香港三级片

COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥� Marques Warrick remembers encountering a Dennis Gates-coached basketball team.

This was some time before the guard and coach teamed up at Missouri for the upcoming season. It was back in January 2021, the heart of a pandemic-muddled basketball season.

Warrick and Northern Kentucky played at Gates鈥� Cleveland State in Horizon League action. Gates鈥� group emerged as 58-44 winners, holding Warrick to a 3-for-15 shooting performance and just seven points.

鈥淰ivid鈥� memories from that game still float around Warrick鈥檚 head. 鈥淭hey were disruptive and physical on the defensive end,鈥� he told the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淗e had them well-coached.鈥�

In the years since, quite a few players and coaches from that game have migrated to Columbia. Gates, of course, was hired as Mizzou鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball coach. Assistant coaches Rob Summers and Ryan Sharbaugh are now with the Tigers. Tre Gomillion followed Gates to MU as a player and is now an assistant too. D鈥橫oi Hodge, Mabor Majak, Ben Sternberg and Jeremy Sanchez were all on the Cleveland State roster that day and subsequently transferred to Missouri at some point.

While they traded the Horizon League for the Southeastern Conference, Warrick stayed put at Northern Kentucky, and he scored. A lot.

Warrick put up 15.8 points per game in 2020-21, then 16.8 points per game in 2021-22, 18.8 in 2022-2023 and 19.9 last season for the Norsemen.

That adds up to 2,246 career points for Warrick, which is the most of any active collegiate player. So when Mizzou was looking for a scorer in the transfer portal, there was a logical player to target 鈥� someone Gates and plenty of other teams had spent past seasons trying to slow down.

The Missouri coach called Warrick 鈥渂eyond consistent鈥� as a scorer.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to understand when a kid is circled on a scouting report and he鈥檚 still able to go out there and perform at a high level 鈥� the way he has been able to throughout his career, consistently,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen it up close and personal. I knew what I saw when I first saw him play, and that was a tremendous, tremendous basketball player on both sides 鈥� but also a cerebral dude.鈥�

Gates鈥� point about Warrick鈥檚 consistency shows up in the stats. The guard has scored double-digit points in 105 of his 125 career games. In what surely appeals to an MU team that struggled to get to the free-throw line last year, Warrick has attempted a free throw in 112 of those games.

Simply put, he鈥檚 a bucket-getter. And that鈥檚 exactly what Mizzou wants him to be.

Gates has asked Warrick to 鈥渏ust do what I did at NKU, which is score the ball,鈥� the guard said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what he brought me here to do at a high level. I believe in him, and I know he believes in me.鈥�

Warrick is a career 42.7% shooter who has shot 34.2% from 3-point range and 83.4% from the free-throw line. He averages slightly more than a steal per game and has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. His scoring seems correlated with his team winning: He has shot 27.5% from 3 in losses but 39.4% from long range in wins.

With the Tigers, he鈥檚 someone who can create points from situations in which the offense might stagnate or fall apart. Warrick鈥檚 role could wind up being that of the late-possession reliever, if such a position can exist in basketball.

鈥淭here鈥檚 great defenders here at this level, and sometimes plays break down, sometimes opportunities aren鈥檛 there,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淏ut if you have guys able to make the extra plays 鈥� meaning, unscripted plays 鈥� you have guys that can really take over games late and make big plays for us.鈥�

He puts Warrick in that category and has urged him to continue hunting out ways to score. Gates could not have brought in a player with more points to his name, yet that鈥檚 exactly what he鈥檚 demanded through summer and preseason practices: more points.

鈥淓ven though I鈥檝e scored the most active points, he still thinks I can take it up another level,鈥� Warrick said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been challenged a lot. There鈥檚 been times that he鈥檚 got on me for passing up a couple shots I probably could have still taken.鈥�

Gates confirmed that鈥檚 what he harps on Warrick about.

鈥淔or me, he still doesn鈥檛 shoot enough,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淎 guy like that does not shoot enough for me. I just want to see him aggressive at all times.鈥�

While it鈥檚 a challenge issued from Gates, it鈥檚 unlikely to be a challenging adjustment for Warrick. The ability to lean into a role centered around scoring is exactly what he wants.

鈥淚鈥檓 used to that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had that green light at Northern Kentucky as well. I got the same green light here. ... That鈥檚 empowering. That鈥檚 a player鈥檚 dream. That鈥檚 what people tell me: That鈥檚 a player鈥檚 dream to have a coach tell you that he wants you to shoot the ball whenever you get the chance. That means a lot, for sure, and I don鈥檛 take that for granted.鈥�