Missouri upgraded its defense in the transfer portal — but key questions remain

Bryson Tiller

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Plucking Tiller from Lawrence supplies Gates the kind of switchable and scheme-versatile big man ($) required to extend his defense and ratchet up the Tigers’ assertiveness at the point of attack.

Stacking Tiller’s defensive efficiency against top-10 power forwards from the past five recruiting cycles puts him in rare company. His neighbors are players who heard their names called early in the NBA Draft.

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Playing in a twin-big lineup with Flory Bidunga often led opponents to hunt him in switches for a mismatch. Yet he allowed just 0.726 points per possession on drives from spot-ups and isolations. Tiller’s success stems from fluid hips, quick first slide, and acute spatial awareness of how much ground he could concede.

Film helps explain Tiller’s pedestrian work on the defensive backboards. Half the shots he defended were spot-ups, which pulled him away from prime rebounding position. Opponents would space a forward to the empty-side corner, forcing Tiller into long closeouts. He rarely faltered.

That context explains some of the dip, but improving his consistency on the glass remains a clear need.

Pairing Tiller with five-star freshman Toni Bryant puts two big men on the floor comfortable with hedging, recovering and enduring short-duration switches. That competence is also insurance when opponents target a pair of smaller ball handlers at the point of attack.

Undoubtedly, Tiller’s final month, where he was benched against Houston and held scoreless by St. John’s, colors his exit from Lawrence. He just lacked confidence, physicality and a steady motor – all frequent points of emphasis for coach Bill Self.

Those concerns are valid, but they don’t diminish the fact Tiller owns the tools to be an all-conference player. Now it falls on Gates to unlock it.

Jamier Jones

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The former top-40 prospect offers MU another source of transition offense and downhill pressure ($) – traits that define the best versions of Gates’ squads.

The Providence transfer consumed most of his calories in the open floor as a freshman. More than 41 percent of his touches came on the break, and he often didn’t require an outlet pass to make it happen.

Jones crashed the glass, snatched a rebound and ignited the break himself. The open floor gave him space to play with extreme force. When defenders cut him off, Jones shows enough craft with his handle to navigate traffic. Lazy ball reversals were open invitations to jump passing lanes and create easy offense.

When MU throttled tempo and forced opponents to play in the half-court, it had to sacrifice some transition offense. But Jones isn’t solely reliant on live-ball turnovers to get downhill.

He also applies rim pressure even without the ball. Ranking in the 90th percentile nationally for cutting efficiency last season, he made a habit of darting from the weak-side corner as soon as a help defender rotated, then snatching and finishing lobs.

That threat creates its own gravity and gives young lead guards like Jason Crowe Jr. and Aaron Rowe a simple, reliable read.

Kennard Davis Jr.

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After Davis’ pledge, discussion centered on whether it’s credible to project him as a jumbo creator. That framing obscures the other way the St. Louis native can help: bolstering MU’s defense at the point of attack.

When a mid-major moves up, some erosion is expected. Not with Davis. At BYU, he ranked in the 60th percentile defending pick-and-rolls – an improvement over his work at Southern Illinois – and remained reliable against Big 12 foes.

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His role in Provo might offer a preview for how he’s used in Columbia. Playing alongside a smaller guard in Rob Wright III, Davis frequently drew top assignments like Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson, Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Arizona’s Brayden Burries and Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey. Given Jason Crowe Jr. and Aaron Rowe each have lighter frames, Gates could deploy him similarly.

Across 75 possessions, Davis allowed 0.722 points per possession and 33 percent shooting in high pick-and-rolls, including 3-of-16 on pull-up threes. The film supports the numbers. Despite a sturdy frame, he gets skinny over screens, recovers and stays attached to force difficult looks.

Davis also has the agility to contest from behind and funnel handlers into less efficient mid-range attempts.

If Davis’ ability carries over, Gates can further modulate his ball-screen coverages. Pairing Davis with Bryant or Tiller allows Missouri to apply more pressure at the point of attack while protecting smaller guards behind the play.

With Robinson and Barrett gone, that assertiveness was missing. Davis helps restore it.

Jaylen Carey

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Carey isn’t the most prominent frontcourt addition, but his physicality generates second chances and stabilizes interior play.

The Tennessee import ranked 10th nationally in offensive rebound rate, throwing his 6-foot-8, 267-pound frame around to create extra possessions and easy rim attempts. His offense clusters around stickbacks, post-ups, and cuts. He thrived at ducking into the lane, carving out space, and pushing his defender up the lane to create easy passing windows.

He also brings an underrated tool: passing acumen. Carey’s 13.1 assist rate isn’t gaudy, but it ranked sixth among SEC frontcourt players. And almost half of his assists came on big-to-big passes: shoveling the ball across the lane, dumping it to the short corner, tossing high-low entries, and making the occasional lob from a short roll.

This matters in Columbia. Gates and his staff tried to implement high-low and post-pin concepts, but execution lagged. Too often, the Tigers struggled with consistent entry passes. Carey can help clean that up.

Carey’s meat-and-potatoes game can raise the floor for MU’s frontcourt. His broad shoulders can absorb the dirty work and allow Tiller and Bryant to play to their strengths. But like Tiller, Carey drew consistent critiques at his last stop over defensive lapses, conditioning and free-throw shooting. Whether Missouri gets the best version of him consistently remains an open question.

What pieces does MU need to add?

Even before the portal opened, the Tigers’ chief need was clear – a combo guard capable of secondary creation and shifting off the ball to space the floor.

Davis addresses part of that equation. He’s a capable shooter out of high pick-and-rolls, but his facilitation remains average. As a spot-up threat at SIU, there was a wide gap between his efficiency on guarded and open attempts. And last season, he only knocked down 32.1 percent of catch-and-shoot threes with BYU.

In other words, Davis only fills part of the void.

That leaves Mizzou short on proven creators. The Tigers bring back just 9.6 percent of assists, their lowest total in at least five seasons. Among players with collegiate experience, Carey has a case as the most reliable passer.

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Could Crowe ease some of the burden? Potentially. While he was billed as an elite shot creator, the five-star freshman’s assist rate and decision-making metrics lag behind comparable guards at his position. Scouts noted flashes last summer on the EYBL circuit, but we must see if they manifest in the SEC.

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The same uncertainty applies elsewhere. Rowe, for example, posted a 19.5 percent assist rate with MoKan Elite two summers ago, but he was equally turnover-prone. Freshman wing Aidan Chronister showed feel as a connector, but those passes were mostly ball reversals or reads to cutters rather than primary creation.

That points to a simple conclusion: MU could use another experienced decision-maker. Five of its newcomers — Tiller, Carey, Jones, Bryant and Chronister — profile primarily as play-finishers. They need handlers capable of hitting them on rolls, cuts and post-ups or spraying the ball out to shooters.

Crucially, Missouri isn’t alone in facing a shortage of proven creation. Eight SEC teams return a smaller share of last season’s assists, but unlike MU, those programs used portal resources to rebuild their backcourts. For a borderline top-25 roster, landing one more proven ball handler could be enough to close the gap with teams like Vanderbilt, Tennessee or Alabama.

Questions about shooting also persist. Trent Pierce accounted for nearly 16 percent of the Tigers’ made triples last season – more than double the combined output of Luke Northweather, Annor Boateng, Trent Burns and Nicholas Randall. Among newcomers, Jamier Jones boasts the best clip (38.7 3FG%), but he was selective in averaging just one attempt per game.

Finding consistent sources matters because MU’s offensive slippage last season wasn’t about rim finishing. The Tigers’ raw efficiency ebbed by 7.7 percent, which mirrors their dip in performance for catch-and-shoot jumpers. And it didn’t help that the value of MU’s pull-ups sagged by almost 18 percent.

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So, the Tigers didn’t just need to backfill shooting. They needed to upgrade it. As the roster currently stands, it’s a group built to assault the rim, but does it have the shooting to keep gaps open?

Early on, the staff explored options like Jaden Schutt, Ade Popoola and Michael McNair, but it chose to reinforce the frontcourt with Carey. That’s a defensible decision, but it also leaves the Tigers looking at internal options to close the gap.

More consistency from Davis and Pierce would help. So would a second-year jump from Jones. And a freshman like Chronister, one of the better shooters in the 2026 class, can contribute at the margins.

That said, the best solution is external. If Mizzou uses one of its remaining scholarships, it makes sense to target a player who fits the profile of a 3-and-D wing.

What is the state of the market?

Barren.

By mid-April, the shelves were picked clean of the portal’s top talent. The supply of top 150 transfers peaked three days after the portal opened, and it has steadily (and rapidly) declined since.

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That squeeze goes beyond headliners.

That squeeze goes beyond headliners. Over at RockM+, we’ve kept tabs on a pool of roughly 500 players, ranging from deep reserves to players easily commanding seven figures. At this stage, only 45 players remain uncommitted – and just six project as starter-level contributors in the SEC based on forecasted metrics.

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The list of proven ball handlers is even thinner. Among On3’s remaining top 150 transfers, Weber State’s Tijan Saine Jr. is the lone true creator without a home. Penn State’s Melih Tunca, Campbell’s Jeremiah Johnson, and Delaware’s Christian Bliss are on the borderline.

That leaves the Tigers in a tricky spot. At this point, it’s unlikely the Tigers find a combo guard that blends shooting and secondary creation. Could they go after a veteran seeking a fifth-year waiver? Possibly. High Point guard Rob Martin is one theoretical option, but that means waiting and banking on the NCAA.

Taking a brief pause after landing Davis makes sense. But the program can’t wait long. With the market nearly exhausted, the most realistic outcome is modest — adding a depth piece and relying on internal development.

The program’s work so far underscores a clear priority. The Tigers are longer, more physical and better equipped to defend at an elite level. It’s a roster that should generate more disruption and apply steadier pressure at the point of attack.

But there are still notable tradeoffs. Questions about shooting and passing remain, and the market — as we’ve seen — isn’t bursting with solutions. If offseason development goes well, MU may be able to piece together answers across the roster. And if MU can, at long last, field a top-shelf defense, the ceiling rises quickly.

If not, the Tigers may once again find themselves in a familiar spot — talented, but incomplete.