Breakdown of Mizzou

[STL_XUfan]

As some of you may know I graduated from Xavier last year and started at Mizzou Law this year. I have season tickets and have been to all the games so far.

Here is a basic break down of Mizzou’s team

Starters

#5 Leo Lyons, Sr. Forward: Leo is by far the best player on this team. He is Mizzou’s only real threat in the paint. It is a completely different ball game when he is in the game. He reminds me a lot of Duncan in his senior year. When he is in the game look for the ball to go to him. However, he isn’t a center, and will most likely shy away fighting for the paint with either Love or Frease.

#1 DeMarre Carroll, Sr. Forward: Carroll is a solid scoring threat. While listed as a forward he will shy away from the paint. Most of his points will come from him dribble penetrating. He also floats to the outside and will take some ill-advised shots from further out than he should. His stats show him as a solid rebound threat, however most of those rebounds were not from within a few feet of the basket.

#4 J.T. Tiller, Guard Jr.: Tiller reminds me a lot of CJ. He hustles after every single ball that he can get to. Doesn’t have a great shot but can slash to the bucket and fight for his points. He is also a pretty solid defender on a team that isn’t all that great on the defensive end.

#11 Zaire Taylor, Jr. Guard (Transfer, 1st year with Mizzou). Taylor has been quiet so far in his time in a Mizzou jersey. He has been able to spread the ball around and pick up 9 assists in his first two games, but his scoring production hasn’t been there. His shot just seems to be off, but looking at his stats, he used to be a good shooter, so he could wake up and be a threat.

#33 Matt Lawrence, Sr. Guard: Matt Lawrence is what Justin Doellman would have been if he had given up on being a forward. He is a 6’7 guard with a hot hand. The first game against prairie view he couldn’t hit anything, however against UT-Chattanooga he went off on a scoring frenzy. At 6’7 he doesn’t really play a role inside, but instead floats around the perimeter waiting for a three or a mid range jumper.

Reserves

#12 Marcus Denmon, Fr. Guard: This kid is an incredible player off the bench. He has a natural shooting touch and intensity that will make him a force someday on this squad. I believe he will be starting before the end of the year, but as of right now he is a solid six man and will have an impact in the game.

#3 Miguel Paul: Fr. Guard: First cousin to Chris Paul and it shows. He is QUICK and has a good quick shot from 3. He needs some work to polish up his game, but don’t be surprised to see him knock down a few threes.

Ramsey, Safford, and English will all see 10 plus minutes of game time, but there is not to many note worthy things to say about them.

Overall observations

Offense: They will not stay away from the inside. Mizzou would much rather pass around the perimeter for 30 seconds and put up a three or mid range jumper rather than getting into a battle underneath. Mizzou’s big men also like to dribble. Carroll will more times than not get the ball underneath and instead of kicking it out, dribble the ball back out to the perimeter, don’t ask me why, but he does. We should be able to control the paint, and if Mizzou’s 3’s aren’t falling we could pull away early, if they are we could be in some trouble.

Defense: Mizzou plays a full court press. With the starters in it is normally a man-to-man full court press, but when the reserves come in it switches to a zone. UTC had trouble with it tonight in the second half, but prairie view seemed to handle it alright. Mizzou also has never seen a steal that they didn’t like. They will jump at every ball they can. This can leave to some wide open lanes to the basket. Overall they don’t look that impressive defensively, however we will need our young guards not to get flustered by the press.

Subbing: Anderson will sub frequently, but most of the time the 5 on the floor will either be all five players or the 5 reserves with a few variations throughout the game (normally giving Lyons or Carroll more time on the court).

Prediction: We own them in the paint and we move on to the next round without much fuss.

That is all I could think to put down now, but if you have any questions let me know and I will give you my best answer based on the 4 games I have been to this season.

[waggy]

All games are important, but this Missouri game has special importance.

[jdm2000]

Well, if Mizzou runs the press, we'll find out a lot about our ballhandling and young point guards.

[XUglow]

The UTC game last night was typical for Mizzou and Anderson. The Mocs held it close for the first half, but the constant Mizzou pressure eventually took its toll.

Win or lose, we will be tested.

[cheese]

This is one of those games that could have huge implications at the end of the year if X ends up on the bubble (which I think is at least a possibility). Win and it's not only a victory over a Big 12 school but also guarantees two more games against quality opposition (Va Tech, then either USC or Memphis) which will help our strength of schedule and computer rankings down the road. Lose and we're looking at Fairfield and (best case scenario) Seton Hall.

We need this one. Hopefully Sean will have the boys up for it.

[MADXSTER]

From CHN

Missouri Tigers
Overall Rank: #54
Conference Rank: #6 Big 12
2007-08: 16-16, 6-10, 10th
2007-08 postseason: none


Missouri has to replace some quality players, but Coach Mike Anderson is finally getting close to having the athletes and the depth he needs to run his fast pace offense and pressure defense. He has done more with less at UAB, but the Tigers have to get the off-court problems behind them if they want to play up to their potential and reach the NCAA Tournament.


Who’s Out:

Stefhon Hannah was leading the team with 14.6 points and 5.2 assists per game when he was kicked off the team. Most of the time the Tigers struggled to score without him, but with more time to adjust to his absence will be a good thing. Adjusting to the loss of Keon Lawrence might be more of an issue. The guard started 20 games last year and averaged 11.0 points per contest. He opted to transfer to Seton Hall to be closer to home. Jason Horton picked up the slack at point after Hannah was gone and did a decent job during his senior campaign. The final loss to the backcourt is little used Nick Berardini. The news up front is a little better, but Marshall Brown, Vaidotas Volkus and Darryl Butterfield were all contributors.


Who’s In:

The most important issue is finding a starting point guard. Miguel Paul and Zaire Taylor are solid choices. Paul, an incoming freshman, is quick and can always push the tempo. The 6-1 Lakeland, Florida product does a great job finding his teammates, but he can score as well and that is a good thing for a team that could use another scorer in the backcourt. Taylor is the more interesting prospect. The transfer from Delaware has a couple years of division I college experience, but he is also 6-4 and has long arms. If he can effectively run the point, his length will provide something on the defensive end that Paul cannot. Taylor is also a decent scorer and could see minutes at the two or three spots. In a pinch, Marcus Denmon could run the show, but he is better suited to play off the ball and do a ton of scoring. At 6-6, Kim English will bring size to the perimeter and the more size the better in Coach Anderson’s defensive schemes. Laurence Bowers and Steve Moore will provide some depth to the frontcourt, but it is Keith Ramsey who is expected to make a big impact. The junior college transfer is a perfect fit for the system and can handle the ball and pass effectively. His outside shooting will take him out towards the three-point line, but his best asset is beating opposing big men off the dribble. At 6-9 and 210 pounds, the lefty is big enough to battle in the paint, but the opposition will have trouble matching his foot speed.


Who to Watch:

If Missouri did not already have a great frontcourt, Ramsey would be starting. But on a team that employs pressure defense, having quality depth is very, very important. Now DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons can play aggressively without having to worry as much about foul trouble. Carroll had a great year in 2007-2008 after transferring in from Vanderbilt. He averaged 13.0 points and a team high 6.7 rebounds per contest and should be even better as a senior. Lyons emerged as a big threat during his junior campaign and got better as the season progressed. On the year he averaged 13.1 points and 5.7 rebounds and, if he continues to improve, Lyons will be the leader of the pack.


Final Projection:

Even with all the talented newcomers, J.T. Tiller and Matt Lawrence should hold onto their starting roles on the wing. Tiller is the slasher and had some great games once he became a starter. The Tigers will need him to be more consistent this year. Speaking of consistency, that is what Lawrence lacked as well. Two years ago Lawrence hit 44.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Last season that number plummeted to 34.8 percent. Without Hannah, it will be up to Lawrence to be the main long range shooting threat and he has to get closer to his 44.3 percent this time around or the Tigers offense will struggle.


Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT


Projected Starting Five:
Miguel Paul, Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
J.T. Tiller, Junior, Guard, 6.8 points per game
Matt Lawrence, Senior, Guard, 8.8 points per game
DeMarre Carroll, Senior, Forward, 13.0 points per game
Leo Lyons, Senior, Forward, 13.1 points per game

[The Artist]

Good stuff, thanks fellas