On Missouri Tigers’ team of newcomers, returning star Kobe Brown is the ‘centerpiece’
There is something fresh and exciting about a college basketball team with a new coaching staff and a roster full of newcomers.
But it’s also comforting for Missouri and coach Dennis Gates that one of the squad’s few returning players is among the SEC’s best.
Kobe Brown was selected to the SEC’s preseason 10-member team announced Wednesday, and deservedly so. He filled the stat line last season, leading the Tigers in scoring per game, at 12.5 points, and rebounds (7.6) while shooting 56% inside the three-point line.
At times, Brown carried Mizzou — remember his 30-point, 13-rebound effort against Alabama? But there just wasn’t enough help around him as the Tigers finished 12-21 in what became Cuonzo Martin’s final season as head coach.
In steps Gates, and up steps Brown, but not necessarily with his numbers. Gates had added to Brown’s responsibilities by naming him team captain.
“There’s an expectation with that,” Gates said. “He’s been talking more, way more, and being more of an extrovert on the court than he’s ever been.”
Brown had led by example throughout his Missouri tenure. And now he’ll test his on-court voice for the first time Thursday, when Missouri plays an exhibition home game against Washington University of St. Louis. Tip off is 7 p.m. MU’s regular-season opener is Monday at home against Southern Indiana.
Becoming more vocal on the floor has been a process for the usually soft-spoken Brown.
“I’ve been demanding of what we want and what we need,” Brown said, “and say what the team needs to hear.”
Body shape and playing style also are part of Brown’s evolution. He’s grown an inch to 6-9 and said you’ll see him play away from the basket more often this season.
“I’ll probably be more on the perimeter than I’ve been the past two years,” Brown said. “It will fun, a little different.”
But no change is bigger than the cast around him. Brown’s brother Kaleb and Ronnie DeGray, who transferred to Missouri for last season, are the lone returners. Among his new teammates, four came with Gates from Cleveland State and four are Division I transfers from elsewhere. There are two junior-college transfers and two freshmen on the roster.
That makes it difficult to project a starting lineup, so Gates doesn’t.
“I don’t think we have a team where I can play with the same lineup every game,” Gates said. “I think you’ll see a team with guys starting based on the matchups.
“There are seven or eight guys who can start without a doubt, but I can’t tell you we’ll have the same starting lineup for the entire season. ... We can play 11 or 12 guys a night.”
One of them will be Kobe Brown, a familiar veteran presence on a team with many unknowns.
“It shows the amount of love Kobe has for this institution,” Gates said, “and sometimes rewards comes to those who are patient and are the good guys.
“Kobe elected not to put his name in the portal and I’m very thankful of that, because he does give us a centerpiece in our program.”