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There was a lot to learn for the Tigers from their loss Tuesday night against Auburn, but the team might have been more impacted by what they did earlier that day.
On Tuesday morning, a story broke about the Missouri Tigers basketball team making a trip to The National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum in Montgomery Alabama, and during their media availability this morning, Cuonzo Martin, Jeremiah Tilmon, and Javon Pickett spoke about the profound impact it had on each member of the team.
“For us to see it in person, hear those stories and see those videos, it was very awakening,” said Tilmon. Pickett reiterated that idea but added that the trip actually brought the team closer together. “Just seeing all those different types of stories, we talked about that stuff a lot over the summer. To actually see it [and] experience it with one another, was great. It just keeps building us a bigger bond,” he said.
Coach Martin talked of the importance of giving his players opportunities like these that will shape their future beyond basketball. Of the experience, he said, “It was really tough for me walking through there… just to go in that facility, everyone was speechless.”
As for what the Tigers learned from the basketball game on Tuesday, Tilmon kept it very simple. “We can’t come out thinking we are going to win games… we gotta continue to throw the first and last punch,” he said. Pickett added, “We gotta make sure we start strong from the jump and play a full 40 minutes, being calm, being cool, being collected.”
The Tigers will get their chance to play a full 40 minutes like Pickett said on Saturday in the Big 12-SEC Challenge as they face a TCU team who’s season is on life support.