Mizzou basketball experienced, optimistic, ready. But first, gotta navigate a pandemic
When the Missouri Tigers were gearing up for summer workouts, Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin got a call from one of his player’s moms.
She was concerned about her son returning to Columbia and wanted some kind of reassurance. Martin was firm: If anyone was uncomfortable during the COVID-19 pandemic, they could and should stay home.
“We’re not even debating that because your health is the most important (we) and left it at that,” Martin said during a video call Friday. “I would do the same thing as a parent if I had concerns. This is a sport, this is what we do as entertainment. Then there’s real life. I think you have to take that into consideration.”
The Tigers, on paper, are overflowing with proven players. They are not the SEC’s most experienced team. But Mizzou’s trio of Xavier Pinson, Jeremiah Tilmon and Mitchell Smith elected to return for another season, solidifying the roster. The team is dotted with upperclassmen contributors and has added a few intriguing newcomers — Drew Buggs and Ed Chang, for example.
Before any games can be played to see how well it all comes together for Martin and his program, though, the team must embark on offseason workouts and practices. Martin is urging his players to stay safe and take the coronavirus seriously.
“We have the experience,” Martin said. “Where we have to grow more than anything is the total commitment to sacrifice. I think sacrifice is harder than it was back then (before the onset of the pandemic).”
Normally, the Tigers would’ve been back for weeks by now, having starting summer workouts June 8. That date kept getting pushed back. The target now for Martin’s entire roster to be in Columbia is Aug. 13.
Some players had remained on campus, the coach said, and they’re going through individual workouts already — a slow and deliberate process.
“Fortunately, and unfortunately, guys have been working out in some way,” Martin said. “You’ll be able to tell who got better in the summer when they get back.”
While he said there’s “nothing etched in stone” in terms of alterations to the 2020-21 basketball season, various scenarios are being discussed. The SEC announced Thursday that all schools’ football season will be 10-game, conference-only slates.
“You never know until adversity hits, that’s when you’ll grow,” Martin said. “You’ll grow or you’ll crumble.”
The 13th man
When reserve center Axel Okongo transferred to Eastern Michigan, a scholarship opened up for Mizzou. But Martin answered with a resounding “No” when asked if he’s planned to use it right now.
Redshirting players, the coach said, used to be a more palatable option. But now that more players are electing to transfer, Martin wants to keep that 13th scholarship spot available in his back pocket.
“You’re not going to play 13 guys,” Martin said. “I’m hopeful, very hopeful that we can play 10-plus guys and be effective and have fun doing that.”
Social justice patches
An NCAA panel decided this week to allow players to wear patches on their uniforms for commemorative or memorial purposes — messages about social justice, too.
Martin said he has talked with the NCAA men’s basketball oversight committee and National Association of Basketball Coaches about potential patches for his Mizzou players. But as of Friday, he said, he hadn’t received any direction or guidance from the SEC about doing so.
He imagines it will become a point of discussion in coming weeks.
“If we do it, it’ll be part of our uniforms,” he said. “So we’ll do it together. It’s not as if one guy will do something and the next guy will do it. We’ll do it together as a team.”