A Senior Night Splash

ISSUE #6 - APRIL 2018 CUONZO MARTIN A SENIOR NIGHT SPLASH Head Coach When Kassius Robertson first made his decision to move on from Canisius as a graduate transfer, CORNELL MANN only one thing mattered to him more than anything when making his decision -- winning. Assistant Coach Fast-forward 10 months later and Robertson was, in large-part, the driving force behind Mizzou’s CHRIS HOLLENDER rapid turnaround from just eight wins last season to reaching that magic number of 20 in one fell Assistant Coach swoop. MICHAEL PORTER, SR. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Robertson was honored, to his surprise, with the Canadian Assistant Coach National Anthem before tipoff of the Senior Night game against Arkansas. He said he had not heard the anthem for nearly five years and that he appreciated the gesture a great deal. NICODEMUS CHRISTOPHER Director of Athletic Performance On the court, Robertson averaged 35.8 minutes per game, started all 31 regular season games and led the Tigers in scoring (16.5 PPG), three-point percentage (42.8) and steals (31). MARCO HARRIS Director of Player Development “Coming in, I thought I was going to be a much smaller piece to the puzzle,” Robertson said. “But, with circumstances, I kind of had to step up and produce more than I thought I was going to have PAUL RORVIG Director of Basketball Operations to.” MARCUS GREEN Produce might be an understatement. Asst. Director of Basketball Operations Getting Mizzou where it is, without Robertson, is something head coach Cuonzo Martin cannot even JOHN POETTGEN fathom. Assistant to the Head Coach PAT BECKMANN Athletic Trainer BRANDON BYER Graduate Assistant CARL RICHBURG Graduate Assistant CONNOR WHEELER Graduate Assistant LATISHA MAYES Executive Assistant DO YOU FOLLOW ? TAP THE ICONS TO THE LEFT! Keep up-to-date on everything Mizzou Basketball by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 2017-18 RESULTS However, Robertson would be the first to admit he could not achieve what he and the team has on his lonesome. DATE OPPONENT LOCATION / SCORE 11-10-17 Iowa State W, 74-59 11-13-17 Wagner W, 99-55 11-16-17 at Utah L, 77-59 11-20-17 Emporia State W, 67-62 11-23-17 vs. Long Beach State ^ W, 95-58 11-24-17 vs. St. John’s ^ W, 90-82 11-26-17 vs. West Virginia ^ L, 83-79 11-30-17 at UCF W, 62-59 12-5-17 Miami (Ohio) W, 70-51 12-9-17 Green Bay W, 100-77 12-16-17 North Florida W, 85-51 12-19-17 Stephen F. Austin W, 82-81 Senior forward Jordan Barnett also skyrocketed in his development over the last year. Barnett who 12-23-17 vs. Illinois # L, 70-64 two years ago averaged 12.2 PPG and only shot 30.0 percent from 3, elevated those numbers to 14.1 1-3-18 at South Carolina * W, 79-68 and a scorching 42.2 percent from beyond the arc in 2017-’18. 1-6-18 Florida * L, 77-75 1-10-18 Georgia * W, 68-56 Growing up in St. Louis, having the opportunity to wear the Black and Gold took on an even more special meaning to him than others. Combine that with a Senior Night victory over a rival school and 1-13-18 at Arkansas * L, 65-63 all the pieces melded together perfectly for the elder statesman. 1-17-18 Tennessee * W, 59-55 1-20-18 at Texas A&M * L, 60-49 1-24-18 Auburn * L, 93-71 1-27-18 at Mississippi State * L, 74-62 1-30-18 at Alabama * W, 69-60 2-3-18 Kentucky * W, 69-60 2-6-18 at Ole Miss * W, 75-69 2-10-18 Mississippi State * W, 89-85 OT 2-13-18 Texas A&M * W, 62-58 2-17-18 at LSU * L, 64-63 2-20-18 Ole Miss * L, 90-87 OT 2-24-18 at Kentucky * L, 87-66 2-27-18 at Vanderbilt * W, 74-66 Not to be forgotten is senior walk-on guard Brett Rau. A native of Elgin, Illinois, Rau arrived at 3-3-18 Arkansas * W, 77-67 Missouri from Elgin Community College and has taken his role to heart upon his arrival to Columbia. 3-8-18 vs. Georgia % L, 62-60 3-16-18 vs. Florida State & L, 67-54 “I embrace it (in reference to his role on the team),” Rau said. “I love cheering on my teammates and seeing them do well.” FINAL RECORD: 20-13 SEC RECORD: 10-8 * SEC game ^ AdvoCare Invitational at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida # Braggin’ Rights Game at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri % SEC Tournament played March 7-11 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri & NCAA Tournament First Round played March 16 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee GOOD MEMORIES FROM NCAA COURT CHAT WITH... EXPERIENCE FOR THE TIGERS #5 Losing is never an easy pill to swallow. Especially when the dream is to win a national championship. MITCHELL SMITH For Mizzou, when that dream came to an end, all were not prepared for it to be over. • RS SOPHOMORE • FORWARD • 6-10, 215 • VAN BUREN, ARKANSAS Q: WHAT SKILLS HAVE YOU BEEN FOCUSING ON TO BETTER YOUR GAME DURING YOUR REDSHIRT SEASON? A: “I really have been working on my defense because Coach Martin is really big on it. I’ve been taking note of our principals and watching how we guard. And then also, I’ve worked on my shot and ball handling, so I can be more of a threat next year.” There were hugs, thank-you’s and even some tears post game in the Tigers’ locker room at Bridgestone Q: HOW IMPORTANT IS THE WEIGHT Arena in Nashville. ROOM IN PREPARATION FOR NEXT SEASON? Yet, when graduate senior Kassius Robertson stepped to the podium to answer questions from reporters, even with the anguish and disappointment clearly visible on his face, he summed up his Mizzou A: “The weight room is very important. Trying experience the only way he could. to get a lot stronger and more well-built for SEC play has been a goal of mine since the “Just being here is a pleasure and making it to the tournament is a huge accomplishment for us,” decision to redshirt. I can already tell in just Robertson said. “Of course, we had higher expectations to go further, but that is not what happened. gaining a few pounds that I have become There’s so many positive moments to take away more explosive, so I am glad I took the time from this season, playing with these guys and to get in there and do the work.” learning from the coaches and experiencing the atmosphere and the fans of Missouri, and the Q: WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST REWARDING support. So, all those things are takeaways for PART OF BEING A MEMBER OF THIS me.” TEAM FOR YOU? Junior forward Kevin Puryear took the opportunity A: “Just the atmosphere stands out to me. to thank his senior teammates for helping to get Everybody is looking out for one another and the program back on the map. that brings a great attitude to practice every day. We all want to get better.” “I think losing is the same,” Puryear said. “To me when a season ends, it all hurts the same and is Q: . HOW GOOD OF A BASEBALL PLAYER extremely emotional for me. But, you live, and you WERE YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL? DID YOU learn from it and I’ve got one more crack at it, and EVER GIVE PLAYING IT IN COLLEGE ANY I’m extremely thankful for everything that Kash, CONSIDERATION? JB and Rau, all of our seniors, have brought to us. They’ve been a huge blessing to this program.” A: “That was really my first love growing up. I ended up playing basketball because I grew As the seniors go out into the real world come mid- so much, but yeah, I definitely wanted to be May, Puryear is focusing on what is ahead for him, a pitcher.” his senior season He still has one more chapter left to write. COURT CHAT WITH... BACK IN NCAA TOURNAMENT FOR FIRST TIME IN 5 YEARS #14 REED NIKKO Mizzou Men’s Basketball made its return to the madness, March Madness to be more exact, for the first time in five years. • SOPHOMORE • FORWARD “Really just a tremendous honor for this university, especially given the past three seasons • 6-10, 250 we’ve had,” junior forward Kevin Puryear said. “Our name getting called was a testament to • MAPLE GROVE, MINNESOTA all the hard work that we put in this offseason and over the course of the season.” Q: WHAT ASPECT OF YOUR GAME HAS GROWN THE MOST SINCE LAST SEASON? Graduate senior Kassius Robertson echoed similar sentiments to Puryear. A: “Overall, I would say that my offense has improved the most. I’ve worked really hard on “I’m glad we get an opportunity to rectify the my jump shot and I have been able to extend performance that we had versus Georgia in my range on it out to 15-17 feet.” the SEC Tournament,” Robertson said. “To be invited to the Big Dance, that is every college Q: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE basketball player’s dream satisfied for sure” VALUE OF SOMEONE LIKE A KASSIUS ROBERTSON TO THIS TEAM’S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT TO WHERE THE Puryear, Robertson and each of their Mizzou SQUAD IS RIGHT NOW? brethren shared the experience of being at the NCAA Tournament, together.

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