In this series, we’ll take a look at each of Mizzou’s returners this year, what worked for them during the 2023-24 season and what each of them can improve on. We continue the series with senior guard Tamar Bates.
2023-24 STATS
13.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.2 bpg, 0.8 spg
49.5 FG%, 38.5 3PT%, 92.6 FT%
BEST GAME: VS. FLORIDA, JAN. 20
36 points (13-21 FG, 1-4 3PT, 9-9 FT), 1 rebound
WHAT WENT WELL
Bates was the crown jewel of Missouri’s 2023 transfer class. He’d been stashed on Indiana’s bench through his first two years of college, backing up upperclassmen admirably as an efficient scorer. The Kansas City, Kan. native made the move to join the Tigers to be closer to his family, but also for the chance to gain a bigger role.
Head coach Dennis Gates brought Bates off the bench through the first seven games of last season, and the 6-foot-5 guard struggled to make an impact at first — after opening the year with an 18-point performance in a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Bates averaged just 5.5 points per game over the next six outings, including a season-low two points in eight minutes against Loyola (MD) in which he was benched early in the second half.
Gates inserted Bates into the starting lineup in the next game on the road against Pitt on Nov. 28. Bates responded with a 12-point outing in a 71-64 win. He remained in the starting five for the rest of the season, partially due to graduate senior wings Caleb Grill and John Tonje suffering season-ending injuries, but also because Bates proved he belonged, scoring double-digit points in all but three games for the rest of the year.
The already-good shot efficiency he exhibited at Indiana improved at Mizzou — Bates was two missed 3-pointers away from becoming a member of the 50/40/90 club and ranked 155th in the nation with a 60.5 true shooting percentage according to KenPom. As the team entered SEC play, Bates had asserted himself as the black and gold’s clear-cut No. 2 option behind only graduate senior guard Sean East II. Some of his best work came in the mid-range, where Bates shot a red-hot 57.8% according to CBB Analytics. He also went nearly a month without missing a free throw, going 36-36 between Jan. 9 and Feb. 3 and finishing the year as the No. 7 most accurate player at the line in NCAA Division I.
Bates’ development wasn’t enough to help Missouri avoid going winless in conference play. But many of the games the team was competitive in could’ve been much worse without Bates’ presence.
WHAT CAN IMPROVE
While Bates made big strides as a contributor during his junior year, he still displayed a few holes in his game.
The guard had a hard time finishing around the rim all season. Bates made a below-average 53.1% of his looks in the paint despite more than half of his field goal attempts coming from the lane. And while he routinely made opponents pay at the line when he drew contact, Bates often didn’t draw enough fouls for his free throw accuracy to make too much of a difference, averaging just 3.0 foul shots per game.
Low volume also minimized Bates’ impact from deep. While he showed some ability to create shots off the bounce, he was more effective shooter off the catch — Bates made 43.2% of his triples in the corner, but was just 32.6% above the break despite a fairly even split in attempts from both areas. He looked like a potential All-SEC selection through the first half of the league schedule, putting 19.8 points per game through the first 10 games, but hit a wall as opposing defenses began to key in on him more through the final nine games of the year, averaging just 11.7 points.
Bates will need to upgrade other areas of his game to become a more well-rounded player as well. He was decent as a rebounder and defender, but rarely had standout games pulling down boards or locking down opponents. He also one of just three players in the rotation a negative assist-to-turnover ratio — the other two players, Aidan Shaw and Jordan Butler, are both forwards who didn’t have the ball in their hands much.
Still, Bates is a proven, quality player and the most productive among all of MU’s returners. He’ll be leaned on heavily again this year.
READ THE REST OF THE RETURNING TIGERS SERIES
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