Heading into the season, Missouri didn’t seem likely to lean heavily on its two incoming freshmen. That played out almost exactly as expected.
Aaron Rowe was headed for a redshirt, and Nicholas Randall was supposed to spend the year learning and watching a lot of Mark Mitchell. He did plenty of that.
Randall appeared in 22 of Missouri’s 33 games, but only three times did he crack double-digit minutes. All told, he logged just 9% of the available minutes, which works out to 5.5 minutes per game in those 22 appearances.
Even in that limited run, he usually found a way to show up in the box score. The only game in which Randall didn’t record any stat at all came at South Carolina.
Otherwise, he was at least involved in the action, even if it was sometimes in a negative way.
The offense was rough. Randall made only 5 field goals on 18 attempts, and four of those makes were dunks.
The other was a layup. He also carried a turnover rate north of 30%, and that dragged his offensive rating down to 65, or 0.65 points per possession.
That’s as low as any player in Gates’s system since Kaleb Brown in 2023.
Still, a bad freshman year doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Trent Pierce is the clearest example in the program’s recent history.
As a freshman, Pierce posted a 71.6 offensive rating, then jumped all the way to 120.5 as a sophomore. Randall and Pierce play different positions, so Randall may not follow the exact same path, but the point stands: there’s a real growth track here if he takes it.
And there are reasons to think that kind of jump is possible. Randall already has the size and athleticism you want. He defends well, rebounds well, and the offensive tools are there for him to make meaningful strides this season.
I’m considering this the review for Rowe as well.
In Other News...
Austin Simmons Is Already Fueling Hope For Missouris New Offense
Austin Simmons didnt take long to settle into Missouris new offense, and that matters with a quarterback room and coaching staff trying to build something quickly. The transfer from Mississippi has already won the starting job, and he sounds comfortable with the setup around him, pointing to a strong working relationship with quarterbacks coach Garrett Riley and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey as he gets acclimated.
Simmons also sees enough familiarity in Lindseys system to ease the transition, which is a good sign for a Tigers attack looking for a smoother start this fall. He has also been quick to single out teammate Matt Zollers for his arm strength, a small but telling sign that the competition and collaboration in the room may help push Missouri toward the kind of offensive ceiling it has been chasing. [Read more 🡒]