Takeaways from 1st practice for Mizzou basketball

Coach Cuonzo Martin believes Mizzou basketball can be an NCAA Tournament team as he enters Year 3 in CoMo.

The Mizzou basketball team hit the hardwood for its first official practice of the year, marking the beginning of Year 3 for Cuonzo Martin.

Mizzou was an NCAA Tournament team his first season but regressed last season with a slew of players unable to take the court. This year, the Tigers appear revamped and could be a team that makes noise in the SEC.

Martin met with the media for the first time this season after his team’s first official practice Wednesday. Here are the biggest takeaways after the first session wrapped up:

Martin said team “has the parts” of an NCAA Tournament team — That has to make Tiger fans happy. Mizzou fans believed they were on the way up after the first season, but last year was a bad year. Mizzou basketball was down a trio of starters for nearly the entire year. The Tigers had a pair of injuries to starters Jontay Porter and Mark Smith while Dru Smith was ruled ineligible for the season after transferring from Evansville. The Smith duo are back and could lead the team back to March Madness.

Martin will play a four-guard lineup — Mizzou has a number of parts to rotate. One of the rotations will lead the Tigers to a four-guard lineup. Martin said freshmen Kobe Brown and Tray Jackson are both guards and will play them alongside the 1s and 2s this season, giving Mizzou a four-guard set. He added that when Mitchell Smith is in at the 5, that will give the Tigers five players on the floor at the same time who can shoot from outside. That will be fun to watch this season.

Martin’s response to Kansas’ NCAA notice of allegations was great — It’s a classic Martin response. The third-year coach doesn’t have time to think about what is going on outside of Columbia, but he let it be known that coaches must be accountable for their actions and they have to do the job with integrity. Here is his full response:

Martin said the Tigers are working to get Axel Okongo another year of eligibility — Currently the JUCO transfer has one year left on the table. Martin said the team is working on getting an extra year for the 7-foot center. He said he doesn’t have much information on it yet, but could have more the next time he meets with reporters.

Five-star guard Caleb Love cut his list to two teams, and one is the Tigers —  The five-star guard could end up in Columbia. On Wednesday, Love narrowed his decision to two teams, Mizzou and North Carolina. He cut his list down and will no longer schedule trips to Kansas and Louisville, he told 247Sports. The St. Louis native took a visit to Mizzou earlier this month. Love plans on making his final decision next week.

The Tigers bring back solid contributors this season with the likes of Torrence Watson, Jeremiah Tilmon and Javon Pickett. The Tigers also bring back Xavier Pinson and Mark Smith, who will join a backcourt that now has Dru Smith.

Big men Reed Nikko and Mitchell Smith also are back for Mizzou.

Freshmen who are ready to contribute include Jackson and Brown to go with Mario McKinney Jr. Okongo, Parker Braun, Brooks Ford and Evan Yerkes round out the roster this season.

Mizzou basketball will play its first game of the season Wednesday, Nov. 6 against Incarnate Word. Their first conference game is at Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 4.

To listen to the full Martin press conference, visit PowerMizzou here.