While the Final Four is ready to go this weekend in Houston, Texas, the offseason is underway for the men’s basketball program at Mizzou, with the program announcing the addition of Colorado State University grad transfer John Tonje on Monday, with news of the transfer of center Mo Diarra on Tuesday.
Tonje is expected to add shooting ability and veteran savvy to the 2023-2024 Tiger roster, the program’s second under head coach Dennis Gates. This past season, Tonje grabbed a starting job at Colorado State and ranked second on the Rams in scoring with 14.6 points per game. He was durable, starting all 33 of the team’s games. He will have one season of eligibility remaining with Missouri.
Tonje, a graduate of Omaha Central High School from Nebraska’s largest city, chose Mizzou over interest from schools the likes of Arkansas, Nebraska, Ohio State, Illinois, Virginia, and Xavier.
Another incoming guard for next year’s Tiger roster won a national championship on Saturday night, as John A. Logan guard and Mizzou commit Curt Lewis helped lead the Volunteers to a 73-70 victory over Northwest Florida State in the NJCAA D-1 men’s championship game in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Lewis, ranked the #3 junior college player in the country (JUCORecruiting.com), had scored 27 points in John A. Logan’s semifinal win over Tallahassee CC.
Mohamed Diarra is leaving Columbia after just one season with the Tigers, after becoming Coach Gates’ first addition following his hiring last spring. He appeared in 25 games with Mizzou, including six starts late in the season. The #1 ranked JUCO recruit in the country (JUCORecruiting.com) from a year ago out of Garden City (KS) Community College averaged 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. At the junior college ranks in Garden City, Diarra was the 2021 Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year and the 2022 Jayhawk Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
Early reports indicate that the Tigers are gauging the interest of TCU center Eddie Lampkin Jr., Coastal Carolina center Essam Mostafa, and Western Kentucky center Jamarion Sharp for joining Mizzou out of the transfer portal. All three would add needed size to next season’s roster.
