Elite Basketball recruits basically only go to Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Arizona ... or wherever Cuonzo Martin is coaching.

Here’s an interesting tweet from Bart Torvik of barttorvik.com:

This is actually really interesting but shouldn’t be all that surprising. Basically, there are two schools playing the one-and-done game right now: Kentucky and Duke. Kansas and Arizona still recruit at an elite level, too.

Indiana, LSU, North Carolina, and UCLA all have four top-20 players in that time, too.

You know who else has four top-20 players in that time? Cuonzo Martin!

Martin has signed Robert Hubbs III, the No. 20 player in 2013, at Tennessee. He then signed No. 4 Jaylen Brown and No. 7 Ivan Rabb in the 2015 class at Cal. And last spring he signed the No. 2 player in 2017, Michael Porter Jr. (in case you’re wondering, Jontay Porter was ranked No. 25 after his reclassification).

There isn’t much likelihood in 2019 for Martin to keep the odd-year streak going, as the highest rated player Mizzou has a good shot at is 52nd-ranked E.J. Liddell. But it could be possible for him to jump back in with the 2020 class and Josh Christopher, who is currently No. 11.

Still, kind of a cool statistic.

Mizzou’s 2019 class could still be really, really, really good, even without a top-20 player.

Matt found a way to get some really great advanced statistics from a cool new service called Open Look Analytics. OLA provides some really interesting insights into some high-priority Mizzou targets so we can track how they’re performing during the EYBL season.

My favorites:

• Mario McKinney — 38.5% from 3: It’s still a small sample size, but McKinney being solid and reliable from deep makes him even more dangerous off the dribble.
• E.J. Liddell — 117.5 ORtg: He hasn’t shot well but still had an effective game because he attacks rebounds and finds ways to get to the free throw line.
• Terrence Hargrove — 14.2% ORB, 16.3 DRB rates: Hargrove isn’t in the mold of a high-level scorer, but it’s easy to see why Missouri coaches really like him so muh.

If you are on Twitter and not following Matt, well, he has a lot of good stuff on his feed, and you don’t want to miss out.

BOUNCE!!!

Just a calm reminder that Torrence Watson will be suiting up in black and gold next year. His athleticism is a little underrated. His high school coach, by the way, is equally athletic:

The NBA is the best professional league, even if you like other sports better.

While MLB, NFL, NHL and more are hunting down copyright infringement on Twitter and Facebook, the NBA is leaning into it. They embrace the way social media has changed the way we watch and view sports.

Today, watching sporting events with your favorite commentators on Twitter is becoming essential for the hard core fan. I know I personally spend as much time scrolling through tweets as I do watching NBA action because users like @World_Wide_Rob make the game experience more fun and interesting.

Like Chris Paul having a reckoning with his detractors:

Or playing on J.R. Smith’s reputation:

All in all there are so many things the NBA gets right, which other leagues get wrong. The media-scape overall is changing and “da yutes” get it.

SB Nation, and specifically Rock M Nation, are a prime example of how consumption of sports media has changed. We are a fan site here, but we also cover the team as intensely and precisely as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the KC Star, the Columbia Tribune, and PowerMizzou. Sometimes I think our coverage is better than theirs because we aren’t beholden to a specific model of what to post.

New media can dwell more on roster construction and changes in recruiting philosophy and offensive efficiency movement with lineup modifications. We can be fun and silly and stupid (a whole lotta stupid) and it can work out because it makes things more enjoyable.

We can embrace the impact of Drew Lock’s Milly Rock, too:

It’s for these reasons — and not just because basketball is just so damn great — which makes the NBA the best league. Now I can't wait to watch King James vs Jayson Tatum in the Eastern Conference Finals and the defending champs vs. the team with the best record in the Western Conference Finals.