Rowe and Mack

[zuck698]

Questions and comments.

Is the plan to red shirt Rowe this season? I assume that is the case because he hasn't played since early in the season. I would understand the move, if so, I just have never heard any discussion about that. Question one, where would he get playing time on the current roster? The young man is a toothpick. The SEC would beat the kid to a pulp at his weight. I know he was a top 50 recruit and has some serious skills, but there is no way he is a player, in the SEC, at 6'2" and 150 lbs., right? AR is 6'3" but comes in closer to 190 lbs. Can a young man with his build put on the needed weight by next fall? Just a hunch, but I could see him transferring before next season.

With the current lineup, I see Mack's playing time being greatly reduced. I don't think that is a necessarily, a bad thing either. Does anyone see the upside with this guy? Besides being able to drive the paint, I was not really that impressed with the rest of his overall game. What am I missing and do you see him on the roster next year? I think he could be on the move as well.

[Rantz]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

[icon]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

I agree they need to get Mack fixed....to the bench. The ball was getting stuck with him on the floor. Many passes to him have been the last pass. He's a volume shooter who isn't that great of a shooter. With Stone back at guard and Mack's PT cut, it's no accident the team is playing better. I trust Gates on this a lot more than ball hog Mack.

[zuck698]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

Thanks Rantz. That is the kind of feedback I wanted. When it was announced we were signing Mack last year, I did as much investigation as I could on the young man. I thought then, he was not a fit for what the team was looking to do. Who knows, maybe money was a factor, and Gates took what he could get? Like I said, Mack can drive to the bucket. Good call on Pinson. Kind of getting forgetful with age!

[TheMajicMan]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

Mack was the last player on Mizzou's transfer portal list at guard and he ended up being the only one that Mizzou could afford in the end. In the end Mizzou was in the running for Kyan Evans, Colorado State -who committed to North Carolina, because they out-bidded Mizzou. Here's the list of the other guards.

Quimari Peterson, East Tennessee State - committed to Washington
COMBO GUARDS
Sebastian Mack, UCLA - Committed to Mizzou
Devin Askew, Long Beach State - committed to Villanova
Honor Huff, Chattanooga - committed to West Virginia
Kyan Evans, Colorado State - committed to North Carolina
Jalen Johnson, IUP-Fort Wayne - committed to Butler
Nik Graves, Charlotte - committed to Creighton
Adrian Wooley, Kennessaw State - committed to Louisville
Jaydon Young, Virginia Tech - committed to North Carolina

[Whatashame]

I think sometimes a coach gets a vision of how he thinks a player is going to work in a system, then when the application comes it just doesn’t work the way you thought it would. I don’t necessarily fault Gates for that and with the transfer portal, Mack can go right back in if he’s not getting the playing time and Gates can look for someone else. It happens with every program.

[Rantz]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

Thanks Rantz. That is the kind of feedback I wanted. When it was announced we were signing Mack last year, I did as much investigation as I could on the young man. I thought then, he was not a fit for what the team was looking to do. Who knows, maybe money was a factor, and Gates took what he could get? Like I said, Mack can drive to the bucket. Good call on Pinson. Kind of getting forgetful with age!

You're welcome. It is sort of a head scratcher. Why would Gates go after the type of player Mack is if you aren't going to put him in the best possible position to have a + net rating? You have a jumbo line up. It will work if Gates ran more PNR's. We saw the PNR last night in the last minutes of the game with Ant and Mitchell. But for the most part, thats not Gates offense. We do see instinct when Ant puts his defender in jail a lot, he has the freedom to do that because hes good at it. Gates has to get Mack figured out. Gates could easily design some of those PNR plays for Mack to get a basket in time of need. And let me say this while it on my mind. I get that a lot of basketball fans just want to see the ball go in the hoop without every thinking how it gets there. They seem to think its all instinct up and down the floor and no actual plays are ran. Its the complete opposite. A system is ran, and within that system...offense and defense, plays are ran. Instinct has to be a part of the game when plays break down or a miss shot and aren't reset. Mack has to flow within the system. If he cant do what coach wants, he has to sit.

[Rantz]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

Mack was the last player on Mizzou's transfer portal list at guard and he ended up being the only one that Mizzou could afford in the end. In the end Mizzou was in the running for Kyan Evans, Colorado State -who committed to North Carolina, because they out-bidded Mizzou. Here's the list of the other guards.

Quimari Peterson, East Tennessee State - committed to Washington
COMBO GUARDS
Sebastian Mack, UCLA - Committed to Mizzou
Devin Askew, Long Beach State - committed to Villanova
Honor Huff, Chattanooga - committed to West Virginia
Kyan Evans, Colorado State - committed to North Carolina
Jalen Johnson, IUP-Fort Wayne - committed to Butler
Nik Graves, Charlotte - committed to Creighton
Adrian Wooley, Kennessaw State - committed to Louisville
Jaydon Young, Virginia Tech - committed to North Carolina

Yep....many of us was wondering why the Tar Hills went after him for their program being a blueblood. Kyan Evans was never that great of a scorer... Kyan Evans does lead them in assist, thats about it.

[zuck698]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

Thanks Rantz. That is the kind of feedback I wanted. When it was announced we were signing Mack last year, I did as much investigation as I could on the young man. I thought then, he was not a fit for what the team was looking to do. Who knows, maybe money was a factor, and Gates took what he could get? Like I said, Mack can drive to the bucket. Good call on Pinson. Kind of getting forgetful with age!

You're welcome. It is sort of a head scratcher. Why would Gates go after the type of player Mack is if you aren't going to put him in the best possible position to have a + net rating? You have a jumbo line up. It will work if Gates ran more PNR's. We saw the PNR last night in the last minutes of the game with Ant and Mitchell. But for the most part, thats not Gates offense. We do see instinct when Ant puts his defender in jail a lot, he has the freedom to do that because hes good at it. Gates has to get Mack figured out. Gates could easily design some of those PNR plays for Mack to get a basket in time of need. And let me say this while it on my mind. I get that a lot of basketball fans just want to see the ball go in the hoop without every thinking how it gets there. They seem to think its all instinct up and down the floor and no actual plays are ran. Its the complete opposite. A system is ran, and within that system...offense and defense, plays are ran. Instinct has to be a part of the game when plays break down or a miss shot and aren't reset. Mack has to flow within the system. If he cant do what coach wants, he has to sit.

100%! If he looked at any tape on Mack at UCLA, he would have easily seen that Pick and Roll was his bread and butter. He attacks the basket and can get to the foul line. Nothing else in his bio said otherwise, at least in my opinion. He excels at nothing else. You could make a case he is fair in other aspects but nothing like taking the ball to the rim. 70% FT and 31% from behind the arc screams average. As I said earlier, I think it was money, and Majic seems to agree with that sentiment in his previous post here. As you said with Gates offense, Mack is the square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

[Armchair QB]

Regarding Rowe, Allen Iverson was 6’0” 160 lb.

Enough skill and athletic ability and you can thrive at that size. Rowe was REALLY good in HS playing at a pretty high level (same as Michael Porter Jr). Maybe he just didn’t stand out in pre-season. Time will tell with him I guess, but he’s good. Hopefully he gets his opportunity.

[Rantz]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

Thanks Rantz. That is the kind of feedback I wanted. When it was announced we were signing Mack last year, I did as much investigation as I could on the young man. I thought then, he was not a fit for what the team was looking to do. Who knows, maybe money was a factor, and Gates took what he could get? Like I said, Mack can drive to the bucket. Good call on Pinson. Kind of getting forgetful with age!

You're welcome. It is sort of a head scratcher. Why would Gates go after the type of player Mack is if you aren't going to put him in the best possible position to have a + net rating? You have a jumbo line up. It will work if Gates ran more PNR's. We saw the PNR last night in the last minutes of the game with Ant and Mitchell. But for the most part, thats not Gates offense. We do see instinct when Ant puts his defender in jail a lot, he has the freedom to do that because hes good at it. Gates has to get Mack figured out. Gates could easily design some of those PNR plays for Mack to get a basket in time of need. And let me say this while it on my mind. I get that a lot of basketball fans just want to see the ball go in the hoop without every thinking how it gets there. They seem to think its all instinct up and down the floor and no actual plays are ran. Its the complete opposite. A system is ran, and within that system...offense and defense, plays are ran. Instinct has to be a part of the game when plays break down or a miss shot and aren't reset. Mack has to flow within the system. If he cant do what coach wants, he has to sit.

100%! If he looked at any tape on Mack at UCLA, he would have easily seen that Pick and Roll was his bread and butter. He attacks the basket and can get to the foul line. Nothing else in his bio said otherwise, at least in my opinion. He excels at nothing else. You could make a case he is fair in other aspects but nothing like taking the ball to the rim. 70% FT and 31% from behind the arc screams average. As I said earlier, I think it was money, and Majic seems to agree with that sentiment in his previous post here. As you said with Gates offense, Mack is the square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

100%

[John Bigboote]

Regarding Rowe, Allen Iverson was 6’0” 160 lb.

Well, hopefully Rowe has a different take on the necessity of effort during practice.

[Rvrartst]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

Thanks Rantz. That is the kind of feedback I wanted. When it was announced we were signing Mack last year, I did as much investigation as I could on the young man. I thought then, he was not a fit for what the team was looking to do. Who knows, maybe money was a factor, and Gates took what he could get? Like I said, Mack can drive to the bucket. Good call on Pinson. Kind of getting forgetful with age!

You're welcome. It is sort of a head scratcher. Why would Gates go after the type of player Mack is if you aren't going to put him in the best possible position to have a + net rating? You have a jumbo line up. It will work if Gates ran more PNR's. We saw the PNR last night in the last minutes of the game with Ant and Mitchell. But for the most part, thats not Gates offense. We do see instinct when Ant puts his defender in jail a lot, he has the freedom to do that because hes good at it. Gates has to get Mack figured out. Gates could easily design some of those PNR plays for Mack to get a basket in time of need. And let me say this while it on my mind. I get that a lot of basketball fans just want to see the ball go in the hoop without every thinking how it gets there. They seem to think its all instinct up and down the floor and no actual plays are ran. Its the complete opposite. A system is ran, and within that system...offense and defense, plays are ran. Instinct has to be a part of the game when plays break down or a miss shot and aren't reset. Mack has to flow within the system. If he cant do what coach wants, he has to sit.

Thanks for pointing out that Gates does run a system. Way too many people on here saying it's all street ball. This ain't Hoosiers. The modern college game emphasizes doing the things that lead to mismatches and letting players be creative within a system.

The thing that's a bit head-scratching is why Gates played Mack so much with Phillips on the floor. Phillips doesn't fit their five-out system, and is a post player who's positioning results in the lane being clogged. But last night showed a bit of him learning to initiate by screening then what I'd call a modified pick and roll. Got a couple nice alley oops and layups out of it. But Mack is an initiator. He might be a lot more effective now that Stone and Pierce are back, because they are floor spacers. But that would mean Pierce, Stone, and Mack on the floor at the same time with Mitchell and who else? Or Pierce and Crews as your major floor spacers with Mack and Mitchell and somebody else that's not Phillips. Definitely in small ball lineups, but how good would the defense be? If you have Mack in with Pierce, Stone, and Robinson? Seems like Mack is just the odd small guy out no matter how you juggle the line ups.

[Rantz]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

Thanks Rantz. That is the kind of feedback I wanted. When it was announced we were signing Mack last year, I did as much investigation as I could on the young man. I thought then, he was not a fit for what the team was looking to do. Who knows, maybe money was a factor, and Gates took what he could get? Like I said, Mack can drive to the bucket. Good call on Pinson. Kind of getting forgetful with age!

You're welcome. It is sort of a head scratcher. Why would Gates go after the type of player Mack is if you aren't going to put him in the best possible position to have a + net rating? You have a jumbo line up. It will work if Gates ran more PNR's. We saw the PNR last night in the last minutes of the game with Ant and Mitchell. But for the most part, thats not Gates offense. We do see instinct when Ant puts his defender in jail a lot, he has the freedom to do that because hes good at it. Gates has to get Mack figured out. Gates could easily design some of those PNR plays for Mack to get a basket in time of need. And let me say this while it on my mind. I get that a lot of basketball fans just want to see the ball go in the hoop without every thinking how it gets there. They seem to think its all instinct up and down the floor and no actual plays are ran. Its the complete opposite. A system is ran, and within that system...offense and defense, plays are ran. Instinct has to be a part of the game when plays break down or a miss shot and aren't reset. Mack has to flow within the system. If he cant do what coach wants, he has to sit.

Thanks for pointing out that Gates does run a system. Way too many people on here saying it's all street ball. This ain't Hoosiers. The modern college game emphasizes doing the things that lead to mismatches and letting players be creative within a system.

The thing that's a bit head-scratching is why Gates played Mack so much with Phillips on the floor. Phillips doesn't fit their five-out system, and is a post player who's positioning results in the lane being clogged. But last night showed a bit of him learning to initiate by screening then what I'd call a modified pick and roll. Got a couple nice alley oops and layups out of it. But Mack is an initiator. He might be a lot more effective now that Stone and Pierce are back, because they are floor spacers. But that would mean Pierce, Stone, and Mack on the floor at the same time with Mitchell and who else? Or Pierce and Crews as your major floor spacers with Mack and Mitchell and somebody else that's not Phillips. Definitely in small ball lineups, but how good would the defense be? If you have Mack in with Pierce, Stone, and Robinson? Seems like Mack is just the odd small guy out no matter how you juggle the line ups.

So many dont know basketball action so they call it streetball…but it ain’t so.

There have been teams that looked like total junk in the beginning of the season, but by the time the end of the season rolled around, they were totally dangerous and in the thick of things. Is Mizzou on that path? Time will tell. They are learning trust now that they are 99% with only Porter hurt.

Keep a close eye on Pierce. Remember last year he was streaky and wasn’t very confident in his game. This year…he seems to have not only matured but seems to have picked up weight. And the best part of his game, he doesn’t always have to score….he does so many other things well. Mack….he is a great tool, but most see him as garbage. Gates will find out how to use him. But my biggest concern with the players is Annor Boateng. Gates really hyped this guy up! I have yet to see his game evolve into a scoring threat.they say he’s a slasher….when, I’ve never seen it. I think Mizzou will be ok now that they have 2 sec wins and are trusting their game all the way to the end…no giving up like the Kansas and Illinois games.

[woofy25]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

A. Mack cannot shoot 3s. He is terrible at it
B. He played himself out of the lineup. He’s a dribbler whose main concern is getting a shot up. Gates should not have signed him, and I said that from day 1. He is now rotting on the bench which is where he belongs until he decides to become a team player. Regardless, it’s hard to play a guy at the 2 who can’t shoot.

[woofy25]

AR is red shirting. He needs muscle and more conditioning for the grind. His dream was to play for Mizzou, being from Columbia, and I dont think he is going any place. He wont get much bigger, but he can learn to play at his size. Remember Pinson? Dude was a tooth pick!

As far as Mack....he is under water in all categories. I blame Gates for this more than anyone. Gates knew what sort of player he was getting when going after Mack. Mack can hit the 3 but Mack is the type of player who thrives in the PNR. But you need floor spacing. So when you have a 7" guy, (Phillips) a 6"11 guy (Porter) and a 6"9 guy (Mitchell) all in the post position at the same time, that aint going to work with a PNR player to the basket. So if you recall, we saw Mizzous Jumbo line up during the early schedule and Mack and the Jumbo was driving many of the Mizzou fans nuts. Even basketball analysis who get paid to analyze games was going bat crazy over it! Why would Gates do that? He knew the PNR was Macks bread and butter. But here is the kicker! GATES DIDNT RUN PNR FOR MACK! He took off to the basket in a b-line him self.... it was nuts! So it was a total (bleep) Up by GATES. So Macks all out of wacks now, head messed up and Gates sat the guy with diminished minutes. They have to get Mack fixed, they have to get more playing time and PNR for Mack...that guy can be a weapon

Thanks Rantz. That is the kind of feedback I wanted. When it was announced we were signing Mack last year, I did as much investigation as I could on the young man. I thought then, he was not a fit for what the team was looking to do. Who knows, maybe money was a factor, and Gates took what he could get? Like I said, Mack can drive to the bucket. Good call on Pinson. Kind of getting forgetful with age!

You're welcome. It is sort of a head scratcher. Why would Gates go after the type of player Mack is if you aren't going to put him in the best possible position to have a + net rating? You have a jumbo line up. It will work if Gates ran more PNR's. We saw the PNR last night in the last minutes of the game with Ant and Mitchell. But for the most part, thats not Gates offense. We do see instinct when Ant puts his defender in jail a lot, he has the freedom to do that because hes good at it. Gates has to get Mack figured out. Gates could easily design some of those PNR plays for Mack to get a basket in time of need. And let me say this while it on my mind. I get that a lot of basketball fans just want to see the ball go in the hoop without every thinking how it gets there. They seem to think its all instinct up and down the floor and no actual plays are ran. Its the complete opposite. A system is ran, and within that system...offense and defense, plays are ran. Instinct has to be a part of the game when plays break down or a miss shot and aren't reset. Mack has to flow within the system. If he cant do what coach wants, he has to sit.

Thanks for pointing out that Gates does run a system. Way too many people on here saying it's all street ball. This ain't Hoosiers. The modern college game emphasizes doing the things that lead to mismatches and letting players be creative within a system.

The thing that's a bit head-scratching is why Gates played Mack so much with Phillips on the floor. Phillips doesn't fit their five-out system, and is a post player who's positioning results in the lane being clogged. But last night showed a bit of him learning to initiate by screening then what I'd call a modified pick and roll. Got a couple nice alley oops and layups out of it. But Mack is an initiator. He might be a lot more effective now that Stone and Pierce are back, because they are floor spacers. But that would mean Pierce, Stone, and Mack on the floor at the same time with Mitchell and who else? Or Pierce and Crews as your major floor spacers with Mack and Mitchell and somebody else that's not Phillips. Definitely in small ball lineups, but how good would the defense be? If you have Mack in with Pierce, Stone, and Robinson? Seems like Mack is just the odd small guy out no matter how you juggle the line ups.

So many dont know basketball action so they call it streetball…but it ain’t so.

There have been teams that looked like total junk in the beginning of the season, but by the time the end of the season rolled around, they were totally dangerous and in the thick of things. Is Mizzou on that path? Time will tell. They are learning trust now that they are 99% with only Porter hurt.

Keep a close eye on Pierce. Remember last year he was streaky and wasn’t very confident in his game. This year…he seems to have not only matured but seems to have picked up weight. And the best part of his game, he doesn’t always have to score….he does so many other things well. Mack….he is a great tool, but most see him as garbage. Gates will find out how to use him. But my biggest concern with the players is Annor Boateng. Gates really hyped this guy up! I have yet to see his game evolve into a scoring threat.they say he’s a slasher….when, I’ve never seen it. I think Mizzou will be ok now that they have 2 sec wins and are trusting their game all the way to the end…no giving up like the Kansas and Illinois games.

If pierce can reach his potential, this teams ceiling is far higher. So far so good. Missouri doesn’t win either of the last two without him….and Stone for that matter