Five takeaways from Mizzou WBB Media Day

The sound of basketballs, the squeak of shoes, the sound of a perfect rush. Those instantly recognizable sound bytes graced my ears again as Mizzou center Lucija Milkovic continued to take shots in the paint before media day.

Myself, along with several other Columbia-area reporters, entered the field, first for a press conference with coach Robin Pingeton and then for a speed-dating-style questionnaire with players from all over the roster.

If you read my five questions about Mizzou WBB earlier this week, you know what type of questions I wanted to answer. Some of these were answered, others remained open. But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot to talk about.

After an hour at Mizzou Arena, here are five takeaways I took away from Mizzou women's basketball media day.

Oops! All centers!

Going into media day, I felt very confident in Mizzou's central position; Tionna Herron and Angelique Ngalakulondi are fighting for the starting spot, Hannah Linthacum slides to the four and Lucija provides the necessary depth.

But when I asked Coach P, it turned out I was completely wrong. Let's start with Hannah. I asked Pingeton if she envisioned Linthacum moving to the four, but she said no, meaning Hannah is unlikely to play alongside Herron or Ngalakulondi. With three players all eligible for the rotation but only having to split one position, minutes to prove themselves will be a hot commodity in the non-con.

The other key takeaway was the way she talked about Tionna, aka Tree. Pingeton obviously talked about what a good player she was and mentioned her high potential, but there was an undercurrent that Tree isn't ready to be the first-day starter yet. I don't think she'll be left out of the rotation by any means, but I think Herron will be seen a lot less early than was expected before the season.

“She’s still coming along,” Pingeton said. “I think she has incredible potential…really good feel…she can stretch from the basket, defensively I think she can change shots.”But she's still kind of getting back into shape and getting into that rhythm. And I think her journey continues like this, *pointing up*, she has the chance to do special things for us.”

With all that said, Ngalakulondi is your planned starter. It's been almost a full year since she suffered her wrist injury, and the way she and Pingeton talk about it, I'm confident there are no lasting effects.

“I definitely came back stronger than when I was away,” Ngalakulondi said. “I just made sure I did everything I needed to do to make sure I could help my team as much as possible when I got back.”

Point guard correction

Okay, I have to pull back on the second take. In my questions, I mentioned that De'Myla Brown would likely serve as the primary ballplayer given her experience and the fact that she is listed as a point guard on the website. I also briefly mentioned that Nyah Wilson MIGHT be able to reach the top, but that she wasn't a top contender. Boy, was I wrong?

Let's start with De'Myla. While she should still be part of the rotation, it turns out she will be expected to play more without the ball and be able to work without the ball in her hands at any time.

“On offense, she has the ability to score a lot of points quickly,” Pingeton said. “I see her being more unprepared, possibly at some point, but I think she will be more unprepared for us… it will be nice to have her back.”

When you first look at Nyah Wilson's stats at New Mexico, two assists per game doesn't exactly scream starting point guard in the SEC. But Pingeton praised her intangibles — the way she can direct and move traffic that might not show up in a finished box score.

“I think she has the ability to advance the ball in transition and make sure we play at the pace we want,” Pingeton said. “She has those skills and I think she’s still finding her feet.”

This discussion is rounded off by the duo Tilda Sjökvist and Averi Kroenke. The two have different abilities with Tilda's steadfastness and Averi's defensive skills. Given Coach P's mentions and praise, I would expect both to come off the bench and see serious minutes for at least the first few months.

Freshman PG Londyn Oliphant didn't get a Coach P shoutout, so the side of my brain that loves psychology tells me Pingeton doesn't expect her to play her first season. But when I got the chance to talk to Londyn, she wasn't so much concerned with playing time as she was just filling a role on the team. whatever that may be.

“My goals are what I can do when I don’t have the ball,” Oliphant said. “As far as being a good teammate and things like that, because that’s non-negotiable.”

It looks like the Tigers will roll three players deep at the PG position.

Defense wins championships. Pretty badass.

Last year, the Tigers struggled on defense several times and finished 12th in the conference after allowing 74.6 points per game against SEC opponents.

They allowed over 80 points seven times and lost all of these games. In fact, the Tigers haven't won an SEC game when their opponent scored more than 65 points. Given those numbers and the departure of SEC steals leader Mama Dembele, Coach Pingeton realized it was time for a change.

“We talked a lot about what we wanted to do defensively. That’s the biggest area I think we need some growth in,” Pingeton said. “We want to be in the passing lanes more than ever… be in the full court (press)… we want to be a defensive team that applies pressure and you can feel that for 40 minutes… With the depth of our squad can we maintain this pressure.”

It appears there is a ton of defensive talent coming in through the portal, as incoming transfers totaled 155 steals and 34 blocks.

Get on the Laniah Randle hype train

Laniah Randle led incoming transfers in steals (63) AND blocks (21) last season. Laniah was an impact player who was noticeably missing from my post earlier in the week.

Coming from Southern Illinois, she averaged 18.3 points and 8.6 rebounds at 5 feet 11 inches tall and wasn't afraid to play with the big dogs inside. But hey, Pingeton argues that she belongs in this dogfight.

“She’s a dog,” Pingeton said. “The girl competes at a high level, is a strong competitor…possibly our best ball defender, she's very athletic…a really good rebounder, really good first step. Everyone knows she’s a driver and she still has the ability to play downhill and get to the rim.”

With Slaughter expected to play more at the three and Linthacum staying at the five, Randle is the perfect spot to step in and start at the four from day one. I would say the forward position is really the only area where Mizzou lacks depth, but with her defense and rebounding skills, I can see a world where Laniah could play 30 minutes night in and night out for this team.

So why are they going to Vermont?

If you look at the schedule, there is a confusing start to the season. Mizzou is heading to Vermont despite having no meets yet and no shared history that stands out on paper.

When asked by my colleague Quentin Corpuel, Robin Pingeton explained that Angie Ngalakulondi should be given a chance to play near her hometown of Manchester, New Hampshire. Pingeton always makes an effort to play games close to a senior's hometown so family can come over and watch (Larissa Anderson did something similar with the NY trip for Jenna Laird and Maddie Gallagher last year).

The rest of the seniors are all relatively close or will be playing games in the SEC that are just a stone's throw from their hometowns. And since there are so few teams in the Northeast, the options were pretty limited.

“We tried some other schools (and) it's not as close as we'd like, but we always try to get these players back where their families can see them if they can't travel to Columbia,” Pingeton said .

However, their explanation for traveling to Macon to face Western Illinois wasn't as convincing.

“Western Illinois was a team that had the right date, right time and right place,” Pingeton said. “You want to be competitive, be challenged, but also build confidence and chemistry.”

The trip to Vermont will open the season on Monday, November 4th at 5pm on ESPN+. But before that, the Tigers are at home as we can see the new team in action in a non-televised matchup against Truman State on Tuesday, October 29th at 6:30 p.m.