Coach of Mizzou’s TBT team relishes upcoming rivalry alumni game against the Jayhawks

Brad Loos, a longtime men’s basketball assistant under Kim Anderson at Central Missouri and, after that, Missouri, this week is best referred to as head coach of the MU Tigers alumni team in the TBT.

Loos, who now works as director of strategic partnerships at Chicken N Pickle, is well versed in the Border War hoops rivalry between MU and Kansas. He acknowledged an upcoming second-round TBT matchup between the KU and Mizzou alumni teams classifies as a mid-summertime offseason treat.

KU’s Mass Street TBT will tip against MU’s Show Me Squad at 3 p.m., Saturday, at Koch Arena in Wichita.

“The rivalry Is real, OK? Regardless of what anybody says it’s a real thing,” Loos said after directing MU’s Show Me Squad to a 96-90 victory over UNLV’s alumni team in a first-round TBT clash Wednesday at Koch Arena.

The Tigers, who played UNLV in the game that preceded KU’s narrow 70-67 victory over We Are D-III, said after the hard-earned victory they heard a few boos from a few KU fans as well as cheers for UNLV raining down from the stands.

“I would expect nothing less than KU fans to cheer against Mizzou, absolutely. I don’t want them cheering for us, right?” Loos said with a smile in the interview room after the Tigers’ victory over the Rebels.

“It’s exciting,” he added of the Border War alumni matchup. “What is really special about it is we get the basketball fans in Missouri and Kansas something to get excited about and cheer for in the middle of summer. It does nothing but good for us as a team and does wonders for Mizzou basketball. I’ll let the KU program speak for itself. I know we’re excited to play that game if it happens.”

Loos was speaking to media before the outcome of the KU-We Are D-III game had been decided.

Former Missouri forward Jontay Porter, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound, 23-year-old Columbia, Missouri, native who just completed a five-game stint with the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against UNLV.

“The way the Kansas fans are in there (Koch) two hours before their game, I would hope the same for Mizzou if we were in Columbia,” Porter said, asked if he’d like for TBT games to be contested on MU’s campus next summer.

“Not only would it be an advantage for our guys next year, it’d be really cool to see the town I grew up in hosting one of the biggest tournaments of the summer. (That) would be fantastic for Columbia,” Porter stated.

He averaged 5.4 points and grabbed 4.6 rebounds for the Bulls in summer league. He averaged 13.4 minutes a game in five contests. Last season he played in 11 games for the Memphis Grizzlies and also the G League.

“(It’s been) fun. … I’m a little fatigued though. Two days off and then we play Kansas,” Porter said Wednesday with a smile.

Of MU being included in the TBT for the first time in the 10-year history of the event, Porter said: “It’s really cool. Players from different eras … we are all coming together. For me it’s personal. I felt I kind of got robbed my sophomore year (at MU) a little bit by injury.”

He played 33 games for the Tigers in 2017-18 then missed his sophomore season after tearing ligaments in his right knee in a preseason scrimmage against Southern Illinois. He re-tore his right ACL in March of 2019.

“To get that last chance to put on the Black and Gold is something special to me. Hopefully we can do some special things together,” Porter said.

Isiaih Mosley, a 6-5 guard who played 14 games for the Tigers last season after starring three seasons at Missouri State, scored 23 points and dished five assists versus UNLV. He will not be returning to MU and instead is looking to begin a pro career.

“It feels good to be here with people I know like Jontay, getting to play beside him,” Mosley said. “Putting back on the Mizzou jersey, getting back out there, I’m just so happy I’m back on the court.”

Mosley is rounding into shape.

“The first couple minutes I was a little shaky,” he said. “I had to get my legs under me. I had to catch my wind. I work out a lot but don’t get up and down the court in an open gym running like that. It was good to get out there running.”

Show Me Squad standout Erick Neal did not attend Mizzou. He’s a 5-10 guard out of UT Arlington who scored 24 points with nine rebounds versus the Rebels.

Former MU Tiger and UAB Blazer Tony Criswell, a 6-10 forward, had 13 points and eight rebounds vs. UNLV. Kevin Hervey, 6-8 forward out of UT Arlington, had 10 points and the team’s third non-MU graduate, T.J. Holyfield, 6-8 from Stephen F. Austin and Texas Tech, had five points.

“Tournament time, it’s survive and advance,” Loos said. “That was surviving at its finest there. Having these two guys here (Porter and Mosley) makes coaching dang easy. I learned early in the game just be quiet and let them do what they do. Let basketball players make basketball plays. I’d love to take credit for the win (but) it’s all these guys. They know how to play and handled the situation. They never flinched.”

KU has just one player on its team without KU ties, guard Rodney Green formerly of LaSalle. MU has Hervey, Holyfield and Neal.

“You bring in three guys you’ve never met before and don’t know … they found a way to work their way in,” Loos said. “Erick especially. He was a great leader on the floor. He communicates great, has great poise under pressure. This is not easy. We’re a work in progress. We’ve got two practices to figure it out (Thursday and Friday before Saturday’s tip).”

The winner of the KU-MU game advances to Sunday’s 2 p.m. regional final. That game will be on ESPNU. Saturday’s 3 p.m. game is on ESPN-plus.