Sometimes a transfer really catches you off guard.
Marcus Allen leaving caught me off guard.
From everything I had heard, he was happy with the Tigers and had a great connection with the coaching staff and his teammates.
He was the most productive and consistently involved among the freshman and seemed primed to have a good-sized role next year.
The only thing I can think of that might have changed any of that is if Missouri coach Dennis Gates has bigger intentions for Jevon Porter than I expected and discussed that with the team. I want to make clear that is 100 percent my speculation, not from any conversations since the announcement.
But the transfer portal is a fickle mistress and we move on to what’s next.
So, what does Allen transferring mean for the Tigers?
Firstly, it means next year’s roster is down to 11, so there are now four spots that need to be filled through the portal.
It also means there are now four forwards on roster.
Here’s a roster breakdown:
With Allen out the door, that guard group is looking very young and the forward group is looking pretty old.
I wouldn’t be shocked if the Tigers really try to get a sophomore forward mixed in there just to try to have a little more continuity after next season.
I’ve been talking a lot about what I think the Tigers need and it’s mostly been deep shooting, a three-level scoring guard and a center.
Well, now a forward has to be in the mix as well.
We know what the Tigers are going to get from Mitchell and can hope for some steps up from Crews and Pierce. What they will get from Porter as he takes a big step up in competition is in question and whether Randall can be much of a piece as a freshman is unknown.
We quickly went from not needing to worry about the forward group at all to needing to grab someone who can be a serious contributor.
I see the current forward ranking as: 1. Mitchell, 2. Pierce, 3. Crews, 4. Porter and 5. Randall, getting someone to go either in front of our behind Crews in the rotation would be a great addition.
Obviously grabbing one to go even higher in the rankings would be great, but there’s only so many financial resources to spread around with four roster spots left, so Missouri will have to be somewhat strategic.
The Tigers have been in communication with a number of forwards since the portal opened, which quickly became a great strategy.
They've talked to Syracuse power forward Chris Bell (9.3 points per game shooting 40.7 percent as a junior), USC guard/forward Isaiah Elohim (appeared in 18 games and shot 13-of-22 as a freshman), Omaha power forward Marquel Sutton (18.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as the Summit League Player of the Year in his junior season), Florida State power forward Malique Ewin (14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in 30 starts as a sophomore), Robert Morris small forward Amarion Dickerson (13.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a junior) and there's some expectation the Tigers will be involved on Arizona State's Jayden Quaintance (9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and more than two blocks per game as a freshman).
That's a long list of forwards the Tigers were in communication with before Allen hit the portal.
Now, there's a need to go get one of them.
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