COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri men’s basketball might be hoping that time hasn’t passed it by.
That doesn’t mean that it’s past its prime or due for a midlife crisis. It’s about the Tigers’ transfer portal overhaul and the reality that time, it seems, is running out.
The basketball transfer portal window closes Wednesday. Everyone — including graduate transfers, the NCAA recently decided — who wants to be in must be in by that day. Portal entrants have as long as they like to pick a new program, but past May 1, the portal pool is the portal pool.
Mizzou still seems like a team that might want to take a dip into the deep end of said pool — more specifically, the part that’s roughly 7 feet deep.
Coach Dennis Gates still doesn’t have a true center in this year’s portal class, a hole that might well prove notable in an otherwise highly regarded series of offseason moves.
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The Tigers have lost more centers to the portal than they’ve acquired, a 1-0 scoreline set by freshman Jordan Butler deciding to transfer after just one season in Columbia.
For now, MU has two centers on the roster, and both are incoming freshmen: Peyton Marshall and Trent Burns.
As last season showed, Gates isn’t one to avoid playing — or even starting — a freshman at center. Butler started the final 13 games of the regular season and would’ve likely started the Tigers’ Southeastern Conference tournament game against Georgia had he not hurt his ankle in practice.
But Butler started, in part, because Missouri wasn’t getting production out of its more veteran bigs, like Connor Vanover. Marshall and Burns could earn a starting spot, but appearing in the opening five right out of the gate might be less an indicator of readiness and more a sign of roster construction.
Finding a center in the transfer portal seemed like a clear-cut priority for Mizzou heading into this offseason, even with Butler still in the program’s plans.
It was a position of need. The Tigers finished last in the SEC in rebounding, allowing opponents to grab 6.1 more boards per game. The next-steepest differential in the conference was Ole Miss, at -3.5.
A center might not solve that by himself, but it could help unlock an option Missouri didn’t have very often last season. With the addition of Rob Summers — a 7-footer who played center in college — the frontcourt seemed like a spot for Gates to place his foundation.
“We still need to throw that ball to a veteran (with his) back to the basket and continue to build on that,†Gates said a couple of weeks ago.
That hasn’t panned out. Mizzou got its point guard, combo guard, tall wing and power forward in Tony Perkins, Marques Warrick, Jacob Crews and Mark Mitchell, respectively.
Mitchell, who could slot into a Kobe Brown-esque role, should help with the rebounding. As a two-year starter for Duke, Mitchell averaged 11.6 points per game and 6 rebounds. That kind of production on the boards would have led Missouri last season, which had injured guard Caleb Grill average 5.8 rebounds per game and forward Noah Carter next with 4.8.
Still, Mitchell is 6-9, 232 pounds with a 40-inch vertical. He’s plenty happy to sit in the dunker spot, be the roll man out of screens and finish at the rim — but he’s not the back-to-the-basket post player MU seemed to be seeking.
The Tigers’ two best chances at getting that type of player seem to be gone. Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr., who hails from ºüÀêÊÓƵ, picked UConn over his home-state school. And Pepperdine transfer Jevon Porter, the brother of Michael Porter Jr. and Jontay Porter, is heading to Loyola Marymount.
If Missouri still wants a center out of the transfer portal, it may have to cave to market forces and settle for a post player who’s not as highly rated or comes with more risk. Another option would be rolling with the duo of freshmen down low and looking to get post contributions from elsewhere.
That could give the Tigers more flexibility to switch defensive matchups — something already in play with the addition of Mitchell.
“There’s not a more versatile defender in the country than Mark and what he’s done in his ability to guard 1 through 5 and all over the court,†Duke coach Jon Scheyer said in posted to the team’s YouTube channel.
A frontcourt of Mitchell and another bouncy forward, like Aidan Shaw, or Trent Pierce and his 6-10 frame could still give Mizzou the length needed to be competitive around the rim while emphasizing mobility and speed in transition.
The possibility of needing to adjust in that way is the essence of the transfer portal. It comes as no surprise.
“You never get every single piece that you want,†Gates said. “You never get that.â€