Coaches often like to say that hard-working players “sleep in the gym.” Usually, such a description is hyperbolic. But when Missouri assistant basketball coach Cornell Mann said guard Xavier Pinson started sleeping in the team’s locker room, he meant it literally.

Last spring, after his freshman season at Missouri, Pinson spent nights in Mizzou Arena. Pinson had just completed an up-and-down campaign in which he started 12 games, largely as a result of injury, but also played 10 minutes or fewer eight times. In an effort to take his game to the next level, Pinson often found himself working out late at night, then joining several of his teammates in getting up shots early in the mornings before going to class. He decided it made the most sense to simply cut out the journey to and from his home just to sleep.

“Sometimes I used to sleep in the locker room so I could prepare myself better, make sure I’m up and ready for practice the next day,” Pinson said.

This wasn’t the first time Pinson has spent the night at a basketball facility. In high school, the Chicago native and some friends would occasionally play so late that they would sleep at the local gym before going to school the next day. But when he started spending nights in Mizzou Arena, the Tiger coaching staff took notice. Mann, who often works with the Tiger guards and recruited Pinson out of Chicago powerhouse Simeon high school, pointed to Pinson’s dedication as a sign of his maturation.

Ask virtually anyone around the Missouri program, including Pinson himself, and they’ll say that maturity is the biggest difference between Pinson as a freshman and a sophomore.

“As a guy that I live with, I’ve really seen him mature since coming in from high school,” said fellow sophomore Torrence Watson.

“From last year to this year, I think (Pinson) has matured more than you guys even know,” added Dru Smith. “I think he’s grown so much, and I think he’s turned into a great player.”

Pinson’s first season at Missouri yo-yoed between highs and lows. His speed and penchant for fancy, no-look passes excited fans, but he also struggled with turnovers. He finished the season by giving the ball away eight times in Missouri’s season-ending loss to Auburn in the SEC Tournament.

Mann said the inconsistency extended off the court, as well. Pinson regularly showed up late to practices and team meetings. Sometimes, he came up with a flimsy excuse and didn’t show up at all. Due to the shorthanded roster, the staff was essentially forced to play Pinson in games, but Mann said it wasn’t a secret that head coach Cuonzo Martin, a known disciplinarian, didn’t appreciate Pinson’s habits.

“I think it’s clear to anybody who knows anything about coach Martin that that type of stuff would not be tolerated,” Mann said.

But after the season ended, Pinson showed the staff his seriousness by sleeping in the locker room. He couldn’t skip or arrive late to workouts if he was already at the facility. Now, Mann said, he’s often the first player to arrive. Martin also said he’s one of the most vocal players on the team every day during practice.

“Between finishing his season and going home for the summer, he did an unbelievable job,” Mann said. “I think that was the time — and maybe he knew he was on the brink of something not good — but I think that was the time where I think the change happened for him.”

Pinson’s offseason dedication is now paying off on the court. Even though he’s not starting this season, his playing time has increased by seven minutes per game from a year ago. Pinson’s scoring has increased from 6.6 to 9.2 points per contest, and he’s averaging 1.5 more assists as well. (And that's despite a three-point shooting slump. Pinson has hit just one of 12 shots from beyond the arc so far this year, but Mann said he's not concerned about Pinson's shot). His turnover rate has dropped from a whopping 30.6 percent to 21.4 percent.

When Pinson is taking care of the ball, his athleticism and feel for the game add a unique dynamic to Missouri’s lineup. Brian Houston, who coached Pinson during his first three years of high school at St. Patrick and for the Mac Irvin Fire AAU team, said even since he was a skinny 14-year-old whose uniform dwarfed him, Pinson has had a knack for seeing plays develop before they happen. Throw in his current speed, athleticism and size (Pinson is still skinny but he’s slowly adding weight to his 6-foot-2 frame), and Houston described Pinson’s ceiling as “scary.”

“He’s going to advance the ball, and he knows when someone tries to take the ball out of his hands, he knows that somebody is going to be open, and he knows where the next guy should be or he’s going to be,” Houston said. “And I just think that’s a natural feel for the game that everybody doesn’t have. You can’t teach that.”

Pinson said the key to cutting down on his turnovers and increasing his playing time has been, you guessed it, maturing. At times last season, he passed up an easy pass in favor of one that might wow the crowd, or he tried to push the tempo when out-numbered by defenders. Mann pointed out that a point guard will never totally eliminate turnovers, but the staff stressed that Pinson’s needed to come on plays when he’s trying to make plays the team needs, not highlights for himself.

Missouri’s loss at then-No. 21 Xavier on Nov. 12 illustrated Pinson’s growth. He struggled in the first half, missing three of his four shots, including a dunk, and turning the ball over twice. Yet as the Tigers tried to cling to a slim lead at the end of regulation, Pinson not only remained in the game, but had the ball in his hands for two pivotal possessions. On one, he blew by a Musketeer defender for a one-handed slam, and this time he didn’t miss. Later, he dribbled into the lane, created separation with a step-back move and sank a jumper.

“I feel like it’s maturity,” Pinson said after the game. “Last year, I would have probably kind of folded. But it’s just staying poised and just staying ready. I had a rough start, but you can’t keep going on how you started.”

Mann said Pinson’s ability to create his own shot combined with his willingness to deliver the ball to an open teammate makes him an ideal player to have the ball in his hands late in games. But Pinson had to earn the staff’s trust before being allowed to run the point in such high-leverage situations.

“Toward the end of a game, you gotta make a few passes to get into a shot, to get a guy a shot, and so you take the risk of turnover, turnover, turnover to make a pass, pass, pass,” Mann explained. “In this case, you just give X the ball, and he can kind of make some things happen. And I think (Martin) trusts him in that way, obviously.”

Houston can pinpoint the moment he knew Pinson had turned a corner in his maturation. Houston, who closely monitors Pinson’s career and talks to his former player regularly, called Pinson before this season and asked him about playing alongside Smith. As expected, the Evansville transfer has started every game at point guard, Pinson’s position, so far this season.

Houston said Pinson shrugged the question off, simply saying “I know what I gotta do, coach.” Coming from a player used to always having the ball in his hands, the response struck Houston.

“(In the past) he probably would have just moved on, left the situation,” Houston said, “because (Pinson) is a ball-dominant guy. And I just felt that he welcomed it this time, and he just said, you know, that might be a good thing for our program to have two point guards. We’ll be harder to guard. ...That was his way of saying, if that’s the way coach wants to play, I’m going to get in line, and I’m going to find my way on the court with two point guards.”

Indeed, Pinson and Smith have found a way to compliment one another, even when on the floor at the same time, as was the case late in the second half against Xavier. Pinson said he never considered leaving Missouri.

Not only did he stay with the team, but his newfound maturity has led him to prioritize the team’s well-being over his own. He’s embraced a new role, worked to make the right play instead of the flashy one and, instead of being late or missing from workouts, he spends so much time in Mizzou Arena that he occasionally has to sleep there.

“I think his maturity has brought him to a point where he wants this program and team to do well,” Mann said, “and if that means playing alongside or even coming off the bench now, that’s what that means, then he’s fine with it as long as that’s what’s best for the team.”