Replacing production every year has become commonplace in the college basketball landscape, but it’s even more prominent now with NIL dominating the college sports world. The transfer portal sees more than a thousand names each offseason, making retooling rosters a little more complicated since so many players are jumping ship every year looking for better situations.

Luckily for the Missouri faithful, Dennis Gates has done a great job finding pieces to fill out his roster, helping get the program to the NCAA Tournament twice in his three seasons at the helm. A third trip to the tournament would have most likely been in the cards if two major transfer additions had stayed healthy two seasons ago. 

This offseason was no different. Dennis Gates needed to find suitable replacements for Tamar Bates, Caleb Grill, and a couple of promising role players. The Tigers needed to add some solid perimeter scoring, a secondary ball handler, and a starting-caliber center. And for the most part, he was successful in filling in any gaps in the roster, though if I’m being honest, the constant misses on scoring bigs are starting to become a concern. Nonetheless, this Missouri roster should have plenty of depth at nearly every position between the incoming Freshman class, returning production, and the new transfers. 

Missouri might not have brought in any big portal names this offseason, but that doesn’t mean this roster won’t compete at a high-level next season. If Gates didn’t have confidence in his returners, the approach to the transfer portal would have been different – more urgency to find clear starting-level players. His ability to improve players from one year to the next is one of the big reasons for Gates’ success at Missouri. A complete roster overhaul wasn’t necessary, only a few gaps in the rotation needed to be filled.  

There’s little doubt in my mind that the roster is in a good position this summer, but getting everything to gel is solely up to Gates and his assistants. Here is a breakdown of what I saw from diving into each of the five transfer portal additions this offseason. 

Jevon Porter

Before transferring to Missouri, Jevon Porter spent last season at Loyola Marymount where he averaged 12.5 points per game making 39.4 percent from the floor. His first two college seasons were at Pepperdine, where he put up slightly better numbers, averaging nearly 14 points per game. The drop in production wasn’t a result of drastic changes in his usage. His year at LMU only saw his minutes dip by 0.6 per game and his shot volume drop by 2.4 per game, but Porter’s shooting percentages took a nosedive, which wasn’t ideal as he wasn’t the most efficient scorer to begin with – going from 42.5 percent from the floor the prior year to a concerning 39.4 percent last season. 

One area where Porter needs to improve to see extended minutes is at the rim. Porter’s ability to finish at the basket, for someone with his size, leaves a lot to be desired. Last season, Porter shot 51.7 percent around the rim – he only finished 10 of 31 games at LMU with a two-point percentage higher than 50 percent. While his inside game isn’t great, he does become a better offensive threat as he moves away from the basket. Porter made at least one three in all but seven games last season and hit a career-high six threes in a win over Wyoming, a game where he finished with 29 points – only once did Porter make more than six shots inside the three-point arc. Think of him as the inverse of Mark Mitchell. Mitchell is nearly automatic at the rim but is much less reliable the further he gets from the rim. 

Jevon Porter’s rebounding and ability to stretch the floor are his biggest upsides for Mizzou this upcoming season. Last season, Porter averaged more than seven rebounds per game which would have easily led the Tigers – only Josh Gray pulled in more than five per game. And as a 32 percent career three-point shooter, Porter is good enough to provide an offensive spark if shots aren’t falling.

Defensively, Porter improved last season but wasn’t what anyone would consider a top-level defender. You expect someone close to seven feet tall to be a formidable rim protector, but so far in his college career, that hasn’t come to fruition. Porter averaged just over one block per game last season, with a season-high four blocks in the aforementioned win over Wyoming. He moves well for a big man. And if he can lock in defensively, Missouri won’t have to alter its preferred defensive scheme – switch everything. Porter’s length should help take away passing lanes on the perimeters, but defensive issues arise when he’s defending a traditional big in the paint. Porter, much like his offensive style, isn’t the most physical player on the defensive end. Which could be of some concern against some of the stronger traditional bigs in the SEC.

Porter looks to be a replacement for Aidan Shaw. While it’s not an exact swap, Shaw was a better defensive player, Porter’s offensive upside should allow him to be a regular rotation player. His return to his hometown might bring with it some heightened expectations, especially with the Porter last name, but Dennis Gates has proven to be able to improve the transfer players he brings in. And with Porter’s offensive upside, any defensive improvement can only help with playing a larger role for this Mizzou team.

Luke Northweather

Luke Northweather spent the last two seasons at Oklahoma, where the 6’11” center played a limited role for the Sooners. He saw his minutes increase in year two, but Northweather never put together a strong stretch of games to make the case for a larger role in the rotation. He scored a season-high 10 points in games against Arizona and Texas, but other than that, never had any noteworthy offense performances. 

Northweather, while technically being a center, is far more inclined to do any offensive damage from the perimeter. Last season 50 of his 63 shots came from behind the arc, making 34 percent from deep. However, on the 13 attempts inside the three-point line, Northweather only missed three shots in 30 games. 

It’s hard to see how Northweather breaks through on this roster. Any minutes that he does see will be in relief of the likes of Mark Mitchell, Trent Pierce, and even Jevon Porter. With two seasons of power conference basketball under his belt, Northweather has some decent experience, but without a major upside, his role for Missouri will likely be a small one. 

Sebastian Mack

After starting nearly every game in his Freshman season, the UCLA transfer moved to a bench role last season, becoming the Bruins’ sixth man. Which led to his scoring numbers dropping. Sebastian Mack averaged just over 12 points per game in his first collegiate season, and with the reduced minutes saw his scoring average drop down to 9.6 points per game last season. However, his efficiency numbers improved with his transition to a bench role. He went from shooting 38.7 percent from the floor to 42.6 percent – including improving his three-point percentage by 3.1 percent. 

Sebastian Mack is a willing scorer at all levels but often seems most comfortable driving hard to the basket after a high ball screen. He has a strong first step and absorbs contact well to keep the defender on his hip as he takes the ball to the rim. Mack made nearly 59 percent at the rim in half-court processions, but even if he didn’t score on those drives, he did a solid job drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line. Last season, Mack attempted four free throws per game, hitting them at a 74 percent clip. After losing the country’s top free throw shooter, Tamar Bates, Sebastian Mack’s willingness to get to the line will be very welcome in Columbia. 

As mentioned earlier, Mack is an improved three-point shooter. However, he still needs to improve a little to become a more consistent outside threat. Last season, he only attempted two shots per game from beyond the arc. If he can showcase more of a willing outside shot, defenders will have to respect his deep ball, which should open up wider driving lanes. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see his three-point percentage take another jump up since we’ve seen Dennis Gates improve the outside shots of multiple players since taking over at Mizzou. 

Defensively, Mack should provide plenty of upside for the Tigers. While he isn’t necessarily a lockdown defender, he does a solid job off the ball. He’s rarely out of position and does a good job closing out on his man. Mack’s ability to fight over screens and still keep tabs on his man should be a nice addition to Mizzou’s defense. Mack is a strong defender, but there is always room for improvement. However, having him defending the perimeter alongside Anthony Robinson should make Missouri’s guards tough to get past. 

Mack should slot in as the starting off-ball guard, serving as the secondary ball handler behind Robinson. He has plenty of upside and has already proved that he is willing to take on different roles if asked. There aren’t many question marks about his game. After two seasons under his belt we, mostly, know what to expect from Mack on a game-to-game basis. While he should start for Missouri next season, I expect that Gates and the Mizzou staff will help him get a little more consistent with his shot. What I’m most excited to see is his ability to get to the rim. Tony Perkins did a good job of this last season, and that is who Mack’s game most closely resembles. While Perkins might have had a little more offensive upside, it wouldn’t be crazy to think that Mack could take that next step offensively, becoming one of the scoring leaders for this Missouri team. 

Shawn Phillips

Shawn Phillips comes to Missouri after spending the past two seasons at Arizona State. Though not the biggest offensive threat, he averaged around 5.5 points per game during his time at ASU. And while he did improve his shooting percentages, his biggest contribution to the Sun Devils was his rebounding. From his Sophomore to Junior seasons, Phillips improved his rebounding by nearly two rebounds per game – averaging 5.2 rebounds last season, with 1.5 of them coming on the offensive end of the court. 

Phillips hasn’t been much of a scoring threat throughout his college career. He rarely looks to create shots on his own. His offensive output is usually the product of him cutting or rolling to the rim after setting a ball screen at the top of the key. Phillips can usually find the gap in the low post defense and has solid hands to catch passes in a little traffic. His offensive upside is a little higher than what Mizzou fans saw from Josh Gray this past season, but unlike Gray, he isn’t going to even consider a shot away from the basket. In three seasons, Phillips has yet to attempt a single three-pointer. I can see him having an offensive upside for this team if he can convert offensive rebounding into second-chance points, otherwise his scoring will be limited. 

On the defensive end, there is some real concern. Other than his shot-blocking ability (1.1 per game in each of the last two seasons), Phillips doesn’t add a ton on that end of the court. For being seven foot tall, opposing bigs don’t seem to have much trouble scoring over the top of him. He did alter some shots, but for the most part, if the man he was guarding took a couple of dribbles and rose up for a hook shot, they were most likely going to score. If he’s guarding off the ball he often tries to use his length rather than actually closing out hard, which often leads to wide-open makes for the opponent. 

Phillips might be thrust into the starting lineup just because there isn’t another experienced center on the roster. Even if this were to happen, I don’t anticipate him getting extended minutes with how ineffective he is on the defensive end. His rebounding will be helpful this upcoming season, but that alone most likely won’t be enough to solidify his role as the top big man. 

Jayden Stone

Jayden Stone is the fifth and final transfer portal addition of the offseason for Dennis Gates and the Missouri Tigers. And like many transfers of the Gates era, Stone put up huge numbers in the mid-major ranks. Stone played two years at Grand Canyon before transferring to Detroit Mercy, where he saw his scoring numbers skyrocket. He spent last season at West Virginia, where he missed the entire season with an injury. 

Stone was one of the top scorers in the country during his final season in Detroit – he averaged 20.8 points, making just over 42.2 percent from the floor. While his scoring average did increase that final season, his efficiency numbers took a hit with Stone shouldering most of the offensive workload. From his Junior to Senior seasons, Stone’s usage percentage nearly doubled so it’s not hard to see why his efficiency numbers slumped. When he wasn’t the only offensive output for Detroit Mercy, Stone had good shooting numbers. In his junior year, most of the offense ran through Antoine Davis – Stone still averaged nearly 14 points per game that season, making 49.2 percent from the floor and an incredible 51.9 percent from behind the arc on four attempts per game. 

Stone is a good scorer on catch-and-shoot attempts, making 36 percent of his shots. That percentage jumps up to over 42 percent when unguarded. But this isn’t the only reason that Dennis Gates was interested in Stone. He’s comfortable playing off the ball and can either bury a deep three, or he can use his speed to get past his defender and take the ball to the rim.

There are a couple of big concerns with Jayden Stone. The first, like all of the mid-major transfers Dennis Gates has signed, how well will his scoring translate to the SEC? There would be less of a concern had he been able to get on the court at West Virginia, but scoring nearly 21 points at night – even against Horizon League opponents – is still worth taking a chance on. The other major question is about his health. In his first four seasons of college basketball, Stone only played more than 15 games once. This season, Missouri shouldn’t need to rely on him to keep the offense afloat. So if he does miss time, the team should still be in a good position. 

In the 2023-24 season, he averaged 2.5 steals per game, but other than that there isn’t a ton of defensive upside in Stone’s game. However, he has shown the propensity to pull down some defensive rebounds, averaging nearly five per game at Detroit Mercy. 

Stone’s role should be similar to the one Marques Warrick played last season. He should be able to provide a scoring spark off the bench, although he could see his minutes increase if he can be, at least, an average defender. The big caveat on all of this is that he needs to stay healthy. Maybe playing a secondary role will help him stay on the court for most of the season.