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Your Trifecta: Brown-Ross-Clarkson. Get used to that one.
First, some links.
MUtigers.com: Mizzou Rolls To 73-48 Return To Hearnes Win
KC Star: Missouri dumps Oklahoma City in The Return to Hearnes
Post-Dispatch: Tigers share stage with Stewart's stars
PowerMizzou: Tigers pull away late
'93-94 tributes
The Trib: A Tigers team like no other
Mizzou Network: Hearnes Center Retrospective from 2004
Mizzou Network: Mizzou Hoops 93-94 Tribute Video
(That second video really is one of the better montages you'll ever see.)
Multimedia
PowerMizzou: PHOTOS: Return to Hearnes
PowerMizzou.com - PMTV-HD: '93-'94 Reunion
PowerMizzou.com - PMTV-HD: Oklahoma City Post Game
Mizzou Network: Return to Hearnes: Highlights vs. OKCU
Mizzou Network: Return to Hearnes: Jabari Brown Postgame Interview
Mizzou Network: Return to Hearnes: Frank Haith Postgame Interview
I think Friday night was the perfect success. I left Hearnes a) so glad they played another game there and b) in love with Mizzou Arena more than ever. It was such a fun night of reminiscing, both about the 1993-94 team and about all the great moments we saw at Hearnes (and where we saw them).
When Mizzou Arena opened, the common complaint was that it was too stale, had no personality, etc. But new buildings haven't had a chance to develop a personality yet. Almost 10 years into the life of the Former Paige, we're getting there. I walk into that building, and I remember where I sat for the 2009 and 2012 Kansas games ... where this happened ... where that happened. It's getting there. Meanwhile, the sight lines, the aesthetics, the minimal wasted space are all just so much better than Tiger Basketball's former home. (Sacrilege, I know. I'm just supposed to say that everything was better back in the day and move on.)
As with a cast iron pan, the seasoning is just about right. But Hearnes reminded us that the Arena still has a ways to go to catch up. About 25 years, to be exact.
Mizzou 73, Oklahoma City 48
| Mizzou |
OCU | |
| Pace (No. of Possessions) | 70.7 | |
| Points Per Possession (PPP) | 1.03 | 0.68 |
| Points Per Shot (PPS) | 1.40 | 0.79 |
| 2-PT FG% | 61.1% | 31.1% |
| 3-PT FG% | 31.3% | 18.8% |
| FT% | 50.0% | 61.1% |
| True Shooting % | 56.7% | 34.8% |
| Mizzou | OCU | |
| Assists | 17 | 6 |
| Steals | 6 | 10 |
| Turnovers | 19 | 15 |
|
Ball Control Index (BCI) (Assists + Steals) / TO |
1.21 | 1.07 |
| Mizzou | OCU | |
| Expected Offensive Rebounds | 11.2 | 16.9 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 13 | 14 |
| Difference | +1.8 | -2.9 |
I'm pretty sure if you tracked +/- numbers for the different lineups, Mizzou was approximately +118 when Jordan Clarkson, Jabari Brown, and Earnest Ross were on the court together. (Approximately.) That backcourt is big, physical, and very, very good on defense. Clarkson didn't have a great shooting night at Hearnes, but he was in complete control for the most part, and you can tell his shot is very sound.
And while the team as a whole struggled with turnovers quite a bit, it bears mentioning that the two people who will probably handle the ball the most in 2013-14 -- Clarkson and Brown -- combined for exactly zero. And considering how well OCU rebounded for a while in the second half against an endlessly shuffled lineup, the rebounding figures above tell you just how well Mizzou rebounded the rest of the game.
Mizzou Player Stats
(Definitions at the bottom of the post.)
| Player |
AdjGS | GmSc/Min | Line |
| Jabari Brown | 20.2 | 0.65 | 31 Min, 15 Pts (6-9 FG, 2-5 3PT, 1-3 FT), 5 Ast, 4 Reb |
| Earnest Ross | 18.8 | 0.75 | 25 Min, 13 Pts (4-8 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-6 FT), 12 Reb (4 Off), 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO |
| Jordan Clarkson | 10.9 | 0.52 | 21 Min, 7 Pts (1-3 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-6 FT), 6 Ast |
| Stefan Jankovic | 10.2 | 0.79 | 13 Min, 9 Pts (3-6 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-2 FT), 6 Reb (3 Off), 3 PF |
| Johnathan Williams III | 8.1 | 0.32 | 25 Min, 10 Pts (5-7 FG, 0-2 FT), 7 Reb (2 Off), 2 Blk, 3 TO |
| Keanau Post | 3.8 | 0.27 | 14 Min, 4 Pts (1-2 FG, 2-4 FT), 4 Reb, 2 Blk, 3 PF |
| Ryan Rosburg | 0.9 | 0.06 | 15 Min, 5 Pts (2-5 FG, 1-3 FT), 2 Reb, 2 TO |
| Torren Jones | 0.9 | 0.07 | 12 Min, 4 Pts (2-2 FG, 0-2 FT), 3 PF |
| Danny Feldmann | 0.5 | 0.13 | 4 Min |
| Tony Criswell | 0.3 | 0.03 | 9 Min, 2 Pts (1-3 FG, 0-1 FT) |
| Wes Clark | -0.9 | -0.03 | 27 Min, 4 Pts (2-6 FG, 0-3 3PT), 4 Ast, 3 Reb, 6 TO |
| Shane Rector | -2.7 | -0.66 | 4 Min |
| Player | Usage% | Floor% | Touches/ Poss. |
%Pass | %Shoot | %Fouled | %T/O |
| Brown | 16% | 63% | 3.7 | 71% | 22% | 7% | 0% |
| Ross | 26% | 40% | 3.1 | 42% | 28% | 20% | 11% |
| Clarkson | 13% | 54% | 5.8 | 80% | 7% | 13% | 0% |
| Jankovic | 29% | 37% | 1.9 | 0% | 68% | 21% | 11% |
| JW3 | 21% | 40% | 1.3 | 0% | 59% | 16% | 25% |
| Post | 16% | 33% | 1.3 | 0% | 30% | 55% | 15% |
| Rosburg | 27% | 25% | 1.8 | 0% | 51% | 28% | 20% |
| Jones | 16% | 46% | 1.1 | 0% | 41% | 38% | 21% |
| Criswell | 16% | 28% | 0.9 | 0% | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Clark | 21% | 24% | 3.6 | 66% | 17% | 0% | 17% |
- If there's a concern to be immediately gleaned about the team, it could be this:
Clarkson, Brown and Ross: 49.9
The rest of the team: 23.1 - On a night in which we honored the 1993-94 team, I can to suddenly, completely realize that Stefan Jankovic is Mark Atkins II ... if Atkins were Canadian and 6'10. Okay, so this comparison isn't amazing. Still, he's a heat check guy who can carry the team off the bench for periods of time in some games while barely playing in others. He is going to be a wonderful weapon as long as Missouri doesn't have to absolutely count on him to succeed.
- JW3's job in 2013-14 will be to roam the baseline and run the floor. He could be a lovely weapon in that regard against a zone. It's hard to say what kind of handle or range he has at this point, but he's certainly a hell of an athlete. And if he can hold his own in the starting lineup, allowing Missouri to bring Ryan Rosburg, Tony Criswell, and Torren Jones off of the bench ... well, that's a hell of a bench.
- Keanau Post is a little less raw than I expected. He's still not ever going to play more than about 23 minutes without fouling out, of course.
- Torren Jones is all sorts of raw ... but wow, does he look the part. Broad, Crudup-like shoulders. And he appears to love running the floor. He's going to be a dunks-and-cleanups guy for the foreseeable future, but ... big dude, and going to get bigger.
- Not the most memorable of nights for Tony Criswell. He looked lost at times and almost got into a fight. He has a track record, so I know to call this a bad night and nothing more, but ... bad night.
- At the very least, Wes Clark is going to be an energy boost. He's quick, and he's exciting near the basket, but it's going to take him a while to figure out exactly what he can and cannot do at this level. (And if he's 6'0 as listed, I'm 6'4.) There are two types of young point guards: the ones who blend into the scenery and play passive ball until the game slows down, and the guy who causes explosions (the good and bad kinds) in limited minutes until the game slows down. At first glance, Clark is the latter. I don't know which one is better, but the latter's more fun, at least. But yeah ... 0-for-3 from 3-point range with six turnovers is basically the direct opposite of what I wanted to see.
Summary
I left the game more sold than ever on the Clarkson-Brown-Ross trio and very much unsold on the bench. But first impressions only matter until the second impression (just ask the Mizzou football team), so we'll see what impression the Tigers give Friday night against Central Missouri.
And yeah, those jerseys still rule.
---
AdjGS: a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It takes points, assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls into account to determine an individual's "score" for a given game. The "adjustment" in Adjusted Game Score is simply matching the total game scores to the total points scored in the game, thereby redistributing the game's points scored to those who had the biggest impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.
Usage%: This "estimates the % of team possessions a player consumes while on the floor" (via). The usage of those possessions is determined via a formula using field goal and free throw attempts, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. The higher the number, the more prevalent a player is (good or bad) in a team's offensive outcome.
Floor%: Via Basketball-Reference.com: Floor % answers the question, "when Player X uses a possession, what is the probability that his team scores at least 1 point?". The higher the Floor%, the more frequently the team probably scores when the given player is involved.
Touches/Possession: Using field goal attempts, free throw attempts, assists and turnovers, Touches attempt to estimate "the number of times a player touched the ball in an attacking position on the floor." Take the estimated touches and divide it by the estimated number of possessions for which a player was on the court, and you get a rough idea of how many times a player touched the ball in a given possession. For point guards, you'll see the number in the 3-4 range. For shooting guards and wings, 2-3. For an offensively limited center, 1.30. You get the idea.
Anyway, using the Touches figure, we can estimate the percentage of time a player "in an attacking position" passes, shoots, turns the ball over, or gets fouled.