Scouting Report: Missouri Tigers

Kentucky Basketball Scouting Report

Opponent: University of Missouri Date: 1/13/15

General

7-8, 1-1 on the season. Played a tough non-conference schedule.
Good 3-point shooting team (36.1%). 19-49 from 3 in their 2 SEC games.
Playing without 2^nd leading scorer Montaque Gill-Caesar.

Personnel #14 G Keith Shamburger: 5’11’’ 170 RS SR. Competing as a 5^th year senior after transferring from Hawaii, Shamburger is a great shooter coming off of a 21-point performance at Auburn. He will look to be more aggressive offensively in the absence of 2^nd leading scorer Gill-Caesar. He is quick with the ball and does a good job of making plays for others. Averaging 9.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and over 3 assists per game. #15 G Wes Clark: 6’0’’ 185 SO. [caption id="attachment_171622" align="alignright" width="259"]

Wes Clark a smart, tough guard with a pure scoring ability.[/caption] Clark is a versatile guard who can play either backcourt position and does a very good job of taking care of the ball and making smart plays. He knows how to score the basketball in a variety of ways; he shoots nearly 33% from 3-point range and is one of the Tigers most aggressive offensive players. Averaging 9.4 points per game. #12 G Namon Wright: 6’5’’ 200 FR. He is an explosive athlete who can really, really shoot it from beyond the arc. Over half of Wright’s shots have been 3’s and he is connecting on 47.4% of them. We have to take away his catch-and-shoot. #23 F Jakeenan Gant: 6’8’’ 207 FR. Gant was a highly sought-after recruit in the 2014 class, a very talented class for Mizzou. Since entering the starting lineup, Gant has been playing very well averaging 6.5 points while still carving out his role. He is very good at getting to the rim and using his athleticism to score over and around defenders. He will shoot it out to 3-point range as well. #3 F Johnathan Williams III: 6’9’’ 225 SO. Coming off of a very good freshman campaign, Williams has picked up right where he left off by leading the Tigers in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg) so far this season. He will shoot it from 3, but is much more aggressive inside the arc. He likes to face up use his skill to score in a number of different ways. He is very good at getting to the foul line. Excellent offensive rebounder, plays with a very high motor. __________________________________________________________________________________________ #4 G Tramaine Isabell: 6’0’’ 180 FR. [caption id="attachment_171623" align="alignright" width="275"]

Isabell is a scoring guard in the very talented Tiger's freshman class.[/caption] Isabell is a very talented freshman with some explosiveness to his game. He is very aggressive offensively when he is in there and is playing an expanded role in the absence of Gill-Caesar. Isabell is a very good 3-point shooter but also has the ability to blow by his defender and get to the rim; very good free throw shooter. #5 F D’Angelo Allen: 6’7’’ 220 FR. Another member of the talented Missouri freshman class, Allen very long, athletic, and strong. He has all of the physical tools to compete against UK. Allen is a drive-first, slasher sort of player offensively. We must box him out, he is a good offensive rebounder. Averaging 4.3 points and 3.5 rebounds. #44 F Ryan Rosburg: 6’10’’ 264 JR. Rosburg is a very strong, physical presence on the low block. Last season he shot nearly 70% from the field, but is just shooting 43.9% this year. We should be able to guard him and make him finish over our length, but if we have to foul he is a terrible free throw shooter (5/27 on the year). Keys to the Game

Get off to a hot start. After squeaking out two overtime victories to begin SEC play, we do not look like the same dominant, unbeatable force that we were during non-league play. Now going up against a bottom-half SEC team it is important that we get off to a good start to avoid the “here we go again” feeling.
Don’t let them shoot it in from 3. The recipe for beating Kentucky is going to be knocking in a bunch of 3’s. Those are the looks that teams will be able to get and will allow less talented teams to hang around. Mizzou is a good 3-point shooting squad with a few guys who can really get going. We have to take away their easy catch-and-shoot looks from beyond the arc.
Return of the dominant big men. Early in the season our size and depth in the frontcourt was something college basketball had simply never seen before. However, for whatever reason, our big men have been quite in the first two SEC games and we have become much more reliant on the 3-point shot, a shot that isn’t a strength of this team. We have to get back to protecting the rim, dominating the glass, and being unstoppable on the low block offensively.

Brandon Ramsey @Coach_BRamsey