Countdown the NCAA Season: JNixon-Iggy9’s Top 35 Teams (#17)

17: Mizzou Tigers

Frontcourt- This group consists of long-armed guys with good athleticism, and it features a rotation where guys don’t typically play more than 25 mpg at most due to the frenetic pace caused by their press. Ricardo Ratcliffe, a 6’8 240 PF, had an immediate impact last year. Ratcliffe is a good athlete with nice physical ability and strength. He can make shots facing up with legit range to 18 feet, and can score with his back to the basket very well. Outside of that, he’s a pretty good rebounder as well. He’s not big on man-to-man half-court D, but he’s adequate and will block shots a little. He should be better adjusted next year and have an even greater impact. About 13 ppg and 7 rpg seems fair. He has the potential to be a 2012 draft pick. The backup C spot will be Steven Moore. Moore is the biggest body on the team (6’9 270) and usually comes in the game to rebound and score due to his size. He can’t play more than limited minutes though, because he’s a sluggish defender who can collect fouls the longer he’s on the court. Another fixture in their frontline is a freaky athlete in the 6’8 Sr. Laurence Bowers. Bowers SOARS to the basket and was a flat-out monster in their press, especially when he gets his hands on the ball in the open floor. He has great length and explosive quickness and athleticism, and even though he’s only 205 or so right now he also has a frame capable of packing on weight. He’s a tweener forward though right now, with not very good handle or perimeter shooting skills, and he’s mostly effective offensively by working off the ball and getting shots in transition and on the offensive glass etc etc. He seems like another Demarre Carroll-type for Mizzou, but Carroll developed a better scoring arsenal by the time he graduated. It’ll be interesting to so how he develops, but he’s certainly an NBA prospect for this 2012 draft. Kim English will play some SF/off-guard too for depth. This group loses Justin Safford to graduation and Ricky Kreklow to transfer. One was a steady role player (Safford) and the other a smooth shooter (Kreklow) so there is less depth here. But the headliners return and have experience.

Backcourt- This group will throw a bunch of quick slashers at you, and all of them excel at pressuring the ball. They still have Soph. Phil Pressey, who had a solid Fr. year leading the squad in apg, and 2 Sr.’s in Marcus Denmon and Mike Dixon for time at the PG/SG spots. The 5’10 162 Pressey is very quick from the PG spot and really can push the ball up the floor. He possesses a sweet shot with range, nice athleticism for his size, has the ability to pressure the ball (2 spg last year!), and he can get the ball to the open man in drive and dish situations, sometimes in impressive fashion. Pressey can also play off the ball due to his slashing and shooting skills. He’s very small though and he will get scored on a bit when he is in half-court D, he struggles to finish around the rim a bit, and he needs to continue to improve his decision-making more, but that will likely come. He has the potential to be a Jerome Randle-type of college player in time. Pressey has quite a bit of upside, and is probably the best pure talent on the team. The 6’2 200 Marcus Denmon was the leading scorer on the team, and he possesses a fine mid-range game and a solid deep ball when spotting up. He’s not super quick or athletic or a true PG, but he’s strong, competes on D and can turn his man and get steals that lead to transition buckets. He has a quiet way of leading, but he may need to be more vocal next year. Mike Dixon is super quick with an OK shot, and he really can pressure the ball. Dixon will need to be on his best behavior next year after being in Coach Anderson’s doghouse in the past, but he’s experienced and a guy who can score and be a nice PG at his best. Also returning is Matt Pressey, a 6’2 185 utility guard. He’s the older brother of Phil, and definitely is a cerebral overachiever. He plays sound basketball, makes his open shots, and plays strong on-ball D. He’s a very steady fixture in the rotation and the type of players coaches trust. The off-guard/SF situation is manned by 6’6 200 Kimmie English, a guy who’s known as a hard worker and as a charismatic and charming personality to the media. I like English a lot as well. Even though he isn’t quite efficient (37% shooter from the field), he has a nice shot (37% from 3) especially from mid-range. He can score off of screens and off-ball plays, as well as being a good transition player. He isn’t a very good defender though, other than getting off ball steals in the press, and he needs to significantly improve his handle and his overall body strength to become a more aggressive slasher before he can take his game to the next level. Right now he settles for the jumper too much and doesn’t look to pass a lot, although he was a less unselfish shooter last year. English has the personality to be the leader of the team, but he has to get better as a player before he becomes the leader he has the potential to be. This group has all the players it needs for the press at the PG spot and all of their guards except English can play both guard spots. This once again looks like one of the deepest groups in the Big 12, and the country.

Overview: Mike Anderson is gone, replaced with Frank Haith, a much-maligned coach who comes from Miami (FL). Anderson’s style of play sort of wore thin with the players here it seemed, as they became more offensive-minded than before. Whereas Anderson had a bunch of gritty defensive players who could score during his Elite 8 run 3 years back, over the past 2 years he had a bunch of scorers who were trying to defend the right way. Frank Haith won’t quite play at a frenetic pace like Mizzou has in the past, but he will likely look to get creative in the half-court sets while still running some too. Mizzou is the most experienced team in the Big 12 by a good bit, and they also are very talented. I look for Haith to lead them to the 2^nd round or the Sweet 16 with Anderson’s holdovers.