scouting we can do that.”
I know you mentioned the three-point shooting, just what have you seen from your team so far in that area? I know it wasn’t necessarily a strength the past couple of seasons.
“I mean, you work on it. And the thing that we say, something real simple, but you try to be consistent with it, follow through your shot, complete the shot. Because that sounds, okay, what do you mean, coach? They should do that. Shoot the ball, follow through, come down, follow through your shot. And I think that’s really important. It’s small, but it’s big. Mechanics before the catch: shot-ready, up, down. Not wasted movements with your feet. And I think those are some of the biggest things. Small, but big, because the follow-through on your shot, that’s the most important shot. When that shot goes, that’s the most important shot, and that’s the one shot we took in that particular moment. We want that shot to go down. And then the other guys are positioned to rebound and get back and do what they do from a defensive standpoint. But it’s really shot mechanics, I think, is the biggest key.”
Do you have a sense yet of how deep into the bench you could go with this team? How many guys could see consistent minutes?
“I certainly see eight, without question. Nine, it depends on the situation. But certainly eight, without question.”
With all these new faces, where are you seeing people kind of slot into roles, and what has that process been like?
“Oh, it’s been good. I think the one thing that we’ve — we have multiple guys that can handle the ball, so now you have multiple guys around the rim. So what we’ve focused on the last two weeks is one point guard when the ball goes into the basket. I mean, one ball-handler. So other guys can get out and run. Because when you have multiple guys that can handle it, you have other guys hovering around the rim, waiting on outlets. So get up the floor. I think that’s the most important thing. And as far as roles, we talk about guys that have the ability to catch and shoot, guys that have the ability to shoot the ball, make plays off the bounce, and guys that have the ability to post up. So understand all those things, because you don’t want to limit guys when they have strengths. Guys can post up even if you’re a point guard. If you can post up, we’ll post you up, and we’ll make plays off that. Like for example, Kobe is a guy who can bring the ball up the floor. Bring the ball up the floor, but really, what we spend more time on than actual plays is reading the defense, understanding where we have an advantage. Just because we call a play, well, if Kobe brings the ball up as a point guard and he has a six-foot guy defending him, then at some point the ball has to go to him to force the other team to make a decision. We’re not just running the play just to run it. Let’s take advantage of the situations every time down. That’s really about reading the defense and making plays, and that part has been fun, but we don’t have — outside of Jordan, who’s just a traditional big guy, again Yaya can make threes, but Jordan is probably the only guy that says he’s in and around the rim. But other than that, we have so many moving parts, and it’s tough to defend, when you’re coming out in transition, you’re trying to figure out who does what. That’s not easy. You’re talking about, what, Javon is 6-5, 210, 215 pounds. If you’ve got a smaller guys, he’s going to bury you in the post and make plays, because he has a physical presence to him. So we’ve done a good job of really recognizing — and again, very unselfish guys. Very competitive, but very unselfish guys.”
This season marks a decade since that Mizzou team was ranked No. 3 going into the tournament and really looked at as a potential team that could win the national title. I was wondering what steps you could take this season to kind of get back to that level?
“The goal is to go out and win every game. That’s the goal. And we’re built to do that. We understand it, we’re not sitting here and saying, well, we have seven or eight new guys, let’s just take it one game at a time. Well of course you take it one game at a time, but you’re trying to win basketball games, and that’s the most important thing. Now, when it gets to that point, that means every game will present whatever it presents, and our goal is to be the best version of ourselves every night. And I think we’re working toward that.”
You mentioned a little bit about Jordan already. Can you notice a difference in a guy who has been around your coaching staff and you before, this is not his first year? Has he helped in those leadership efforts because of that?
“Yeah, Jordan is a good guy to be around. Jordan is very entertaining, very intelligent young man, social guy. So all those things. And even, you saw it last year, just my opinion, I thought Jordan was somewhat relaxed. Not that he didn’t work, but relaxed from the standpoint of Jeremiah (Tilmon) was there, he’s older, Jeremiah is going to play. Jeremiah’s a good player. And he respected that. And then coming into this season understanding, well, I have a chance to be the guy. And everything that goes with that. Because he’s worked extremely hard. You’ve seen him, done a great job with his body. Works on his game. And I think the biggest key, and I continue to say this about him, is him understanding who he can be. And it’s not so much okay, did I get eight blocks? Did I get 15 rebounds? Did I score 20? It’s not that, but it’s the production. He’s a presence. Because when you talk to both teams we scrimmaged against, they come away like, man, this guy is a presence. Because even when he sets a ball screen, it’s hard to get around him. You gotta make a decision. Now, when he’s rolling downhill at the rim, I don’t know too many small guards that can get in there, try to bump him and block him out and get him out of there. So him understanding his impact in the game is not necessarily how many points I score, but he has a major impact. Like you see it in those scrimmages, you know, two guys try to block him out, somebody else gets the rebound. And just if he maintained a relentless approach every time down and be consistent with that, he’s a presence. Because when he’s constantly putting his body in there, then all of a sudden, Yaya brings a different dynamic. You put Kobe in there, he’s a different player. So that’s three different guys that you’re trying to defend that bring something different to the table. But really just him understanding every possession down, as fast as you can, as hard as you can go, and you need a rest, let’s get you a blow, get you back in there. Because again, that’s 7-3, 300 pounds and he’s not stiff, he can move. He’s a mobile guy.”
There are so many coaches in the SEC that have been around the block and have so many accomplishments on their resume. How likely is it in a game for it to be decided because one coach out-coached the other?
“I think that happens. It just, especially down the stretch of game situations and games, and I think in some cases they become chess matches from the standpoint of what lineups you have on the floor. Because, again, if we’re in a situation where we have Kobe out there as our center, or Ronnie DeGray as our center, somebody has to make the adjustment. And I don’t necessarily think in that case you got out-coached, but you have to make the adjustment. So if it works for us, then it’s a great thing. But it’s also, you know, late in games, do you call a timeout, do you not call a timeout? Well, some teams will practice those situations. If this happens, I don’t necessarily want to call a timeout here, because I don’t want to give the other team a chance to set up their defense, because those are things you practice. So it’s a lot that goes into it. I mean, coaches spend a lot of time. But also, just as much coaching that goes into it, there’s probably just as much trust in your teammates and your ball-handlers and your decision-makers.”
You and your staff have shown an ability to adapt your offense to your personnel. With Kobe kind of being the primary point guard, what sort of stylistic changes have you guys had to make with this new personnel?
“Not much. And he’ll be one of them. He’ll be one of them along with Anton (Brookshire) and Boogie Coleman, so definitely those three. And then Kaleb (Brown), Kobe’s brother. So those are probably the four guys, if you’re saying the point guard position, it’ll be one of those four guys. But not so much because Kobe understands the Barcelona (offense), and it’s just really putting him in the position and then having the right guys around him. Because one thing about, if he’s in that position, then in most cases you want to have at least three guys out there that can make three-point shots at a high level, ready to shoot them. Because he’ll force something. Even if he forces a switch when he goes into the post, then we’ll play off that. Or you might get a switch, when you have a perimeter guy and you have a five-man defending him, that perimeter guy still has to make a play. And again, all you’re trying to create is an advantage. And it’s been fun so far when he’s in those situations. Now he’s not like that in the whole game, because in situations he’ll probably run time at the five, then he’s at the four, then he’s at the one. But it doesn’t change for him defensively. His assignments are still the same. And that’s the thing about it. But we’ve spent a lot of time with him since June on handling the ball. And even in years past, we had him in situations trying to bring it up as the point guard. I think he’s more comfortable with it now. But not a lot of adjustments there.”
What can you expect from Yaya Keita this year?
“His presence, his toughness, his energy. And I might have mentioned this to you guys maybe in June or July, but for young guys, he and Anton, they do a great job of communicating. They’re vocal, they have good energy about them, and hopefully they can maintain that as you go through it. But I think he brings that to the table. His energy, his athleticism — though he had an injury, but his athleticism is really starting to come back now, you can see that. And also, he’s a guy that, yes, he can make a three, but he’s also a guy that can shot-fake a three. Now, the adjustment he’s making right now is the shot fake, then when he drives to the basket, the jump stop. Because now he’s off one leg, most guys taking charges nowadays are guys getting in front of you, you have to make that next decision. So driving aggressively, jump-stop, making that next play, and he has that ability as well. And again, he’s really getting better and better, because his first ball was really mid-June, early July from the time he got injured in his high school year, maybe September or October. So now you’re starting to see his legs get under him, and he’s always active, and he’s very competitive. He’s a tough guy, and I like that about him.”
Who would you say is the best scorer on your team this year?
“Well, I think you have guys that have instincts to score. But to say the best scorer, I think Amari (Davis) has the ability to score the ball when you look at his numbers. DaJuan Gordon has the ability to score the ball. Boogie Coleman has the ability. Meaning when those guys get the ball, every time down, they’re looking to score the ball, they have instincts to score. Same way like Anton, though he’s a freshman. Anton, I would say he’s more of a combo guard, because his instincts as a point is to score, which are great. Kobe and Javon, they make plays. But I think those four guys in a nutshell, every time down, they receive the ball, their mindset is to put the ball in the basket in some way, shape or form, which is good.”
To follow up on the scrimmages, could you tell us what the score was of those games?
“I like that. We should have had exhibition games. But no, I just think that out of respect for the teams — I like the way our guys finished up, I will say that. And just because, again, I think both sides got out of it what we were trying to get out of it. We were able to play some guys. I think what happens, and you love to play exhibitions, but with the scrimmages, you get a chance to play guys, and they don’t have to be guarded while they’re playing. Just whatever this play, you can play guys and you’re not really worried about the scoreboard. Of course you want to win, but you’re playing and guys get a chance to see things. Like for example, one scrimmage both teams played zone, we did 10 possessions of zone. And we don’t play a lot of zone, but we put it in, and you get a chance to go against it. Both teams, half-court situations. So those are the things that you’re able to get out of those scrimmages, but you don’t lose the competitive nature at all. You’re still trying to win, because it’s a scoreboard in the players’ heads.”
I heard a couple of players use this word, and you said it, too. You said that the players are unselfish. I don’t know if that was an issue last year at all, but when you have players that are unselfish, how does that help in bringing the chemistry of this team along?
“Oh yeah, and again, when I speak on this team, I’m never talking about a team in the past, unless you ask me specifically. No, I don’t think the team last year was selfish. I don’t think that at all. But I think what happens with this team, when I say unselfish, when you have so many new guys — and that team last year, those guys had been around each other, so you understood how to operate with the guys. But I think when you have so many new guys on the team, you have a new style, new staff, so it’s so many areas where you’re trying to adjust and get to know somebody, get a comfort level. And I just think, I’m talking about, even the guys who score the ball, what’s impressive, say for example Boogie Coleman and Dajuan Gordon, two guys that have the ability to score, roommates, and I’m talking about, for those guys to be roommates, they get after each other, in a great way. And it’s like, man, sometimes it’s like you guys can do that at home. We’re trying to work here. But they really get after each other. They hold each other accountable, but they also applaud each other when they make plays. And I think they have the ability to say, okay, Kobe, every time down, look to score. With some guys, it’s hard for them to say that, when you feel like I want to be successful. Of course you want to win as a team, but as an individual player, I’ve found nowadays more than ever, some young players are hard to say to other guys ‘you’re a good player. Let’s go, every time now. Javon, get him in the post, you got him.’ That’s impressive. And I think they have that ability to where if a guy comes down 10 times in a row and scores, they say keep going at him. Where it’s not as if it’s my turn to get mine. And I say that’s a skill and how they were raised and how they were coached to understand we can be very successful, but let’s understand how we’re going to win, and they’re okay with other guys having success.”
Earlier this month you mentioned the fast pace you want this team to play at. How would you assess how they played in transition in those scrimmages?
“They’ve done a good job of getting the ball out. Very similar to last year’s team, getting the ball out and getting up the floor and making plays and moving the ball. The one area where I think we’re trying to grow with this team —because, again, you have multiple ball-handlers — but I think the one area, comparing to last year’s team with the pace, is I thought Jeremiah and Mitch (Smith) in most cases sprinted the floor at an elite level. And when you sprint the floor like that, it gives other guys opportunities. No, Jeremiah and Mitch probably didn’t get the credit for the basket going in, somebody else did, but their ability to sprint to the rim put pressure on the defense, caused other guys to have opportunities. And that’s the area with Jordan — Jordan’s a little bit different than Yaya, but trying to get those guys sprinting. Because the impact of sprinting, you might might get the basket, but somebody else gets it. Now, when they take away the perimeter, now you get the opportunities. And you see a lot of that, more so with Yaya than Jordan, because Jordan has to get down the floor, and it takes time, especially when he’s rebounding, doing other things. And you really see it with Kobe and Ronnie DeGray, when those are your perimeter bigs, with other big guys, that they can really move and make plays.”
Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair
Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage