Last season, there was no “best player” on the Missouri basketball team. This year is different with Kevin Puryear and Terrence Phillips.
After falling short of expectations in his freshman season at Mizzou, the product of Kim Anderson’s coaching ability is becoming more obvious. It also helps when two of your best players are playing on an NCAA-type level many people thought they could.
Terrence Phillips doesn’t just have a fun name that South Park fans can toy with, he has a leadership quality other coaches are drooling over. When Phillips is out on the court, there is a noticeable intensity that everyone is playing with.
So is Phillips Tiger Nation’s best player? They need desperately for someone to hold that label.
He is, unless you’re the slew of writers including PowerMizzou’s own Gabe DeArmond, throwing your hat into the ring for the Blue Springs South product Kevin Puryear.
And although I would have to disagree and say that Phillips has been a very visible leader on the team, I completely get where he and others are coming from. It could be the 18 points Puryear had against Nebraska-Omaha on Wednesday night, but it also might be fact he was two rebounds short of a double-double. In the end though, it’s simply Puryear’s decision making and shot selection.
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If 63 percent shooting from the field doesn’t impress you, along with his stat line, you’re a Jayhawk.
Puryear is the guy that Missouri has been waiting for as far as taking the team to the next level. But Phillips? The only thing he’s done is show his love for the program the same way Kim English does, all while playing with a Superman-type hustle and being solid from the free throw line.
And did anyone else mention that K.J Walton is on the team?
What’s happening right now at Missouri is the transformation; there isn’t an identity crisis about individuals’ roles, there’s a clear cut goal that everyone is working for in unison, helping one another in the process. That is Mizzou basketball.
“It just felt good coming out of my hands in warm-ups,” Phillips told Ben Arnett of the Mizzou Network following the 85-78 victory over the U.N.O. Mavericks at Mizzou Arena Wednesday night. His first nine points came from consecutive three-point shots, showing his confidence in taking tough shots and being a leader.
No wonder his Twitter handle is “@FloorGeneral03“.
So who is the best player on the Missouri basketball roster? It’s really tough to say at this point. You could say it’s Phillips like me, or that it’s Puryear like DeArmond and other writers, and I honestly don’t think there’s a wrong answer yet. It’s a great problem to have.
We’ll know more when the Tigers take on nationally-ranked Arizona in Tuscon on Sunday. The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network, so Mediacom customers in Columbia will have to find a friend or a public place with the game on. But regardless of your cable television affiliation, this is one that you don’t want to let slip through the cracks. Game time is set for 7:00pm CT.