Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports
Phil Pressey, the outstanding Point Guard who has been expected to be a post-season All-American and has been in the talks for player of the year for the NCAA, was held to two points and gave up 10 turnovers in the Missouri Tigers loss to the Florida Gators. The loss brings up the question: Does Missouri rely too heavily on Pressey?
The answer: YES! Pressey is an outstanding player, but was outplayed by Mike Rosario and stopped in the paint countless times by Patric Young. Missouri cannot win games against teams as talented as Florida if Pressey does not play well and that reliance will come to haunt the Tigers as the season draws closer to March. However much of the blame can be put on Pressey, basketball is a team game and no one on Missouri helped.
Jabari Brown took way too many shots. 4-11 from three sounds like an okay shooting percentage, but in a game where the top scorer goes 4-11 from three range, Missouri will never win. That being said, Brown didn’t have many options as the Gators had the paint on lockdown. Laurence Bowers’s absence was obvious as the rest of the Tigers’ big men are nowhere near the level of many of the players in the SEC. It’s rare to see a team that is known for its offensive firepower shut down like the Tigers were today.
Missouri will continue to lose games if it continues to rely on the play of one player – even if that player is Phil Pressey.
