How defense is developing for Mizzou men's basketball through 5 … – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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Southern Illinois Edwardsville’s Ray’Sean Taylor heads to the basket as Missouri’s Nick Honor (10) and Jordan Butler (0) defend during the first half of a game Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Columbia, Mo.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Does quantity ever equal quality? Better yet: How does quantity translate to quality?
Those are just two of the questions floating toward the Missouri men’s basketball program after the Tigers picked up their second loss of the season in surprising fashion Sunday evening, losing at home to previously winless Jackson State. The visitors scored the second-most points of any opponent this season against MU, including four field goals in the final 47 seconds of the game.
Mizzou’s offensive plan going forward seems pretty clear. The Tigers want to shoot the 3 — and shoot it a lot. Through five games, 48.3% of their field goal attempts have come from beyond the arc, which ranks in the top 20 of all Division I teams.
Because of the heavy perimeter shot-taking, there haven’t been a ton of drives coming from the Tigers, which means they’ve only gone to the line for 69 free throws.
The quantity point isn’t just about 3-point volume — it’s about personnel. As expected, coach Dennis Gates’ rotation has been extensive. He used 13 players against Jackson State and a comeback win at Minnesota. Only one player spent at least 30 minutes on the floor across those two games: point guard Nick Honor. (The team’s other point guard, Sean East II, wasn’t far behind with at least 29 in each of those two games.)
One of the more intriguing aspects of the who plays discussion is on the defensive end.
They key there, Gates said, has been positioning.
“Defensively, making sure they’re in the right spots,” he said. “There is a big difference between 2 inches to the right and 2 inches to the left. You have to be in the right spots to cut off angles.”
Missouri’s defense is No. 94 in the country in KenPom’s opponent-adjusted defensive rating. That formula tries to standardize how many points a team allowed per 100 possessions across opponents of different levels. Last year, the Tigers were No. 180, but without the same offensive firepower of last season’s NCAA Tournament team, there’s more of a spotlight on defense.
Evaluating individual players’ defense is difficult. Basketball Reference calculates defensive rating for specific players to estimate how many points they individually allow per 100 possessions, though that metric doesn’t always mean much in terms of team defense and matchups or game situations.
Center Connor Vanover, who has played just 11 minutes this season after missing the first three games, has the best defensive rating so far. Next is lanky wing Aidan Shaw, then freshman 7-footer Jordan Butler, with guard Caleb Grill just behind him.
Sample sizes are small for the first three in particular— they’ve played fewer minutes combined than forward Noah Carter has by himself. But it suggests that size has helped the Tigers early on.
“Jordan Butler did a tremendous job throughout that game walling up and presenting size,” Gates said of the freshman center’s work against Jackson State.
Rebounding is part of the equation for use of size, too. With so many players seeing such varied amounts of playing time, Gates has looked at rebounds per minute when evaluating this part of the game.
In that regard, Vanover, Grill, forward Jesus Carralero Martin, Shaw and Carter have been top-tier rebounders.
The presence of Grill, who plays as an off-ball guard, is somewhat surprising.
“I still want Caleb Grill to try to lead us in rebounds,” Gates said before listing off a series of forwards and centers he wants to step up and surpass the Iowa State transfer. “But right now, the most consistent one is Caleb Grill, and that’s just how he’s been playing. He and (freshman point guard Anthony Robinson II) have led us in defensive percentages.”
Junior guard Kaleb Brown will miss the rest of the season due to a stress fracture in his left shin, MU announced Tuesday.
He hasn’t played in the Tigers’ lpast three games. When Brown did play, he was the first substitute off the bench.
“We had to make a decision where he could be on the court consistently,” Gates said. “He just has that little spot that’s showing up in the X-ray that we got to be cautious for. We didn’t want to burn a year of inconsistency.”
Gates said Brown could return this season but that the program decided to shut him down to protect a year of eligibility. He’ll have two potential seasons of college basketball left.
Brown, the younger brother of recent Mizzou standout Kobe Brown, enrolled in 2021. He played just under eight minutes a game last season, and Gates labeled him the most improved player of the offseason.
“He had a great summer, a great fall,” Gates said. “The team will miss him, there’s no doubt about that.”
In today’s 10 a.m. “Ten Hochman” video — brought to you by Siteman Cancer Center — Ben Hochman discusses Mizzou basketball recruit Annor Boateng, the highest-rated signee since Michael Porter Jr. Also, a happy birthday shoutout to Lou Ferrigno! And as always, Hochman picks a random St. Louis Cards card!
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Southern Illinois Edwardsville’s Ray’Sean Taylor heads to the basket as Missouri’s Nick Honor (10) and Jordan Butler (0) defend during the first half of a game Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Columbia, Mo.
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