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Mizzou hoops transfer recruiting rundown

It’s been no secret that Cuonzo Martin has been looking to add a transfer or two to the Missouri basketball roster. Since the 2019-20 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers have been linked to more than a dozen transfer prospects, both those who will be immediately-eligible as graduate transfers and those who would likely have to sit out a year under NCAA rules. So far, though, Missouri is yet to land a new addition to its roster. Last week, the Tigers made the top four schools for both graduate transfer Justin Turner, who opted to return to Bowling Green, and former Michigan guard David DeJulius, who is headed to Cincinnati.

So, the obvious question is, where does the staff turn from here? With more than 700 names in the NCAA transfer portal as of Tuesday morning, there’s certainly no shortage of options, and several new names have reported interest from Missouri in the past week. Here is a breakdown of the transfers still on the market who we believe the Tigers could pursue and what each could bring to the roster.

New York native and former Gardner Webb guard Jose Perez is one of several transfers being pursued by the Missouri staff.
New York native and former Gardner Webb guard Jose Perez is one of several transfers being pursued by the Missouri staff. (M. Wingate)
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Drew Buggs, Hawaii

A graduate transfer who could immediately slot into Missouri’s lineup next season, Buggs told PowerMizzou last week that he has heard from Martin and assistant coach Cornell Mann almost every day since entering his name in the transfer portal. Buggs said the Tiger staff views him as a point guard. He doesn’t profile as a prolific scorer, but after averaging 9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists last season, he can stuff the stat sheet. With 68 career starts under his belt, he would also bring experience and leadership to Missouri’s roster.

As of last Saturday, Buggs said he was hoping to announce a commitment by the end of this week. For more information on him, read this.

Jarred Hyder, Fresno State

While he would have to sit out a season, Hyder also projects as a point guard. Hyder included Missouri among his top five schools on Sunday. The Tigers’ face competition from California, BYU, St. Mary’s and Washington State.

Hyder has only played one college season, meaning he has three years of eligibility remaining. In that one season, he flashed an ability to score. Hyder topped 20 points in four games, including three in a row during non-conference play. He averaged 9.1 points per game on the season. His shooting left a bit to be desired — he shot 38.0 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from three-point range — but he did shoot better than 83 percent from the free-throw line. With a turnover rate of 24.8 percent, Hyder struggled at times with ball security, though he made up for it in part by dishing assists at a rate of 20.6. He averaged 3.9 assists per game.

PowerMizzou hasn’t been able to get in touch with Hyder, but there seems to be some sentiment that he would prefer to remain close to his hometown of San Bernardino, California. If he is willing to journey to Columbia, however, the Missouri staff would likely see him as the point guard of the future after Dru Smith’s graduation following next season. As of now, Hyder has not publicized a timeline for his decision.

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Jose Perez, Gardner Webb

Since entering his name into the transfer portal on Sunday, Perez has been bombarded with phone calls. He told Stockrisers that more than 30 programs have reached out, including Missouri, and he named Martin as one of the head coaches he has heard from.

After a freshman season in which he averaged 15.1 points per game, Perez was picked as the Big South preseason player of the year. He only played in 20 games as a sophomore as he stepped away from the team due to personal reasons, but his scoring numbers were similar at 15.2 points per contest.

Perez’s big draw is his versatility. In addition to his scoring, the 6-foot-5 wing added 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He can handle the ball and distribute — he logged an assist rate of 24.1 percent versus a turnover rate of just 15.1 percent, as well as hold his own down low. Perez shot 74.3 percent from the free throw line on a whopping 124 attempts last season. That’s two fewer than Xavier Pinson attempted for Missouri last season, despite the fact that Pinson played 11 more games than Perez.

The big question mark for Perez is his outside shooting. After shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range as a freshman, Perez shot just 25 percent from deep in 2019-20. His field goal percentage as a whole plummeted from 44.8 percent to 34.0 percent. As a result, his efficiency numbers dropped from his freshman to sophomore season, and while he made up for it by taking more than 27 percent of Gardner-Webb’s shots while on the floor, he likely wouldn’t see that kind of volume at Missouri. Still, Perez’s versatility and athleticism will make him one of the most hotly pursued transfers left on the market, especially given that he’ll likely have to sit out a year and could use that season to try to return his jump shot to 2018-19 levels. If he can do that, he would seem to pair nicely with Kobe Brown on the wing for Missouri and become one of the Tigers’ go-to scorers for the final two seasons of his career.

Francis Okoro

The only transfer from a high-major school on this list, Okoro should be plenty familiar with the Missouri staff from his time as a high school prospect. Now, after two years of playing sparingly at Oregon, the Normal, Illinois product is looking for a new home. Like seemingly everyone else on this list, Okoro has drawn a long list of suitors. Aside from Missouri, other schools that have been linked to him include Illinois, Purdue, Texas, Texas A&M, Marquette, Oklahoma and Seton Hall.

Okoro averaged 3.3 points and 4.2 rebounds while playing 17.2 minutes per game as a sophomore this past season. The 6-foot-9 forward didn't show a ton of range on the offensive end of the floor — he shot 53.7 percent from the field but just 47.1 percent from the free throw line and did not attempt a three-pointer. Still, he possesses a strong frame and his rebounding and defense could make him a contributor elsewhere. Illinois may be the frontrunner, as the home-state school was more connected to Okoro during his high school recruiting process than Missouri, but the Tigers should certainly be a player here.

Missouri's staff pursued Oregon transfer Francis Okoro out of high school.
Missouri's staff pursued Oregon transfer Francis Okoro out of high school. (GoldandBlack.com)

Courvoisier McCauley, Lincoln Memorial

McCauley could be poised to make a rare jump from Division-II to a high-major Division-I school this offseason. McCauley enjoyed a huge jump from his freshman to sophomore seasons at Lincoln Memorial University, going from averaging 9.8 points per game in 2018-29 to averaging 20.0 last season. As a result, he earned Division-II All-America honors and is now being courted by several Division-I programs, including Missouri.

It’s a bit more difficult to find advanced stats on McCauley, but by any measure, he was a prolific scorer last season. He scored more than 20 points 17 times in 33 games, with a season-high of 44. He shot 49.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from three-point range while attempting more than 14 field goals per game. He shot 75.4 percent from the free-throw line on 114 attempts. The 6-foot-5 McCauley also averaged 6.3 rebounds per game.

McCauley has reportedly been contacted by coaches from Minnesota, Marquette, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Georgia, Iowa State and other schools in addition to Missouri. While it’s certainly fair to question how much of his productivity can translate from the Division-II level to, say, the SEC, his scoring ability and outside shooting would both fill needs for the Tigers.

Jonah Antonio, UNLV

The only other graduate transfer on this list, Antonio was initially linked to Missouri after he announced his decision to enter the transfer portal, but the Tigers haven’t been mentioned in pursuit in about a week, so it seems plausible Martin and his staff have opted to focus their energy elsewhere. A native of Australia, Antonio started his college career at Mount St. Mary’s, where he averaged 11.3 points per game in his lone season, before transferring to UNLV. He logged 6.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game for the Runnin’ Rebels last season.


Like Perez, Antonio’s appeal would be his versatility, as he spent time at the two through four positions at UNLV, but he doesn’t bring the same playmaking ability. He averaged 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game and only shot seven free throws on the season.


DeAndre Williams, Evansville

Williams became the most recent player on this list to enter the transfer portal when he did so Monday afternoon. No surprise, Missouri was among theiInitial group of schools to reach out. Missouri has several ties to Evansville, as assistant Chris Hollender played and coached at there and Smith played his first two college seasons for the Purple Aces.

Williams is an especially intriguing case. While he has just 18 games of college basketball experience, he is already 23 years old. In addition to entering his name into the transfer portal, he also declared for the NBA Draft, so it’s possible he could opt to go the professional route rather than sit out another season (he would then have two years of eligibility remaining). He’s also coming off a back injury that forced him to miss 14 games last season. Evansville went 9-9, including an upset of then-No. 1 Kentucky, with Williams on the floor and 0-14 without him.

If he does opt to stay in college, Williams should have no shortage of suitors. The 6-foot-9 forward put up some eye-popping numbers in his limited action last season. Williams averaged 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He logged five double-doubles, including a 37-point, 10-rebound performance against Miami (Ohio) and a 20-point, 15-rebound, 5-assist game at IUPUI. Williams shot 64.8 percent from the field and showed an ability to knock down three-pointers, as well, making 15 of his 33 attempts. While the sample size is admittedly small, Williams also logged an assist rate higher than 30 percent. Between a possible pro career and the long list of coaches that will surely be calling, Missouri will face tough competition to land Williams, but if they do, he could be a major asset in the frontcourt after Jeremiah Tilmon and Mitchell Smith graduate.

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