Advertisement

Who Mizzou basketball is recruiting, losing and keeping so far in the 2022 offseason

chris kwiecinski, columbia daily tribune
·5 min read
Dennis Gates spends a moment with his brother, Nebraska assistant coach Armon Gates, during Dennis' introduction as Missouri's next basketball coach last week at the Albrecht Family Practice Facility inside Mizzou Arena.
Dennis Gates spends a moment with his brother, Nebraska assistant coach Armon Gates, during Dennis' introduction as Missouri's next basketball coach last week at the Albrecht Family Practice Facility inside Mizzou Arena.

The offseason for Missouri men's basketball has just begun, and already there's been movement in and out of Columbia.

Dennis Gates has pieced together his staff and has his roster nearly complete. Missouri could use a post defender to complement the other additions he's made.

That addition can come with the open scholarship MU has open.

Here is a look at the current status of Missouri's scholarship count, recruiting interest and transfer portal departures:

Mizzou basketball commits and signees

  • Isiaih Mosley (Missouri State)

  • Mohamed Diarra (Garden City Community College)

  • DeAndre Gholston (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)

  • D’Moi Hodge (Cleveland State)

  • Aidan Shaw (Blue Valley High School)

  • Tre Gomillion (Cleveland State)

  • Noah Carter (Northern Iowa)

  • Nick Honor (Cleveland)

Gates has nine incoming players set to play for Missouri next season.

There's no bigger addition than Mosley, who adds an instant offensive presence to the Tigers' backcourt.

Gates started his tenure by also getting Shaw to recommit to Missouri after getting a release from his NLI in March after Cuonzo Martin was fired. His latest was Carter, who is an All-MVC player making his way to the SEC.

Diarra, Gates' first commit, announced his intentions to join MU in late March. Gholston announced his commitment the very next day, marking two commits in two days.

Gholston averaged 14.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game at UW-Milwaukee. In his career at Milwaukee, he also shot 34.2% from beyond 3-point range. It's a welcome addition to the Missouri guard rotation, which struggled to shoot consistently.

Jones has been with Missouri since signing his national letter of intent and is a three-star combo guard prospect.

Gomillion is a former player under Gates and knows the kinds of plays he wants to run. Adding him will provide depth in the guard rotation as well as someone who can help the new and existing players understand Gates' system.

The same goes for Hodge, the 2021-2022 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year.

According to Verbal Commits, there are currently over 1,000 entrants into the transfer portal. Of those 1,000 players, there's bound to be at least one more that Gates can convince to don a Tigers uniform.

Illinois' Da'Monte Williams (20) looks to pass the ball against Missouri's Trevon Brazile (23) last season.
Illinois' Da'Monte Williams (20) looks to pass the ball against Missouri's Trevon Brazile (23) last season.

Transfer portal and other departures

  • DaJuan Gordon (New Mexico State)

  • Javon Pickett (St. Louis)

  • Anton Brookshire

  • Trevon Brazile (Arkansas)

  • Jordan Wilmore (Northwestern State)

  • Sean Durugordon (mid-season entrant)

  • Christian Jones (de-commit)

  • Yaya Keita

  • Jarron "Boogie" Coleman

  • Amari Davis

These players all had the option to return to Missouri. However, most have chosen their next avenue.

Davis was the most recent transfer, entering the portal Monday. That ensures MU will have 10 new players on its roster this upcoming season once Gates fills both open scholarships.

Pickett, who has a year of eligibility left granted by the NCAA due to COVID-19, and Brazile, who was only a true freshman, can help a team immediately. Brazile committed to Arkansas and Pickett committed to SLU, both announced their moves on social media.

Recruiting targets

High-major transfers

Landing a transfer from a high-major would immediately boost Missouri's profile, especially considering the players Gates is publicly interested in.

He has done so with a commitment from Clemson guard Nick Honor, who immediately bolsters the guard rotation.

One of the players who has earned interest from Missouri is Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon, who helped the Red Raiders to a Sweet 16 appearance. Shannon will test the NBA Draft process, too.

Shannon is off the list, as he committed to Michigan.

LSU guard Xavier Pinson, right, makes a move to get past Missouri forward Ronnie DeGray III during a game at the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Tampa, Fla.
LSU guard Xavier Pinson, right, makes a move to get past Missouri forward Ronnie DeGray III during a game at the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Tampa, Fla.

It did get interesting, as LSU transfer and former Missouri guard Xavier Pinson also had received interest from Missouri that appears to be mutual. Pinson has narrowed his list to Xavier and Mississippi State.

The Tigers have also reached out to West Virginia's Sean McNeil and South Carolina's Erik Stevenson.

McNeil is also a solid 3-point shooter who shot 36.8% from 3 during his three seasons at West Virginia. Stevenson averaged 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for the Gamecocks, and has since committed to West Virginia and MU is now out on McNeil.

Mid-major transfers

Gates has landed one mid-major transfer so far, but there are others he's reportedly reached out to.

According to multiple reports, Gates had reached out to Utah Valley's Fardaws Aimaq, Illinois State's Antonio Reeves, Northern Iowa's Noah Carter, Bradley's Terry Roberts, East Carolina's Tristen Newton, to name a few among many.

He landed Carter, which was a significant move.

Aimaq is the most highly sought transfer of the bunch, but his final list of schools does not include Missouri. Roberts did list Missouri in his list of final schools, but committed to Georgia on April 18.

Reeves, and Newton are also high-scoring guards who have also heard from Power Five programs. Reeves averaged 20 points per game for a Redbirds team that struggled and went through a coaching change.

Bradley's Terry Roberts passes to a teammate during a game this past season.
Bradley's Terry Roberts passes to a teammate during a game this past season.

Junior college transfers

Gates already landed Diarra, and he landed another top-rated JUCO player.

Sean East, a junior college point guard at John A. Logan College, has committed Missouri, too. East averaged 21 points and 5.7 assists per game, earning his billing as one of the top junior college guards in the nation.

High school

This level of recruiting may pick up for Gates amid a number of head coaching changes, which caused a handful of signed players to ask to be released from their NLIs.

Interests at the prep level could pick up once Gates officially puts his staff together and he pieces together a starting lineup of transfers.

Missouri has landed Shaw, and Gates has also been in contact with three-star center Connor Turnbull after Turnbull got his release from Butler after LaVall Jordan was fired.

Missouri's Kobe Brown (24) looks on during a game this past season.
Missouri's Kobe Brown (24) looks on during a game this past season.

Mizzou's current men's basketball roster

  • Kobe Brown

  • Kaleb Brown

  • Ronnie DeGray III

On Scholarship: 3 of 13 (NCAA allows for 13 players on scholarship)

Filled Scholarships: 9 (Mosley, Hodge, Gholston, Diarra, Shaw, Gomillion, Carter, East, Honor)

Available Scholarships: 1

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 435-414-3261.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Who Mizzou basketball is recruiting, losing and keeping so far