[MizzouAntler]

Hey guys, Mizzou fan here.  Since Mizzou and Stanford have been paired in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis, I just wanted to stop by and ask for your perspective on the game.  How is your hoops team looking for next year?  I will admit, I don't have much knowledge on the Stanford bball team, but I know they started off last year very strong.  Although we lost English, Denmon, Ratliffe, Moore, and (Matt) Pressey, our team will actually be more athletic than last year's with the additions of Earnest Ross, Keion Bell, Jabari Brown, and Alex Oriakhi, and the return of Laurence Bowers from injury.  Many people have written our team off after losing many of our senior leaders, but if Haith can bring this team of veterans and transfers (most of whom have been practicing with the team for over a year now) together, it actually has the potential to be better than last year's.

I'm really excited for our match-up and the Battle 4 Atlantis in general.  It looks to be a great event! 

[MizzouAntler]

Hey guys, Mizzou fan here.  Since Mizzou and Stanford have been paired in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis, I just wanted to stop by and ask for your perspective on the game.  How is your hoops team looking for next year?  I will admit, I don't have much knowledge on the Stanford bball team, but I know they started off last year very strong.  Although we lost English, Denmon, Ratliffe, Moore, and (Matt) Pressey, our team will actually be more athletic than last year's with the additions of Earnest Ross, Keion Bell, Jabari Brown, and Alex Oriakhi, and the return of Laurence Bowers from injury.  Many people have written our team off after losing many of our senior leaders, but if Haith can bring this team of veterans and transfers (most of whom have been practicing with the team for over a year now) together, it actually has the potential to be better than last year's.

I'm really excited for our match-up and the Battle 4 Atlantis in general.  It looks to be a great event! 

[washingtonismoney]

With a new AD, I would guess it's a make-or-break year for Johnny Dawkins. There aren't too many excuses left--his first really good class are now juniors, he has a few players who look like they could be impact players. That's the good part. The bad part is that Dawkins is an iffy in-game coach and there's not an obvious true big man on the roster. Hopefully new assistant coach Mark Madsen can help coach up those guys who are there.

Best player on the team should be soph. PG Chasson Randle, a surprisingly mature point guard--more of a scoring than passing point. Aaron Bright is a smaller, dynamic guard off the bench; was compared to JJ Barea, which sounds about right as a style (rather than effectiveness) comparison. Big man Dwight Powell is the mystery man of the team, having a good passing eye and ballhandling ability; iffy motor and defense. Might remind you a bit of Lamar Odom (stylistically).

NCAA tournament should be the minimum expectation in a weak-ish Pac-12.

[washingtonismoney]

With a new AD, I would guess it's a make-or-break year for Johnny Dawkins. There aren't too many excuses left--his first really good class are now juniors, he has a few players who look like they could be impact players. That's the good part. The bad part is that Dawkins is an iffy in-game coach and there's not an obvious true big man on the roster. Hopefully new assistant coach Mark Madsen can help coach up those guys who are there.

Best player on the team should be soph. PG Chasson Randle, a surprisingly mature point guard--more of a scoring than passing point. Aaron Bright is a smaller, dynamic guard off the bench; was compared to JJ Barea, which sounds about right as a style (rather than effectiveness) comparison. Big man Dwight Powell is the mystery man of the team, having a good passing eye and ballhandling ability; iffy motor and defense. Might remind you a bit of Lamar Odom (stylistically).

NCAA tournament should be the minimum expectation in a weak-ish Pac-12.

[MizzouAntler]

With a new AD, I would guess it's a make-or-break year for Johnny Dawkins. There aren't too many excuses left--his first really good class are now juniors, he has a few players who look like they could be impact players. That's the good part. The bad part is that Dawkins is an iffy in-game coach and there's not an obvious true big man on the roster. Hopefully new assistant coach Mark Madsen can help coach up those guys who are there.

Best player on the team should be soph. PG Chasson Randle, a surprisingly mature point guard--more of a scoring than passing point. Aaron Bright is a smaller, dynamic guard off the bench; was compared to JJ Barea, which sounds about right as a style (rather than effectiveness) comparison. Big man Dwight Powell is the mystery man of the team, having a good passing eye and ballhandling ability; iffy motor and defense. Might remind you a bit of Lamar Odom (stylistically).

NCAA tournament should be the minimum expectation in a weak-ish Pac-12.

From what you have said, it sounds like this will be a very interesting matchup.  We are polar opposites at the positions you have discussed.  Phil Pressey is a pass-first, true-point who can drive and finish as well, and will break Mizzou's all-time assist record if he doesn't leave after this year.  Here is some video of him...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkveAXaIxj0

Down low, we will have Bowers at the 4 and Oriakhi at the 5.  Both are known better for their hard-nosed defense than scoring ability, but Bowers does have a tendency to be a ball-hawk and get timely put-backs.  In terms of scoring, we expect most of it to come from the 2 and 3.  At the 2, we will probably start Michael Dixon, who really turned it on at the end of our last year and became our best scoring option.  He is a high-energy guy, although a little under-sized as he was originally a point guard and will play that spot when Pressey comes out of the game.  Keion Bell will probably play the same role Dixon did last year coming off the bench 5-6 minutes in and re-igniting our team's energy.  He is ultra-athletic and is another high-energy guy who has the ability to take over a game, but needs to work on his movement without the ball.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCLdxuj3uRM

At the 3, junior Earnest Ross will probably start.  He was the best player on Auburn's team two years ago, where he averaged 13.1 points and over 8 rebounds on a dismal team.  The reports from practice indicate he could be the most talented and athletic piece of our team, and the change of scenery could be just what he needs to emerge as a star.  Backing him up will be former 5-star recruit and Oregon transfer Jabari Brown.  From what I've seen/heard, he is a scorer at heart, but might still need to work on his defense some.

Obviously, this game intrigues me as one of our best (set-in-stone) non-conference games.  Do you guys have a link to any highlights of your squad from last year?  I looked on youtube but couldn't find much.  I'd be interested to take a look.  Thanks in advance!

[MizzouAntler]

With a new AD, I would guess it's a make-or-break year for Johnny Dawkins. There aren't too many excuses left--his first really good class are now juniors, he has a few players who look like they could be impact players. That's the good part. The bad part is that Dawkins is an iffy in-game coach and there's not an obvious true big man on the roster. Hopefully new assistant coach Mark Madsen can help coach up those guys who are there.

Best player on the team should be soph. PG Chasson Randle, a surprisingly mature point guard--more of a scoring than passing point. Aaron Bright is a smaller, dynamic guard off the bench; was compared to JJ Barea, which sounds about right as a style (rather than effectiveness) comparison. Big man Dwight Powell is the mystery man of the team, having a good passing eye and ballhandling ability; iffy motor and defense. Might remind you a bit of Lamar Odom (stylistically).

NCAA tournament should be the minimum expectation in a weak-ish Pac-12.

From what you have said, it sounds like this will be a very interesting matchup.  We are polar opposites at the positions you have discussed.  Phil Pressey is a pass-first, true-point who can drive and finish as well, and will break Mizzou's all-time assist record if he doesn't leave after this year.  Here is some video of him...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkveAXaIxj0

Down low, we will have Bowers at the 4 and Oriakhi at the 5.  Both are known better for their hard-nosed defense than scoring ability, but Bowers does have a tendency to be a ball-hawk and get timely put-backs.  In terms of scoring, we expect most of it to come from the 2 and 3.  At the 2, we will probably start Michael Dixon, who really turned it on at the end of our last year and became our best scoring option.  He is a high-energy guy, although a little under-sized as he was originally a point guard and will play that spot when Pressey comes out of the game.  Keion Bell will probably play the same role Dixon did last year coming off the bench 5-6 minutes in and re-igniting our team's energy.  He is ultra-athletic and is another high-energy guy who has the ability to take over a game, but needs to work on his movement without the ball.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCLdxuj3uRM

At the 3, junior Earnest Ross will probably start.  He was the best player on Auburn's team two years ago, where he averaged 13.1 points and over 8 rebounds on a dismal team.  The reports from practice indicate he could be the most talented and athletic piece of our team, and the change of scenery could be just what he needs to emerge as a star.  Backing him up will be former 5-star recruit and Oregon transfer Jabari Brown.  From what I've seen/heard, he is a scorer at heart, but might still need to work on his defense some.

Obviously, this game intrigues me as one of our best (set-in-stone) non-conference games.  Do you guys have a link to any highlights of your squad from last year?  I looked on youtube but couldn't find much.  I'd be interested to take a look.  Thanks in advance!