How would you rank the entire Missouri basketball roster?

When it comes to Missouri basketball, it’s been a bit of a slow news summer. Not that it’s a bad thing, but it makes it tougher to drum up something to write about. So let’s do something fun and meaningless, lets rank ball players.

The last of my Buzzfeed listicles of just outright ranking players in the offseason, I’m combining the lists of the last two days into one BIG list because CONTENT, am I right?

This is an interesting experiment. I know not all of my opinions are agreed upon, but that’s the fun. Disagree, hash it out. Let me know what you think. Overall Missouri is going to need somebody to step up and take charge if they want to move up in the rankings this year. There’s still more than four months until we play some games, and this team has a long way to go in the meantime, but for now, here’s my rankings!

1. Terrence Phillips: Simply because he is going to be the primary ball handler and the one who steers the offense, the Tigers need Phillips to be great.
2. Jordan Barnett: If Barnett lives up to his billing from out of high school, he immediately elevates the Tigers prospects going into this season.
3. KJ Walton: The KJ Walton Wildcard... the ability to change the Missouri offense by manufacturing points by attacking the rim.
4. Kevin Puryear: Puryear is down the list a bit because he only needs to be a little bit better than last year to have a huge impact.
5. Jordan Geist: My first under the radar pick because he’s so important due to the ball handling concerns past Phillips, and his ability to play more than one position.
6. Willie Jackson: The top freshman in the class needs to be a great rebounder and give positive minutes in order to help this team.
7. Mitchell Smith: Athleticism and skill will only get him so far if he falls short physically against bigger and stronger post players.
8. Russell Woods: If Smith can’t do it, Woods will have to step in, and you just hope that he’s able to improve upon his season last year.
9. Frankie Hughes: If Hughes ends up playing big minutes that would be a welcome surprise, but he’ll need to add weight to have an impact.
10. Cullen VanLeer: VanLeer is limited athletically, but if he can find his shooting stroke, and be more competitive defensively, he’ll be a useful piece.
11. Reed Nikko: A big body to start, Nikko could provide solid minutes if he’s healthy and limits his mistakes while rebounding and playing defense.
12. Jakoby Kemp: The high ceiling late addition freshman won’t be counted on to play a big role but has the ability to surprise us if he becomes a part of the rotation.
13. Adam Wolf: A walk-on and high character guy, but one that you shouldn’t expect to play a large role.
14. Trevor Glassman: He didn’t play much at Manhattan, I doubt he becomes a contributor at Missouri.
15. Brett Rau: Same as the two above, don’t expect him to provide much on the floor, but will provide depth and much needed help at practice.