Missouri’s forwards have struggled. Signee Tray Jackson thinks he’d change that

Ever since Missouri lost Jontay Porter before the start of the basketball season, the Tigers’ production at power forward has failed to come close to what the likely NBA first-round pick would have given MU.

Next season, Tray Jackson hopes to change that.

The Mizzou signee is coming off a prep year at Sunrise Christian Academy in which he played teams from across the country alongside Michigan State signee Malik Hall.

Jackson enjoyed his year in Wichita and thought he had more time to work on his game than he would have in his home state, Michigan.

“Being more vocal, I learned how to play with my body more,” Jackson told The Star of his season. “That’s a big part of the game. Really the mental aspect of the game.”

In Porter’s absence, Missouri has struggled to get consistent production from Kevin Puryear and K.J. Santos, which has led Cuonzo Martin to reluctantly play a four-guard lineup.

Jackson has been just as frustrated as Martin with Missouri’s four-spot: He wishes he could have been in Columbia this season to make a difference. He’s been compared to Porter because of their similar ability to handle the ball, score and play multiple positions.

“I feel like any game where they’re up eight-plus at halftime, they just don’t have enough to sustain that lead,” he said. “They’re missing that one guy. That’s where I come in. Mizzou was a school that if they were the one school that offered when I was in (the Class of) 2018, I would have committed there. I would have been a perfect fit, especially with Jontay going down. It’s frustrating to think what I could have done this year.”

Originally in the Class of 2018 after being bumped up a year early in the first grade, Jackson said he could have graduated high school in his original class but stayed to improve his recruitment.

After committing to Minnesota in August, Jackson had a change of heart in September and flipped to the Tigers on Oct. 20. He was the first Michigan native for MU to commit under assistant Cornell Mann, who heavily recruits the state.

Jackson hasn’t publicly spoken about leaving Minnesota but said he and his mother decided they “made the decision too fast.”

A Detroit native, Jackson has been enamored with Missouri since his longtime friend Wes Clark committed there in 2012 and said he knew that was where he wanted to go after visiting over the summer.

When he flipped schools, Jackson said fans accused MU of recruiting him while he was committed to Minnesota, which bothered him because he said that wasn’t the case.

“The day I told them I was committing (to Minnesota) was the last day I talked to (Mizzou),” Jackson said. “The day I called them to say I was committing was the first time since.”

Jackson took his official visit to MU early last week and got a standing ovation from fans during the Tigers’ game against No. 4 Kentucky.

While in town, Jackson got dinner with Martin, who quizzed his future player on his tendencies and what he wants out of life outside of basketball. Hailing from the Motor City, Jackson said he plans to major in automotive engineering at MU.

Martin also told him what to expect when he comes in over the summer.

“We had a lot of talks about defense,” Jackson said.

When Jackson signed in November, Martin praised him for his ability to space the floor along with fellow signee Mario McKinney.

“From A to B wherever they are on the floor they can get to the basket,” Martin said November. “Both Mario and Tray can get to the rim. When you got guys that can get downhill it opens things up and it’s another element to our offense.”

Missouri can still add a few players to its 2019 class in the spring period, and the Tigers are currently recruiting a pair of Michigan natives in Myron Gardner and Harlond Beverly, who Jackson has known a long time. Jackson has put in his sales pitch to both players but said he’s not the kind of player to regularly get in players’ ears.

“If you really want to be here you should just want to commit,” Jackson said.

With Mark Smith shut down for the season because of a lingering foot injury, MU’s sights appear to be set on next season, when Jackson will join a loaded team that will add him and McKinney to a young core that features Mark Smith, Dru Smith, Jeremiah Tilmon and MU’s three freshman guards.

The expectations are already high and Jackson welcomes them.

“We’re going to wake a lot of people up,” he said.