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Torren Jones dismissed from Missouri basketball team

A fan favorite in his one year at Mizzou, Torren Jones has been dismissed from the Tiger basketball program. So how's YOUR Saturday going?

By Sam Snelling
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

So, how was your Friday night?

Probably better than Torren Jones'.

From Gabe DeArmond at Power Mizzou:

"We have high standards at the University of Missouri and after consulting with Mike Alden, I have made the decision to dismiss Torren Jones from our program," Anderson said in a statement. "I am disappointed in Torren's actions and want to be very clear about the culture of accountability we are building within our program. It's a privilege to wear the University of Missouri uniform and we will represent our University and our state with great integrity."

Jones was rated as the No. 123 player in the country coming out of high school. He 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in a little more than seven minutes last season. Jones played in 26 of the Tigers' 35 games. No further information was available surrounding his dismissal.

I'm sure more information will come out as we know it but it looks like the war of attrition on the Mizzou Basketball roster is already taking place.

Dave Matter had a nice backtrack quote in his piece for the Post-Dispatch:

"Torren is the X-factor," Anderson said of Jones in June. "He's an energy guy. He plays hard. He's just got to keep improving his skills, which I think he is already and he will if he keeps continuing to have the enthusiasm for the game that he's showing me in the beginning part."

Jones led Mizzou in rebounds per minute last season, averaging 11.4 per 40 minutes. He grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds in a road win at Auburn and notched his season-high scoring mark with eight points against Tennessee and Mississippi State.

Jones' dismissal is the latest roster shakeup for a program that's been in flux for months. Senior forward Tony Criswell was kicked off the team late last season after a series of off-court incidents. In April, following the Tigers' elimination from the National Invitation Tournament, sophomore forward Zach Price was dismissed after he was arrested twice for assaulting teammate Earnest Ross and a female. (In June, Price pleaded guilty to three reduced misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to two years probation.) Shortly after leading scorers Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson left school a year early to enter the NBA draft, head coach Frank Haith was the next to leave, accepting the head coaching job at Tulsa. Shane Rector, a backup point guard as a freshman last season, left the team not long after Anderson was hired.

Enthusiasm for the game. That will be missed by many of us.

It is an astonishing the amount of players that have left or been kicked off Mizzou's roster since Frank Haith came around. And that doesn't include the problems that have arisen around the team that did not result in a dismissal or a transfer. Let's be clear that a dismissal from the team for a violation of team rules, while being vague, usually requires doing something quite stupid.

He's certainly opened a few eyes, if they weren't already opened with this move. KA isn't messing around. I know it certainly surprised me.

Quite honestly, I think we are all really disappointed about this as Torren was a big fan favorite at Mizzou. He provided a lot of energy on the court and seemed to love being a part of the team. With this day and age in basketball those guys aren't easy to find. We have no idea at this point what led to him to being dismissed but I only wish the best for Torren as he moves on to the next phase of his life. And no, we don't fully blame Jack Peglow and his Torrenado piece for this happening... fully.

My immediate take is that it weakens the team next season as I think Jones had a shot to play big minutes. I don't think he was going to unseat JW3 or anything like that, but he seemed like a committed guy who would do anything to get on the court, and that includes playing good hard defense which is what the head coach wants. So this definitely hurts the short term. The long term future still looks very bright with the way the recruiting has been going. And now Mizzou can put on the full court press for a guy like Juwan Morgan or a Dwayne Bacon. It could also mean that they can go after both Antonio Blakeney and Jimmy Whitt. There are a lot of ways this can go from the open scholarship aspect. In the meantime, let's all just take a moment to be a little saddened by the news of the Torrenado leaving Mizzou. And I just finished a big piece on the Mizzou roster. Time for some updating!

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