Mizzou basketball’s ‘most improved player’ out for 2023-24 season due to shin injury

Calum McAndrew
·2 min read

Kaleb Brown is out for the season.

Mizzou men’s basketball announced Tuesday afternoon in a news release that Brown will sit out the remainder of the year due to a stress reaction in his left shin, bringing an end to his season a little more than two weeks after it started.

Brown had missed the Tigers’ past three games between “flu-like symptoms” and what the team called a shin bruise.

The latter will cost him the season.

“Kaleb was our most improved player this summer, and to best protect his future, I made the difficult decision to have him redshirt this season due to his stress reaction,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said the release. “There was a chance he could have returned this year, but in order to ensure his long-term development and eligibility, we thought it was important to avoid any risks and get back to 100% with his future as the top priority.

“We know that this will only be a small disruption in a great basketball career and look forward to him returning to full health at Mizzou.”

Brown was on a scooter with his MU teammates while they went through warmups before their loss against Jackson State on Monday. He played in Missouri’s first two games of the season, totaling 13 minutes, two points, two rebounds and two assists.

The 6-foot-7 guard entered the transfer portal last offseason but opted to withdraw and return to Missouri shortly after. His older brother, Kobe Brown, was a four-year starter for Missouri and was selected in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers in June.

Gates repeatedly praised Kaleb Brown’s progress in the offseason, frequently calling him the most improved player on the team and complimenting his progress on and off the court.

But the year has quickly come to an end for Brown. With the redshirt in hand, he will still have two seasons of eligibility remaining after this season.

The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.