#Mizzou junior PG Phil Pressey is declaring for the NBA Draft and signing with Creative Artists Agency.

— Steve Walentik (@Steve_Walentik) April 10, 2013

Pressey averaged 11.9 points and 7 assists per game this season, and was named first-team All-SEC.  Pressey will leave Mizzou as the all-time leader in assists, with 580 career assists in three years.

In a statement, Pressey said, “I love my teammates, my coaches, Mike Alden and all of our fans, and I’m so glad I had the chance to play for coach Haith these last two years. He had such a big impact on my career and because of that relationship I will help Missouri basketball anyway I can going forward.

“I wish we could have brought home a national championship banner, but coming to Mizzou was the best decision of my life. This is a special place and I will always be a Tiger.”

Draftexpress.com has Pressey being selected in the mid-second round, and ESPN’s Chad Ford list Pressey as the No. 81 ranked player on his big board.

Pressey’s departure at Mizzou, leaves Jabari Brown as the only returning starter for the Tigers.  Mizzou’s 6th man, Earnest Ross, will also be returning for the 2013-2014 season, and the Tigers will be adding Tulsa transfer, Jordan Clarkson, who should slide into the starting lineup.

(Jeff Blake-USA TODAY SPORTS)

The Missouri Tigers (20-8, 9-6) dominated South Carolina (13-15, 3-12) 90-68 on Thursday and picked up their second road win of the year. The win improves them to 9-6 in conference play and puts them in a tie for 5^th in the standings.

Mizzou shot 69.6% from the field and made six of their nine three point attempts. Jabari Brown scored 23 points on 8-10 shooting, and Keion Bell led all scorers with 24 points. Eight different Tigers scored at least two points, but there was one player who was surprisingly shut out of the scoring column.

Junior guard, Phil Pressey, was held without a point in the win against South Carolina, and he didn’t even attempt a single shot. Not only did he not attempt a field goal, he never even got to the line to attempt a free throw. Pressey still dished out nine assists, so he wasn’t completely invisible out there. But the question has to be asked, is this the Pressey that Frank Haith wants to see or is this Pressey giving Haith the big middle finger?

Missouri is 12-2 when Pressey attempts less than 10 field goals in a game and they are 8-6 when he attempts 10 or more shots. Missouri’s offense flows much better when he’s penetrating the lane and creating shots for others, instead of dribbling around the arc and jacking up threes. Clearly Haith has had discussions with Pressey about this. He hasn’t been shy about stating that Pressey needs to make smarter decisions. Is Haith getting through to Pressey in these discussions, or is Pressey saying I’ll show him?

Pressey has attempted 20 or more shots three times this season in conference play. He has followed all three of those games by shooting it two times or less in the next game. He also averages nine assists in games that follow a 20+ shot  performance.

In those games where he shoots the ball two times or less, it almost seems like he is purposely turning down shots just to prove a point. He’s had wide open layups where instead of shooting it, he decides to pass it to a teammate who is right next to him. I personally think he’s trying to prove a point to Frank Haith. What that point is I don’t know, but it seems like he’s saying, “You don’t want me to shoot as much? Ok, I won’t shoot at all then.”

Now, I don’t know Pressey, so this might not be an attitude issue and this might be exactly what Haith is telling him to do. Either way, I’m perfectly happy with it as long as his attitude doesn’t start to affect his teammates. Pressey is a very talented player, and he might be the only player in the country that is the most important player on the court without even scoring a single point. If the Tigers are going to make a deep run in March, Pressey is going to be a big reason for that.

Missouri is the only team in the country that has six players averaging double figures in points per game, and all six of those players have scored 20 points or more at least once this season. They are one of the few teams in the country that have multiple players capable of stepping up and scoring 20, when another starter is struggling.

With that said, they sometimes struggle to create their own shots. That’s why Pressey continues to be so important even if he doesn’t shoot. By him driving to the lane, he can kick it out to Brown for an open three or toss it up to Oraki for a dunk. He sees the floor very well and makes passes that other point guards aren’t capable of making.

Now that were in March, it becomes even more important that Pressey continues to play at a high level. The Tigers are currently listed as an 8 seed according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. If Mizzou can finish the season strong and improve that seed to a 6 or 7, they will have a much better chance of making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Feb 23, 2013; Lexington, KY, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Phil Pressey (1) dribbles the ball around Kentucky Wildcats guard Ryan Harrow (12) at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

For the 4th time this year, the Missouri Tigers (19-8, 8-6) lost a road game after holding a lead with less than one minute left in the game. Tonight, the Tigers held a 75-73 lead over Kentucky (19-8, 10-4) with 54 seconds remaining. Willie Cauley-Stein answered with 40 seconds left, to tie the game at 75. Both teams came up empty on their final possessions, and the game was sent into overtime.

Kentucky pulled away from Missouri in overtime, and earned a 90-83 victory. The win was huge for Kentucky, as they needed to prove they could beat a quality team without Nerlens Noel. The victory doesn’t guarantee the Wildcats a spot in the NCAA Tournament but it certainly helps. Before Saturday’s game, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Kentucky in the first four out category.

Julius Mays had a big game for Kentucky. Mays scored 24 points and hit 4 three pointers. Cauley-Stein was also huge for the Wildcats. Cauley-Stein helped replace Noel by grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking 7 shots.

Phil Pressey had an excellent game at Kentucky which is rare of him on the road in 2012-2013. Pressey had 27 points and 10 assists. He did an excellent job of penetrating the Wildcat’s defense and creating shots for his teammates. Pressey did have a key turnover late in overtime, but it’s hard to be too critical of his performance on Saturday.

Alex Oriaki finished the game with 16 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out in the last minute of overtime.

The loss drops the Tigers into 6th place in the SEC standings. Missouri will travel to South Carolina on Thursday and then will host LSU on Saturday.