Jordan Wilmore comes up big down stretch for Missouri in win over Northern Illinois
A little under 10 minutes into the second half on Thursday night, Missouri men’s basketball had scored just six points out of the break and was trailing Northern Illinois by two.
The Tigers were desperately in need of some life on offense.
That’s when 7-foot-3 center Jordan Wilmore took a bounce pass from forward Kobe Brown inside the paint and rose up between two defenders for a two-handed jam, tying the score.
“It changed the whole game,” Missouri guard DaJuan Gordon said. “Whenever our energy is low and you get a dunk, that changes the whole game, gives you momentum ... It [gave] us an energy boost, and we started taking the lead once he got that dunk.”
The play sparked a 10-0 run for Mizzou en route to a 54-37 victory over the Huskies. Six of those points came from Wilmore, who had 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 16 minutes on the night — all of which are career highs.
“It opened up everything,” Gordon said. “He’s 7-foot-3, and he intimidates people down there, so him just posted up gets people open, you see what I’m saying. So he’s been tremendous today. Career high, and just him being out there changed the whole game. It’s a big body out there, so rebounds, layups, everything.”
Prior to Thursday night, Wilmore had only seen 22 minutes of action across five games as a freshman in 2020-21, putting up a total of four points and six rebounds.
Throughout the offseason, Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin talked about the significant jump he expected Wilmore to take with centers Jeremiah Tilmon and Mitchell Smith both graduated. Martin praised the work Wilmore put in over the offseason, in particular slimming down his body and getting stronger.
Wilmore said that he also focused on improving his hook shot, being more aggressive and grabbing rebounds since coming to Columbia as a freshman.
That progress didn’t show through the first two games of this season, in which Wilmore often struggled. He was a step slow on both ends of the floor and had trouble finishing around the rim, only with three total points and no rebounds before Thursday.
But things finally came together for the big man against Northern Illinois, as he provided an unexpected source of offense at the times Mizzou needed it most.
Wilmore had the first bucket of the night 20 seconds into the game. He drew a foul and made 1 of 2 shots at the charity stripe to give Mizzou a 3-2 lead with 17 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first half before being subbed out.
The Tigers struggled to get much going on offense throughout the game, repeatedly going on scoring droughts. They hadn’t put points on the board in nearly five minutes in the first half, when Wilmore had another dunk on a pass inside from Brown.
“I think mainly it was just a mind thing, like I just had to believe in myself,” Wilmore said. “So I think it definitely boosts my confidence going on ... I think definitely I know what I can do, so I just gotta keep it up.”
Martin reiterated that one of the biggest areas Wilmore needs to improve is his confidence in himself, along with continuing to work hard.
“I think it’s just Jordan understanding that ‘I can be just as good as any big guy,’” Martin said. “But you have to believe that, you got to put tremendous amount of hours into it, exhausting hours, you got to get consumed with it. And I think he’s probably 75% there.”
If Wilmore can get closer to 100%, he could be a significant piece for the Tigers at his size. But Martin says Wilmore has a ways to go to have such performances on a more consistent basis.
“It’ll get to a point where he starts coaching me. … The next step is you have to tell me what the next thing to do,” Martin said. “And I think that’s the growth, because he’s an intelligent guy, he understands, he’s a physical presence, but he has to love it, he has to fall in love with it. And I think he’s again probably 75% there, and once you get to 100%, I mean, he’ll be a special talent.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 11:42 PM.
