R.I.P. Mizzou Basketball 2025-26

It would person been a bully point to support nan train rolling, but successful astatine slightest a fewer mini ways there’s a consciousness of alleviation that nan play is over. At slightest for me.

It’s been a struggle.

Letting spell of what I thought this squad could beryllium earlier nan play started, and what that mightiness look for illustration was thing I struggled pinch each season. What Missouri ended up being was a difficult point to watch astatine times, and seldom were they enjoyable and fun. It was a heavy opposition from nan gait and activity they played pinch a twelvemonth ago.

Winning ever makes things better. People ever complained astir really Tony Bennett’s Virginia teams played pinch their plodding gait and debased people games, but he won. So it makes it better. The aforesaid pinch Ben McCollum and his Drake and Iowa teams. They’re slow, and boring, but they win.

In bid to triumph this season, Dennis Gates smashed nan brakes. The aged measurement wasn’t effective, aft a 20 constituent nonaccomplishment to Kansas, and a 43 constituent nonaccomplishment to Illinois, Gates and his unit knew they needed to alteration what they were doing if they were going to make a tally astatine nan NCAA Tournament. That alteration progressive a hyper-focused violative onslaught revolving astir Mark Mitchell, and a gait that would support games adjacent allowing for nan Tigers to make 1 aliases 2 plays… capable to seizure a win.

That attack worked, mostly. Mizzou hit Florida and Kentucky to commencement SEC play. But past nan defender play struggled immoderate more, truthful Gates had to make different change. Elevating T.O. Barrett to nan starting role, and relegating Anthony Robinson II to a reserve. That alteration netted them different momentum change, pinch it they sewage to 10 wins successful convention play. Plus beating Vanderbilt and Tennessee netted them capable bully will pinch nan action committee to nab a 10 seed.

But while making nan NCAA Tournament each play remains thing of a baseline for this program, it should guidelines arsenic much of a building artifact going forward. The keys to going from a regular successful nan NCAA Tournament and a squad that regularly wins games and makes it past nan first play is different riddle for this unit to solve. This squad was built to compete successful March, and it fell good short of that goal.

There were mostly precocious hopes astir nan fanbase for nan squad this season, but extracurricular expectations were acold much tempered. Mizzou fell short of our expectations but they seemed to meet what those extracurricular nan fanbase, and Columbia media, thought this squad could achieve. A batch of group pegged nan Tigers arsenic a tourney squad astatine nan commencement of nan season, but fewer had them contending for an SEC Championship.

A spot of a reckoning, if you inquire me.

Beyond nan roster changes we’re going to inevitably see, Gates has to inquire himself if he’s building a programme and roster that will compete for SEC Championships, and yet National Championships. He’s stated that arsenic his goal, and I deliberation he’s sewage nan coaching chops to get there, but he’s going to request to return different measurement guardant to get there.

If you relationship for conscionable nan capacity successful SEC play, nan Tigers were nan 49th champion offense, and nan 49th champion defense successful nan state done nan extremity of nan season. But aft steadily improving nan defense nan past 3 seasons, nan ratio standing wide dropped from 68th past twelvemonth to 80th this season.

We’ve seen Gates lick problems successful nan past.

In his first twelvemonth he took nan convention a spot by large wind pinch his wide unfastened offense. The adjacent play nan convention caught up, and nan Tigers injuries near them good down nan remainder of nan pack. So Gates adjusted again. He made judge he built a squad that would get to nan free propulsion statement a lot… and contempt what past nighttime felt like, nan rebounding has improved each year.

But has it improved capable to get them beyond wherever they’ve been now 2 years successful a row? A upper, but still middle, of nan battalion SEC team?

That type of decorativeness is good arsenic a baseline. I deliberation this play was a mediocre season, overall. I’m judge publically Gates will show you it was a bully season, his squad navigated challenges and still won 20 games and made nan NCAA Tournament. If you haven’t figured this retired by now, I’m not judge what I opportunity adjacent will person overmuch effect, but what Dennis Gates says publically is simply a type of coach speak astir of america are accustomed to. What he does is acold much telling for really he feels astir this program.

And really Gates rebuilds will show you a batch astir really he feels.

Missouri is losing Mark Mitchell, Jayden Stone, Jacob Crews, Shawn Phillips, and possibly Jevon Porter arsenic well. All of those guys are gone, astatine least, owed to eligibility expiration. And not to look cruel, but arsenic overmuch arsenic we cheer for anyone who dons nan Missouri Basketball jersey, what Gates needs is to person a superior speech pinch his unit astir whether nan remainder of nan roster is bully capable to present what he wants.

If you want an SEC Championship aliases a Final Four, nan Tigers haven’t been bully capable rebounding nan hoops aliases defensively to get location successful immoderate of nan 4 years. He’s had 2 seasons of discourtesy that was bully enough, but if you want to beryllium astatine THAT level you request to beryllium apical 20 successful both, and nan defense has been nary wherever close.

So watch what they do.

For nan first clip since taking nan job, Gates has had a General Manager for an full offseason. Tim Fuller has been entrusted to do what this programme hasn’t been capable to do for astir of nan past 3 offseasons, and that’s beryllium afloat prepared for nan marketplace successful nan transportation portal.

You person an elite changeable shaper coming successful pinch apical 5 enlistee Jason Crowe. The scheme should beryllium to build astir him. He needs complementary talent astir him. He needs a chap defender who tin beryllium a accordant scorer and support nan defenses from focusing solely connected stopping him. He needs wings who tin bang successful shots disconnected footwear outs. He needs immoderate move forwards who tin rim run, and cod misses and dump offs for easy buckets. He needs teammates who will take sides hard.

If you deliberation there’s nan model of that presently connected nan roster, you bring those guys back.

Next play is simply a pivotal 1 for Gates. Not that he’s going to spell into it connected nan basking seat. It’s not astatine that level astatine all. But location is simply a mean level of grumbling complete really nan past 2 seasons person ended.

The truth is everyone loses astatine nan extremity of nan season. In nan SEC 15 teams suffer successful nan convention tournament, and successful nan NCAA Tournament 67 suffer their past game. There’s thing to beryllium said for being 1 of those 67.

But aft 2 years of getting there, tin you do more?

Gates has 3 tourney trips successful 4 seasons. That’s bully for Missouri, aft what we’ve dealt pinch arsenic fans for nan amended portion of nan past 15 years. He should beryllium commended for raising nan expectations for nan programme to nary longer beryllium a forgotten squad astatine nan bottommost of nan league. But thing tells maine he’s arsenic dissatisfied pinch this ending arsenic we each are. There’s ever different year, different game, different season. Next twelvemonth starts now.

So Rest In Peace, Mizzou Basketball 2025-26. Our narration was complicated. But I’m still hopeful for nan future.