Can Kobe Brown and Tray Jackson bring balance to Mizzou’s power forward spot?

For the first time in his three seasons as Missouri’s basketball coach, Cuonzo Martin is expected to enter the season with a healthy roster.

Martin’s first two years have seen injuries to brothers Michael and Jontay Porter, who had back and knee issues, respectively, which derailed both seasons.

Now Martin is searching for something else he hasn’t had as MU’s coach: consistency at the power forward position.

In Martin’s first year, the Tigers rotated between Jontay Porter and Kevin Puryear, with most of the scoring coming from the backcourt. Last season, with Porter lost for the season, Puryear was the Tigers’ lone viable option at the position.

Enter Tray Jackson and Kobe Brown.

Two of MU’s three freshmen enter as the likely candidates to start at power forward, which Martin calls “an X-factor” for the Tigers’ offense because of how many plays run through the position.

Martin said on Wednesday that he plans to deploy a lot of four-guard lineups around Jeremiah Tilmon this season and considers both Jackson and Brown as guards who will be playing as forwards.

“We’ll have (Mitchell Smith) there some,” Martin said. “I think you have four guys that can make shots, when you put Mitch there you have five guys that can make shots. I think you can put Mitch at the five and it spreads out the defense.”

Jackson, the 6-foot-8 four-star recruit from Michigan, said Martin has also tried him out on the wing, while the 6-foot-7 Brown has played all five positions throughout MU’s workouts. Brown flirted with a triple-double average at Lee High School in Alabama, averaging 21 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as a senior.

Jackson spent a year at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, where he did a little bit of everything and was moved all over the floor. Jackson, who originally committed to Minnesota before flipping to MU, said Martin sold him in the recruiting process on being a player like Jontay Porter, who can change the game in a lot of different ways and also handle the ball on occasion.

Despite having the chance to start immediately, Jackson said he doesn’t really have expectations for himself this season and needs to make better decisions when the ball is in his hands “in traffic,” as he knows turnovers hurt the Tigers in previous seasons. Known for his physicality, MU sophomore guard Torrence Watson said Jackson is one of the best athletes on the team.

“Tray’s rough but the kid can jump,” Brown said. “I’m more of a play-making power forward.”

Both will get the chance to win the starting job outright and given how Martin expects to play, there’s a chance the two play alongside each other given the amount of lineup combinations MU has with the new lineup.

Tilmon said he expects Jackson and Brown to make his life easier in the post, because both players should be shooting threats, which means defenses can’t double-team him.

Both Jackson and Brown said they have no preference as to where they play, as long as the result is there.

“Anywhere,” Brown said. “I just want to win.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2019 at 7:35 PM.