Mizzou hoops enters a season of expectations with high expectations of its own

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Mizzou men's basketball team is about two weeks away from a season with higher expectations than they've had in years.

Simply put: the 2026-27 season won't be just about making the NCAA Tournament, but making a run in it, as head coach Dennis Gates and his staff have assembled a wildly talented roster.

"I think every season you go in with expectations. My expectation is to win a national championship, so they got to follow my expectations first and ultimately put aside any individual expectations. You want that to drive their hunger, you want that to drive their development, you want them to, obviously, have individual goals, but you have to set aside those individual goals and become a team first," Coach Gates said, in Tuesday's preseason meeting with local media members. "The most successful team will win games, will get through the tough times, will get through adversity and ultimately I want our guys to continue to get better. So, when it comes to expectations, the most difficult expectation is the one that's going to come from me. And then the second is the person they see in the mirror every day."

You can watch the full press conference with Gates in the video player below.

Many of high expectations put on this year's group of Tigers stems from Coach Gates assembling one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, featuring a pair of McDonald's All-Americans in guard Jason Crowe Jr. and forward Toni Bryant and a four-star talent in guard Aidan Chronsiter.

Crowe Jr. is no stranger to expectations, though. The California native was regarded as one of the best players in the entire country from a young age, checking in as the No. 3 overall recruit in 247Sports' rankings for the 2026 class. Realistically, the five-star guard could've gone anywhere for college, but he chose to come to a place that he could make a difference.

"I think just looking back on the history, like you said, we haven't done too much historically. I mean, I think they went to an Elite Eight, but I think that's all. I want to least go to a Final Four and I feel like we got the team that could do that. We got a lot of good length, of good bigs, we got good guards that could put on the floor, save me some energy, you know what I'm saying? But, we got a great coaching staff that knows the assignments and you know what I'm saying. We got players that that know the assignment, as well. So, I feel like we put those two together is destined for greatness," Crowe Jr. said.

You can watch the full press conference with Crowe Jr. in the video player below.

Coming to Mizzou and being surrounded by so much talent has been a new experience for Crowe Jr., a player that consistently averaged more than 40 points per game in high school. He doesn't have to carry the load by himself anymore, but Coach Gates also doesn't want him to step back, either.

"I don't want him passive now, I don't want that at all. But, I do understand the weight of the world being on his shoulders, so to speak, because of, quote unquote, him averaging 40 points a game [in high school]. He's a great player, but more importantly, he's a great human being. He's got to be prepared to hit a wall at some point. I truly believe that because at our level and obviously otherwise he may get double team, he may not, I don't know, but his teammates have to be able to read the game and continue to execute what they need to execute, defend how they need to defend, take care of the basketball and let it come to him," Gates said. "Just that simple. He's going to be at the top of a scouting report, so that's nothing new to him. So, we just got to continue to put him in situations in practice and that's what we've been doing."

Bryant, another McDonald's All-American, will also play a central role on this team in the 2026-27 campaign. Ahead of his first collegiate season, he's getting the opportunity to learn from a pretty stacked power forward room, which features Kansas transfer Bryson Tiller and returners Trent Pierce and Nicholas Randall.

Bryant said that his experience playing other top-tier power forwards, before coming to Columbia, has helped him with the transition a lot.

"[Those guys were] very high level, so the the translate wasn't too much. You know, I played against Mark Mitchell a lot. It was just a strength thing in the beginning, but now I feel like I've got some muscle on me, so the gap is not that big."

You can watch the full press conference with Bryant in the video player below.

The final member of that freshman trio is Chronsiter, who his teammates made clear that you shouldn't look past. Crowe Jr. said that the four-star guard is a sleeper and will make a big impact on this team in his debut season.

Chronister has become known as the sharp-shooter on the team, after averaging 23.8 points per game in his senior year of high school. But beyond just his ability to score, he also brings a different level of energy to this team.

"Coach Gates, I mean, he believes in [the freshmen]. He said in multiple interviews, you know, like we said, you know, have a great recruiting class. We were No. 1 for a reason, me, Toni Bryant and Jason Crowe. I mean, guys, I love those guys. You know, we're in the gym all the time working together. And I just feel like us being able to bring our energy, bring our youth to this team of older guys, I definitely think it makes it more fun for them. But, also, you know, we get to learn from those guys," Chronister said.

You can watch the full press conference with Chronsiter in the video player below.

In addition to those standout freshmen, Coach Gates also brought on quite a few high-impact transfers in the offseason: guards Cord Stansberry, Jamier Jones, Kennard Davis Jr, Jordan Crawford and CJ Gunn, as well as forwards Tiller and Jaylen Carey.

Coming from a Jayhawk program that has found quite a bit of success under head coach Bill Self, Tiller knows what it looks like when a team has the potential to do something special.

"Talent is one thing I feel like, but our versatility, as well. Our length, our size, our shooting ability, defense, as well, is something that's going to separate us from a lot of teams," he said.

You can watch the full press conference with Tiller in the video player below.

When asked what this team's goals are for the upcoming season, each of those transfer had the same message.

"National championship, as simple as that," Tiller said.

"Obviously March Madness," Jones said, when asked where he hopes this team can go. "You know, get to that Final Four, make it happen in the National Championship. But, the only way we're going to get there is, you know, staying coachable, being disciplined, you know, staying together."

You can watch the full press conference with Jones, as well as Crawford, Carey and Davis in the video players below.

It takes a different kind of hunger and work ethic to make it to the stage that no Mizzou team has ever made it before. However, if you ask Pierce, who has been on quite a few teams in Columbia, this roster has every bit of hunger that it needs.

"[We're] hard working," he said. "You talk about the teams that I have been a part of here at Mizzou, and I don't think I've been a part of a team- no, I know for a fact I haven't been a part of a team that works as hard as the guys that we have. Every time I walk in, I come in and get a workout, somebody else is already in here getting a workout, right. Or as soon as I'm done with my workout, somebody else is getting on the court to work out. Just having that foundation ultimately, like we're able to build on that and we've been able to build over that over this entire summer."

You can watch the full press conference with Pierce in the video player below.

Pierce, along with Stansberry, who transferred into Mizzou from Western Carolina in the offseason, will be the leaders of this 2026-27 Tiger team.

It was no surprise when Pierce was named a captain by Coach Gates, as he's the most veteran player on the roster. But for Stansberry, who is entering his first season in this program, the honor was a feeling he couldn't fully put into words.

"That was a very emotional moment for me. I remember it was the last day of summer, and they announced it after our last practice. I called my parents, you know, crying about it because that was one of my big goals that I wanted to be. I think that's a huge honor to help, you know, not only lead these guys, but serve them," Stansberry said. "I feel like I have a purpose here, and the priority for me is to help these guys become better players, better men and just help them understand the game better...Leading not only vocally, but by example is very important. I've loved every single second of it."

You can watch the full press conference with Stansberry in the video player below.

Mizzou will start the season on Nov. 3 against Cleveland State at home. But, before that, the Tigers will hit the road for a couple of exhibitions, the first of which will come on Friday against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas.

Those pair of exhibitions will be critical for a team that's set to enter a tough non-conference schedule, which features a wide array of neutral-site games, which Coach Gates hopes can help prepare his team for the NCAA Tournament.

"Everyone thinks the schedule got beefed up, but I think we still got the same strength of schedule that we started each season with. To my knowledge, [our team] probably will do some research on that as I stated it, but it seems like we're still not getting credit for beefing up the schedule where it's at. But, also it's not up to me. The only committee that matters is our Selection Sunday committee and the NCAA tournament committee. So, hopefully they give the cadence of it being a good schedule when they meet regularly on Sundays or whatever during the week. The other part of it is making sure that our guys are growing where they need to grow, and how they need to grow. Not only are we going against great players, we're going against some great coaches. We're not as experienced as these teams that we're playing, you know, in the non-conference. So, for me, we'll bump our heads, we'll make mistakes, but how will we respond in those educational moments? It'll it'll either be a coffin or a classroom. It's up to us to figure out which direction we handle our adversities," Gates said.

Mizzou will tip off its exhibition against Kansas State on Friday at 7 p.m.