On Saturday Night, Missouri fans got treated to a fun night, as fans got to watch the 3 recruits for the 26′ class, all step on the hardwood at the Norm Stewart Classic. Missouri currently has the sixth-best class in the country according to 247Sports, with Jason Crowe Jr. being a 5-star, and Toni Bryant and Aidan Chronister following suit as 4-stars.

At 7 pm, Chronister and Bryant would face each other, giving fans a look at both youngsters in action at the same time. Lets break down how each played, starting with Aidan Chronister.

Aidan Chronister:

• The good: Aidan Chronister came ready to play for New School and he had a terrific game. Chronister went for 25 on 7-15 from the field, with 5/12 from beyond the line. Chronister used all of his 6’7 frame to be a pest on defense, as well as snagging seven boards. He also tied a team high tonight, with three assists. Clearly, the stats tell the story of him playing superb, but let’s go deeper.

First, I was impressed with Chronister’s vocal leadership. I wanted to start with this point, because it was something very recognizable about Chronister’s game, but on the flip side, can go underappreciated by many. Countless times, I watched Chronister as he encouraged teammates to keep heads up, call out inbounds plays, and just be the leader on the court in a general sense. It was very clear that the team played through Chronister, yet Chronister didn’t seem to be arrogant about that and was willing to put up with the task.

Secondly, Chronister was an excellent shooter tonight. Sure, most knew that that’s Chronister’s selling point as a prospect, but he put that on display tonight, shooting 42% from long range. Let me make this clear, these weren’t just open shots on the fastbreak, these were largely contested, catch and shoot opportunities coming off of screens. So, not only was Chronister efficient and made big shots in big moments, they were tough shots, shots that he will likely see in SEC play.

Thirdly, I was well pleased with Chronister’s court vision. As previously mentioned, it’s crystal clear that Chronister is “the” guy, but he also didn’t need to force the issue 100% of the time. Chronister was an exemplary passer when he needed to be, and with him being a shooter, that’s a tremendous facet to his game.

As a shooter, teams will gravitate towards you on the perimeter, potentially freeing up teammates on the perimeter or even on the low block. If I’m being blunt, if Chronister had better surrounding talent, he could have had about 6-10 assists tonight.

The bad:

Not a lot to be said about the bad from Chronister. For the most part, every part of his game was good, so I have to get a little nitpicky here.

Firstly, I thought Chronister’s shot selection was poor, but only at times. This will tie into my second point, so I will just include both here. In the range of the late 2nd quarter, up until the late 3rd quarter range, Chronister went cold and was having a rough time finding a rhythm. In that span, he went around 0/4 from 3 and was visibly frustrated. I thought at times, Chronister was trying too hard to get back in the game, rather than what he needed to do, which was let the game come to him. Again, it’s nitpicky, I know.

I didn’t mind Chronister making the attempt, but some of those shots were forced and just shots you cannot take at the next level. When you are the star on your high school team however, it’s allowed.

Toni Bryant:

• The Good:

Firstly, Toni Bryant has all the measurables you could ever want, and that athletic prowess was on full display tonight. Bryant had 12 points on 5/11 from the field and also snagged 9 boards. Most of Bryant’s points came around 5 feet or less away from the basket, some coming from alley-oops.

It was apparent that the opponent was keying in on Bryant, and also, with two post players on Zephyrhills, the offense failed to open the court up for Bryant to operate effectively. Yet despite this, Bryant made the right plays and didn’t force anything, and also made some nice plays around the basket. Bryant also had 3 blocks, displaying his rim-protection abilities. Genuinely, New School didn’t even attempt if he was near the basket. Bryant’s rim-protection and defense will be a nice touch to the roster next year.

Secondly, Bryant made a three. During pregame warmups, Bryant shot better than I was personally expected, so I was expecting a few attempts in this game. I was correct. Bryant went 1/3 from beyond the arc, and it was just nice to see him nail one. Clearly, Bryant is not a stretch big, but knowing that he can step out and drill one if needed is an added dimension.

• The Bad:

Now, i’m going to talk about the stuff I don’t want to talk about. I thought Toni Bryant was underwhelming and for a guy with his size, I think he failed to assert himself into the game. Don’t get me wrong, unselfish basketball is a beautiful thing, but at times, Bryant was overly unselfish, passing up on open shots, or even a wide open lane. I watched on, as several around me groaned after he’d opt to pass the ball.

Bryant, at his size and athleticism, needs to be doing his best to take over a game. Truth be told, with a guy like himself, he needs to be a bit selfish. I thought he was too passive and that’s something that hurt not only him, but his team.

Do you remember how I talked about Chronister and his excellent leadership and his vocal nature on the court? Bryant was the opposite. Bryant was quiet, unless things did not go his way and his attitude turned sour. Bryant often left the floor complaining, due to not getting the ball. While that may be fair, I don’t think he did a tremendous job at making himself available for the ball and was passive for most of the game.

In summary, Bryant has a lot of potential with his athleticism, but he needs to develop, as he is still raw.

• Jason Crowe Jr:

The good:

Jason Crowe Jr is the entire team. I’m dead serious. He attempted 61% of the teams shots, and scored nearly 60% of it’s points. The offensive game plan for Inglewood was clear: give Crowe the ball and get out of the freaking way.

The first thing that jumped out was Crowe’s assertiveness. The guy looks to score, every trime he gets the ball. Guys like that are few and far in between and I thought he played in complete opposition to how Toni Bryant played the game prior. Missouri needs a guy like Crowe, who can look for a bucket.

Secondly, Crowe can make any shot on the hardwood, no matter how contested it is. Crowe was not shy about shooting, but when he did, it was often contested because Principia’s defense keyed in on him. Crowe made several contested shots, whether that came off of the dribble, catch and shoot, or contested fadeaways. An iso guard that wants you on an island and if you are stranded, good luck.

Thirdly, Crowe is a willing defender. No, I’m not willing to say that he’s a terrific defender, but he’s good enough. Typically, with offensive stars, you worry about them taking plays off on defense. From my observations, I didn’t notice any of that.

The bad:

I just have one thing for this and it was absolutely Crowe’s shot selection. Just to be frank here, it was abysmal. Now, I think that’s because he’s a top-5 kid in the country and has the green light to do whatever he wants, but he was a generational shot-chucker. Just shots he will not be taking at the next level.

In conclusion:

Missouri fans, you should be very excited. All 3 of these guys could see themselves on the court immediately next year and are set to make an early impact.

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