The Missouri Tigers depth suffered a hit on Tuesday afternoon, with senior guard Cullen VanLeer (Pacific, MO) announcing that he will “medically retire” from the sport of basketball, citing the torn ACL injury from the Tigers 2017-2018 regular season finale against Arkansas in March.
VanLeer, one of the last remaining players on the roster recruited by then-Head Coach Kim Anderson, started 13 games and played in 31 during his MU career, averaging 5.6 points per game.
For the 2018-2019 season, Coach Cuonzo Martin will have 10 scholarship players on his team. There are 12 such players on the roster itself, but guards Mark Smith and Dru Smith will have to sit out the season due to NCAA transfer rules. The potential of a mid-season transfer or walk-on to use the open scholarship is there for Missouri, along with the option of holding on to the opening for a future recruit next year.
Missouri, on that recruiting trail, is one of three finalists for senior E.J. Liddell from Belleville West High School in the St. Louis metro area, along with Illinois and Ohio State. Liddell is a four-star prospect ranked #44 nationally by Rivals.com. He took his official visit to Mizzou last weekend along with another St. Louis area talent, four-star guard Mario McKinney of Vashon High School. Liddell has already visited the Ohio State campus in Columbus, with a trip in the works to Champaign and the University of Illinois.
A potential future Tiger came off the recruiting board on Monday, when Tray Jackson, a four-star forward being heavily recruited by Missouri, committed to Coach Richard Pitino and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
