The Morning Commute for Friday, July 11th, 2025.
Welcome to the Morning Commute
Today we’re talking about the NBA Summer League.
Tamar Bates made his Summer League debut last night when the Denver Nuggets took on the Milwaukee Bucks.
As a college basketball fan, watching the NBA Summer League is fun because it’s a who’s who of former college stars from the last few years. Even on the Nuggets roster is a collection of familiar names, even many who just follow Missouri: E.J. Liddell and Terrance Hargrove, Jr. Yes, both former Cuonzo Martin targets who ended up at Ohio State and SLU respectively. Also Keyontae Johnson, the former Florida Gator and Kansas State star, Da’Ron Holmes, a former standout at Dayton, and Boo Bouie, the all time leading scorer at Northwestern.
As for Bates, he didn’t play his best game. He was disruptive on defense, collecting a couple steals, but the offense was a struggle. Bates had a couple turnovers and air mailed a three while I was watching. He seemed to recover a bit in the second half. He had a nice drive that finished with a bucket and a foul. And of course he made the free throw. Then he nailed a kick-out three and finished with 8 points.
Unfortunately, Milwaukee sank a three at the buzzer to win by a point, so the Nuggets lost. But it was good to see Tamar recover after a bit of a bumpy start.
If you’re into that sort of thing, Caleb Grill is expected to see the floor tonight when the Chicago Bulls take on the Toronto Raptors on NBA TV at 7pm CT.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
- If basketball recruiting is your bag, check out Matt Harris’ detailed scouting breakdown of 5-star CG target Jason Crowe on RockM+:
Crowe excels in basic offensive actions. A simple five-out alignment with a high ball screen is often all that’s required. He’s slippery off the dribble, uses his left hand well, and can decelerate fluidly to maintain balance for floaters or pull-ups. His vertical core stability keeps his jumper consistent even when fading.
Subscriptions allow for posts like this where you turn one of the internet’s biggest basketball nerds loose on film and let him break it all down. It’s a great piece and let’s you know exactly why Mizzou is doggedly pursuing Crowe as his commitment date looms.
- Eli Drinkwitz hasn’t missed on EVERY target this summer, here’s True’s recruiting reset on Khalief Canty:
Three-star offensive lineman Khalief Canty Jr. made his pledge to Missouri and became the first offensive lineman to commit to the Tigers’ 2026 class. Since then, Mizzou has added Brandon Anderson and Braylon Ellison to bolster its offensive line for the future.
- Dan Keegan returns with his 3×3 column and he thinks there might be a smidge of a QB competition?
For the first time in a few years, Mizzou has an honest-to-goodness QB position battle in fall camp. Penn State dual-threat transfer Beau Pribula is the clear favorite, but everyone’s favorite backup Sam Horn will give him a run for the spot. In 2024, the Tigers had an entrenched starter in Brady Cook; in 2023, it was a competition with Cook and Horn in name only. In 2022, Cook was the presumptive starter and was tabbed the guy in early summer; 2021 was Bazelak all the way. Not since Drink’s first season in 2020 have we actually had a competition for the first chair.
I don’t know how much of a competition it will be, Sam Horn still seems like he’s more of a baseball prospect at this stage and they’re paying Pribula to start. At least you hope Beau proves he’s the guy.
- Kellie Harper got another commitment, this time in the form of a 2026 post player Ellie Muller:
Muller’s prowess lies in her defensive abilities, averaging 12.0 rebounds and 4.0 combined stocks (steals + blocks). Her ability to disrupt shots and general offensive flow around the rim is impressive, forcing opponents to adjust to her style. Entering her senior season, Muller is already the all-time school leader in both defensive rebounds and blocks.
Starting out with a solid interior presence, and one who held in-state offers but is choosing to come to Mizzou? Not bad!
- Over at Rock M+, we’re talking about Jason Crowe, who continues to be the topic du jour:
I think it’s extremely hard to project Mr Crowe’s game due to the fact he’ll be playing in a completely different setting. He won’t have the ball in his hands nearly as much as he does in high school. Naturally, some of the issues folks are concerned about should be cleaned up a bit.
We’re also discussing Drink’s struggles in high school recruiting and Josh and I have a theory.
Stay tuned today, True has put together a recruiting tracker for the 2026 class publishing today over on Rockm.Plus. Available for everyone!
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