Mizzou hoops sets high expectations for upcoming season, with new-look roster

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Ever since Mizzou men's basketball coach Dennis Gates stepped on campus ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, he's had a clear goal for the program: cut down nets and hang banners. Over the course the three seasons under Coach Gates, the Tigers have hung a couple of banners, but not the ones they've dreamed of.

Heading into the 2025-26 campaign, MU's aspirations are as high as ever. In fact, when asked where he wanted his team to be end up this season, Coach Gates kept the message consistent: Final Four and National Championship.

Last season, Mizzou had a path to get there, as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, the ending came way sooner than expected, with a first-round exit from the Big Dance. Coach Gates said he and his team learned from that experience.

"At the end of the day, being able to have three top-five victories, two of which were at home, you can't take for granted the opportunities to play in front of your home crowd. The difference that a crowd can make is tremendous, so hopefully we get to see that in preseason and the non-conference schedule," he said. "You also get to learn about personalities...It goes back to retention, all season chips on their shoulders, right. I think, as players, you see them train differently just because they left something on the table. But, by any means, I'm excited being able to go to the NCAA Tournament, not excited about it because I truly believed we believed we had a national championship team last year...It's one thing to get there, it's another to advance."

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

Over the offseason, Gates and his staff assembled a new-look roster with the loss of some key pieces to graduation. Guards Tamar Bates, Caleb Grill, Tony Perkins and Marques Warrick, as well as center Josh Gray all moved on to the next step in their journey, which left holes to be filled.

The Tigers filled those open spaces with a whole lot more size and length than fans have seen in the past. In fact, Mizzou has five players that are at least 6-foot-10, including two players coming in at 7-foot or taller.

"I think it changes a lot," guard/forward Mark Mitchell said. "Obviously, last year we were more pace and space, play a lot of small ball. I think this year we'll also do that, but I think just having the option to go big, play some bigger lineups...me, Jevon, Shawn on the court, all the ones is something good. Just being able to get to different schemes, different matchups is gonna be great."

You can watch the full press conferences with Mitchell in the video player below.

7-foot center Shawn Phillips is one of the center-pieces of players that Coach Gates attained from the transfer portal in the offseason. He started his career in the SEC, playing at LSU, but was at Arizona State for the past two seasons.

He played in 53 games for the Sun Devils, with 23 starts. In that time, he recorded 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as a junior, shooting 57.3 percent from the floor. Although he has dipped his toe into the Southeastern Conference, he said there's still an adjustment period. To him, it's all about proving that he belongs in this elite conference.

"I'm pretty mobile and athletic, so I'll be able to, you know, catch a couple of lobs and block a couple more shots for us this year, man," he said. "I'm just a hard playing player. I love to dunk and I love to block shots, man, get some rebounds, talk to my guys and most importantly I just love to win."

You can watch the full press conferences with Phillips Jr. in the video player below.

Quite a bit of local, Mid-Missouri talent is also featured on Mizzou's new-look roster. Guard Aaron Rowe and forward Jevon Porter both graduated from Tolton Catholic High School in Columbia, while forward Eric Northweather graduated from Blair Oaks.

"It's being closer to home, my friends, my family and everything, but also I just wanted to be a part of what Gates is building here," Northweather said. "Just being a part of a program that I grew up being a fan of."

You can watch the full press conferences with Northweather in the video player below.

Rowe and Porter both said that coming into a new program with someone you went to high school with bring a different level of comfortability. They're familiar with each other's games and have helped each other transition to life in the SEC.

Porter decided to follow the family tradition of playing at Mizzou, after a couple of seasons at Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. His older brothers Michael Porter Jr. and Jontay Porter each played for the Tigers, while his sisters Cierra and Bri played for the women's basketball team.

He said the family tradition, of course, factored in, but also the versatility that Coach Gates lets players have on the court.

"He likes to stretch the floor. He's not putting big dudes just like down at the rim or just having me only do one thing. He's really allowing me and pushing me to show my versatility," Porter said. "[Shooting 3-pointers] has been a big part of my game. My dad made sure that all of us could shoot growing up."

You can watch the full press conferences with Porter in the video player below.

Coach Gates emphasized just how important it is to bring in the talent that's grown right in their backyard, in Mid-Missouri, in addition to recruiting from Kansas City and St. Louis.

"Aaron Rowe's baby picture is with Phil Pressey, coming to camp. So, for me, getting those stories from moms, parents, fathers and knowing how connected they were to this institution. Luke Northweather's the same way, dreamed of playing here. Him and Jevon Porter played here in high school against each other, on this court. Ultimately, those are stories that you have to understand why we want state tournament here because they create unbelievable memories that will last a lifetime," Gates said.

Rowe said its a surreal feeling being in the middle of something he's dreamed of for so long, although he hasn't let it totally sink in quite yet.

There's a lot of high expectations for the former Tolton star, as he came in as the No. 53 recruit in the nation. He was a three-time all-state honoree for the Trailblazers, also owning the single-season and single-game school records in assists and steals.

He'll follow a tradition that has raged on since Coach Gates arrived on campus. The leader of the Tigers coaches his promising young point guards hard.

"If you look at [Anthony] Robinson, he's a product of there's nothing he could do right his first year. Ms. Robinson and Mr. Robinson allowed me to coach their son hard because we all met and I told them what the plan was...It's the same way with T.O. Barrett. There's nothing T.O. could do correct last year in practice. It's just how I have to make sure they're positioning themselves to lead. Aaron Rowe is going to take a little bit of that this year," Coach Gates said. "His job is to develop and on the other side of that development, you see a guy like Robinson, who's not done growing...but you guys see the jump. I don't know when the jump is going to happen, but these kids have to be prepared to be pushed and not run away."

Rowe said he's focused on taking a lot of lessons from guys like Robinson and Barrett in his first few months as a Tiger.

"I'm just trying to become more of a leader and just be more vocal and then also gain weight. That's really my main goal this year," Rowe said.

You can watch the full press conferences with Rowe in the video player below.

The team said that building chemistry was a massive focus in the offseason and they feel solid about where the team is at, less than a month from the start of the season.

With all the new pieces in place, Mizzou was picked finish seventh in Southeastern Conference, while Mitchell was the lone preseason All-SEC selection, making the Second-Team.

Although players are taking it one day at a time, each and every one said that they have high aspirations for how good this team can be in the upcoming season.

"Just to be the best we can and, you know, Coach always preaches excellence, so if we can achieved excellence, you know, we can be great," guard T.O. Barrett said.

You can watch the full press conferences with Barrett in the video player below.

"Man, I believe we have a Final Four team," guard Anthony Robinson said. "Just preaching that ever day, that Final Four team and just getting one percent better every day. We're not trying to look to far ahead."

You can watch the full press conferences with Robinson in the video player below.

Coach Gates also gave a health update on 7-foot-5 center Trent Burns, who is set to miss 8-12 weeks due to a surgery that repaired a stress fracture in his foot. Gates said that the big man is ahead of schedule, in his eyes, in terms of his rehab.

Burns has been battling injury for his entire Tiger career, as he did not see the court in his entire freshman season due to injury. He said he's excited to get out there and do what he came to Columbia for.

"I cam here to play basketball and I haven't been able to do that. I couldn't even explain the want that I want to get on the floor," he said.

Mizzou will tip off Coach Gates' fourth season at the helm in Columbia on Monday, Nov. 3 at Howard University.