Even though the 2016-17 Missouri Tigers’ campaign was not extremely successful as far as wins and losses were concerned, there were a lot of bright spots as far as individual players go.
One of those players that had a great season was junior forward Jordan Barnett.
Barnett, a transfer from Texas, saw an extreme uptick in minutes upon arriving at Missouri. That dramatic increase naturally led to more opportunities for Barnett, who ended up leading Missouri in scoring last season at 12.2 points per game, along with 5.7 rebounds per game, which placed him second on the team behind Kevin Puryear.
With the addition of Michael and Jontay Porter, who both play similar roles offensively, Barnett’s role is going to decrease naturally, simply because they don’t need him to take on as much of an offensive role.
However, Barnett can be valuable as a three-point shooting floor spacer at the 3. That improved shooting ability was on full display in their hurricane relief exhibition against Kansas, where he hit 5 3-pointers and scored 19 points in 31 minutes.
If Barnett can improve his shooting ability at a consistent rate, he can be a very crucial piece to Missouri’s improved roster this upcoming season, and can be a contributor for a potential NCAA tournament team.
Inside the Numbers
One of the more interesting advanced statistics on Barnett’s record is his high 3-point attempt rate.
His rate last season, which had him shooting a three over 51% of the time, was on par with Lonzo Ball, the UCLA point guard and #2 overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers.
That high rate needs to be paired with high efficiency, which for Barnett, given his fast start this season, should be achievable.
Pairing those two factors of shooting together is a good indication of high volume and high efficiency shooting, and if Barnett can maintain that high rate with a high shooting percentage, he should be in line to average well over 15 ppg and have a career year with the Tigers.
Analysis
Barnett, given the additional playmakers that Missouri has added, should be a much more efficient player in Missouri’s system.
If he can be a reliable shooting forward from the corners and above the break, he can be one of the more key contributors that will help Terrence Phillips and Michael Porter in their play creation as a floor spacer.
And given Barnett’s potential to make a ton of shots from outside, he’ll be a major factor in helping Missouri improve its SEC-worst 3-point shooting from last season.