Cuonzo Martin has his team ready for the Tigers season opener tonight against Central Arkansas for a 7 p.m. tip from Mizzou Arena.
Mizzou’s 2018-19 roster features 19 players, the SEC’s largest roster. Mizzou welcomes ten newcomers, including seven on scholarship (Torrence Watson, Javon Pickett, Christian Guess, Xaiver Pinson, Dru Smith, Mark Smith and KJ Santos) and three recruited walk-ons (Parker Braun, Evan Yerkes and Brooks Ford). Illinois transfer Mark Smith bolstered Mizzou’s backcourt when he received a waiver for immediate eligibility from the NCAA. Smith appeared in 31 games for the Illini a season ago.
The young talent coming in will help support the established players that help lead Mizzou to a 20-win season and return trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Senior Kevin Puryear has appeared in 32 more career games than anyone else on Mizzou’s roster, earning 89 career starts.
Puryear became the 46th Tiger in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points late last season. Puryear currently ranks 43rd on Mizzou all-time career scoring list with 1,014 career points and counting. He is just 33 points shy of the Top 40 on that list, trailing Mizzou and NBA legend DeMarre Carroll, who scored 1,046 points at Mizzou.
Jeremiah Tilmon is coming off an efficient freshman campaign in which he averaged 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Tilmon led Mizzou in field goal percentage, shooting at a 56.4 percent clip from the field.
