Missouri basketball: Analyzing incoming transfers for the 2024-25 season

The roster isn’t complete.

Dennis Gates has worked hard this offseason to add reliable scoring to his 2024-25 roster. Outside of two players this past season, Sean East II and Tamar Bates, there wasn’t anyone on the roster who consistently led the Tigers in scoring. With the four additions from the transfer portal and with Bates returning, I could see three or four players vying for a spot as the team's leading scorer. 

The defense still has a long way to go before you can consider it “good”, but adding Mark Mitchell is a step in the right direction. I think Tony Perkins can also help on that end of the court, but not in as big of a way as Mitchell. But as the headline for this section states, this roster still isn’t complete. 

If you’ve been following Mizzou basketball for a while, you know there always seems to be a piece missing from the roster. That piece is a true big man. Over the past few years, Missouri has been forced to play smaller because there hasn’t been a true center capable of playing starter minutes. And as I’m writing this, Mizzou is once again searching that center. The rumor mills around Columbia are saying there might be more to come on this over the next couple of weeks. If, and hopefully, when Missouri adds a center to the roster I’ll have a piece on how he fits in with the rest of the roster. 

Until that time, I think coach Gates has improved his roster. Gates made huge improvements on the offensive end and is working towards improving the defense. I’m hoping that adding a true big man will help move the defense forward. Along with these four transfers, Missouri is also adding a top-five recruiting class for the upcoming season. If the roster meshes well and the Tigers can avoid battling the injury bug like last season, year three under Dennis Gates should look more like his first year at Mizzou.