Missouri freshman in spotlight for opener vs. Cleveland State

Missouri coach Dennis Gates said he has a plan for the Tigers' top freshman, Jason Crowe Jr.

Crowe played shooting guard as a five-star prep recruit in Inglewood, Calif. But he's playing point guard at Missouri, which opens the regular season at home against Cleveland State on Tuesday night in Columbia.

Gates told reporters at media day in October that Crowe's ability to move the ball at 6-foot-4 matches his ability to score. He finished with 21 points, five assists, three steals and two turnovers in the exhibition opener at Kansas State on Oct. 23.

"That young man has so much talent, and there's expectations for him to come out and score 50 points a game while at Missouri," Gates said. "He has a high basketball IQ. He's a better passer than anybody gives him credit for."

Gates, a point guard at Cal in his playing days 25 years ago, has become an effective play designer and relentless recruiter. The Tigers also brought in another McDonald's All-American, 6-10 forward Toni Bryant, along with wing Aidan Chronister.

Gates also used the transfer portal to add depth, adding Bryson Tiller from Kansas, Jaylen Carey from Tennessee and Kennard Davis from BYU.

The key returnee is Mark Mitchell, who made second-team All-SEC a season ago and recently received a temporary judicial injunction that permits him to play. Transfer CJ Gunn, who played at DePaul and Indiana, is still sorting his eligibility.

After going 20-13 overall, 10-8 in the Southeastern Conference and making the NCAA Tournament a year ago, the Tigers missed being ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 by one spot. An SEC media poll ranked them eighth of 16 teams.

Cleveland State finished 11-22 and 6-14 in the Horizon League in Rob Summers' first season as coach. He assisted under Gates at Mizzou and with the Vikings when Gates was CSU's head coach from 2019-22.

"We went to the portal and got a lot of positional size. I'm not the biggest guy anymore," said Summers, who stands 7 feet.

Derek Vorst and Brandon White, both listed at 6-10 and 250 pounds, bring the size. Senior Chevalier Emery is CSU's leading returning scorer after averaging 12.7 points per game last season.

--Field Level Media