7 thoughts as Mizzou basketball jumps into the offseason

Here are seven thoughts as we close the book on the 2022-2023 Mizzou men's basketball season, punctuating a 25-win season that ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as we head into the offseason.

1. What I’ll miss about this Mizzou team.

Genuinely, it’s hard even to comprehend how great Missouri basketball fans have had the last year.

There was a genuine chance for a restart. Gates’ arrival meant a blank slate for the program. It had a chance to remove itself from stagnancy.

Gates, as we know, went above and beyond.

I’ll miss the idea that every week could bring something new. Last year’s team was three players away from being a completely new team.

Obviously, it’s a boon that Brown stayed Missouri doesn’t do what it does it did this year without him. Who else tears into Illinois and Kentucky in consecutive games?

I’ll miss Hodge’s ballistic missile moments where every shot he took had a chance to go in. That J.R. Smith effect just made me shrug after every Hodge shot — make or miss — and just say “well, that's his shot, so it's not a bad take.”

More: 'Building the culture': How Mizzou's 4 departing seniors want to be remembered

I’ll miss the initial intrigue of Gates’ coaching style.

You could laugh when he stopped the media mid-presser to tell us to stop referring to Kaleb Brown as Kobe's brother. Or, to say Mohamed Diarra prefers Mohamed, and not "Mo" or any other shortened nickname.

That's a coach knowing his players, and understanding their identities. Is that a reason why MU won 25 games? Not a major reason, but it was a reason the team played together.

Last year was the first time we'll experience those kinds of emotions and program highs. I'll miss it.

2. What I’m looking forward to for next year.

Still, as intriguing as Gates' first year was, his second year will be even more fascinating.

Now, he's playing with his own recruits. His hand-picked players will begin their Missouri tenures in the fall of 2023 and usher in the next phase of Gates' process of establishing MU as the program he wants it to be.

Those players will see playing time right away, and Gates will have to find ways to gel the squad together as he did in his first season. Instead, he needs to find ways to integrate four players into what should be an already-familiar roster.

John Tonje, a transfer from Colorado State, looks like a player to fill DeAndre Gholston's role on paper. He can score and has the size to out-muscle others for rebounds.

Anthony Robinson is set to sit behind Nick Honor and Sean East, the latter two have one more year of eligibility remaining. Jordan Butler should figure into the lineup right away as a rim protector, as he gives MU more size and the ability to play bigger lineups.

Trent Pierce is the X-factor. He's a talented wing player that can defend multiple positions and score on multiple levels. He's the kind of player that fits modern-day college basketball.

Plus, Isiaih Mosley and Kobe Brown could be back. If that's the case, Gates' second year could be just as entertaining.

3. Mizzou losing out on Caleb Love and Fardaws Aimaq doesn't deliver a death blow to MU's offseason.

There are over 1,000 names in the transfer portal. Love and Aimaq were two players that would have fit MU's roster considering the needs the Tigers have.

Aimaq followed his old coach at Utah Valley to Cal. It's hard to blame him since Mark Madsen was a rising name even before he was winning WAC championships. Love is teaming up with Juwan Howard, the coach that's taken Michigan to an Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen in two of his four years.

Those two went elsewhere, and I don't see why it's a major cause for concern.

MU would have appreciated Love's ability to shoot confidently, but he struggled as a high-volume shooter. Love took 244 3-pointers last year, which accounted for 32 percent of North Carolina's 3-point attempts. He also took more 3-pointers than UNC made (234). Love still only shot 29 percent from the perimeter.

Could Gates have worked with that? Absolutely, but Isiaih Mosley still could return. That would fill the Tigers' need for a shooter. Besides, Missouri needs rim protectors.

MU missing out on Aimaq stings, especially after he was reportedly set to take a visit to Columbia. He would have been a massive rebounding presence. But, there are still plenty of centers and power forwards to recruit.

McNeese State transfer Christian Schumate and Virginia transfer Kadin Shedrick are two bigs with interest from MU, plus plenty of others that could still garner interest.

4. Next year doesn’t define Gates’ early on. Year 3 will.

Right now, I imagine MU's staff is sitting pretty well.

Gates' first year was probably way ahead of schedule. The 2022-2023 season was supposed to be a rebuild. It ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with Gates locked up for years to come on a contract extension.

Year 2 will be spent watching how Gates navigates those changes from this year to next year. I expect Missouri to make the tournament again, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Tigers are still around that No. 7/No. 8 seed range.

Still, I'm not judging Gates on what happens next year. I'm judging what happens in Year 3.

Year 3 will tell us how talented this staff is at developing players. We've seen how good they are at piecing transfers together and winning, but unless Missouri is picking out the top transfers every year for the next few years I don't see how that strategy equals winning a championship

Gates and his staff need to develop Aidan Shaw, Trent Pierce, Anthony Robinson and Jordan Butler into a talented core.

It's much easier to complete a puzzle when you know what pieces you still need. Next year starts the process of figuring out what pieces MU already has.

5. Compared to the other considered candidates, Mizzou picked the best candidate.

I remember in March I got a text from a colleague that they heard Missouri was hiring Murray State's Matt McMahon its next men's basketball coach. Before that, I also heard from a source MU interviewed Todd Golden and that Kim English was high on MU's wish list.

None of those coaches were Reed-Francois's choice. Golden went to Florida; McMahon went to LSU; English remained at George Mason before recently taking the Providence job.

Hindsight is 20/20, always. But, Gates has the Washington Post saying he could transform college basketball. Reed-Francois got the right person.

Granted, each program had its own struggles, but LSU and Florida both didn't come close to replicating what Missouri was able to do.

To be fair, LSU's rebuild was more drastic. Will Wade's firing depleted that Tigers' roster to its bare bones. Coming out of that first year with success would have been a miracle.

Still, I give all that credit to Gates. He did something incredible in making Missouri relevant again in a year.

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6. Gates must recruit beyond his players to keep winning at a high level.

The biggest problem with winning and having success in the SEC means that Gates will soon need to flew his recruiting abilities in different ways.

I don't mean the players. I mean his coaching staff.

Charlton Young was offered the Temple job. He decided against taking it, and I can't blame him considering how that search ended with Temple's president resigning from the university.

It won't be the last time, either. Especially with MU on the rise.

Eventually, Gates' assistants will get their chance to lead their own programs. He said it himself when talking about assistant coach Kyle Smithpeters.

"He should have been an assistant a long time ago, or even a head coach at a mid-major institution already," Gates said on May 10, 2022. "I truly believe we hired a future head coach."

That could come to fruition soon. The same goes for Michael Fly, Charlton Young and others who could seek a head coaching opportunity or assistant position.

Once those moves happen, and I believe they will, Gates will have to find coaches that fit he can trust as he does Young, Smithpeters, Fly, Dickey Nutt and more.

7. Kobe's status doesn't define his legacy at Mizzou.

Will he, or won't he? Either way, he's still one of the best to ever do it at Missouri.

Brown's performance in leading MU past Utah State in the NCAA Tournament was how I'll remember him. Is it recency bias? Probably, but Brown was the one player who said "enough is enough" and put the Aggies away.

More: After sizzling in the NCAA Tournament, Mizzou's Kobe Brown proved he's one of the best in America

If the 22-23 season is how Brown is content with leaving his MU career, I can't blame him. Especially if he's a player that will most likely get drafted.

If Brown's draft evaluation says he's got a second-round grade, then I assume he would declare for the draft and stay.

But if he decides to come back, then MU needs to clear space out in the Mizzou Arena rafters. Brown will have done enough to have his number retired if he played his final year of eligibility. You can argue that he's already done enough.

Brown has earned the right to make this decision. Either way, he deserves to be celebrated.

7a. Missouri currently has 125-1 odds to win the 2024 NCAA National Championship, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

7b. Thanks for reading!

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Kwiecinski: 7 thoughts on the end of the 22-23 Mizzou basketball season