The Tigers made it clear that the Webster Groves combo guard sat atop their recruiting board, and Dennis Gates secures a critical commitment for his 2027 class.

When it comes to Mizzou’s 2027 recruiting board, there’s no secret about who occupies the top slot: Webster Groves guard Scottie Adkinson.

The 6-foot-3 junior picked up an offer before he ever suited up for the Statesman. He’s taken multiple unofficial visits to Columbia. The only question was whether his recruitment might stretch out long enough for other suitors to elbow their way in.

On Tuesday, though, Adkinson ruled that out by committing to the Tigers, becoming the headliner for his cycle and sealing up a vital in-state pledge for coach Dennis Gates.

Let’s Meet Scottie Adkinson

• From: St. Louis
• High School: Webster Groves
• Position: Combo Guard
• Ht/Wt: 6-3/180
• 247Composite Ranking: 0.9876 (No. 37)
• On3 Sports Ranking: 95.55 (No. 24)

To an extent, recruiting is about potential and how a player projects over time. There are moments when production takes a back seat. Yet from the moment MU began its pursuit, Adkinson’s been a prospect whose profile is equally defined by his ability to fill up a box score.

He was among the most-efficient players at the 15U level on Nike’s EYBL circuit last spring, and over the winter, he averaged 24.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists at Webster Groves. That stat line alone is absurd for a sophomore, but Adkinson did it with a gobsmacking 73.9 true-shooting percentage and averaged 1.24 points every possession. Unsurprisingly, he picked up almost every accolade or award possible, including All-Metro Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year for Missouri.

This spring, Adkinson’s embraced an off-ball role with MoKan Elite. While he can still eat opponents alive in transition, he spends twice as much time spotting up or coming off screening action compared to playing in ball screens or handoffs.

We already know that opponents really struggle with keeping Adkinson from attacking with his left hand. But since this winter, Adkinson has said improving his performance as a floor spacer was a priority. Halfway through the EYBL season, he’s shooting 57.1 percent from 3-point range on shots taken off the catch. Is that likely to dip when play resumes next month? Probably. But when we reviewed tape of Adkinson’s handiwork, we came away heartened.

Knocking down jumpers at a prodigious rate has also given us a chance to see how Adkinson exploits the gravity he can create. That’s how he’s able to get back to playing off the bounce his preferred hand, as the chart below shows.

Shooting is an essential trait in modern offenses, but you also don’t want Adkinson standing around. Fortunately, we’ve also seen Adkinson thriving in a Mokan offense that has him sprinting off various actions in down screens where he can come off straight or peel back toward to the rim. And occasionally, Adkinson utilizes staggered screens or floppy actions to shake loose.

Dialing in a consistent shooting stroke is essential in the modern game, but Adkinson’s not a player you want standing inert. Fortunately, his dynamism translates even when the ball isn’t in his hands.

Mokan runs a pattern-based offense with a handful of staple alignments and actions. For example, there’s a horns set where the ball is entered to the high post and the passer sprints to set a down screen on the weak side. The player receiving the screen can come off straight or curl toward the paint. Another set has the ball reversed to the wing, followed by a guard peeling over a back screen at the elbow and an angle toward the rim.

In almost every situation, you can trust Adkinson to cut violently and put his defender in a trail position. He’s also strong enough to finish through contact.

Adkinson’s stellar play carried over a couple of weeks ago at the prestigious Nike Elite 100 camp in St. Louis. Over eight games, he averaged 0.917 points per possession in the half-court, ranking a respectable 15th among 31 high-usage players.

As expected, Adkinson thrived in middle pick-and-rolls, but he did so without relying solely on driving with his left hand. He still put two feet in the paint after rejecting a screen and snaking coverage to finish on the right side of the cup. It’s the kind of craft we don’t always see from him in other live settings, mostly because defenders are helpless in forcing him to attack with his weaker hand.

And once again, his versatility pops out on film; you’ll see he notched four buckets by dive-cutting to the rim on inbounds plays. He notched another eight points during the week by crashing the offensive glass. And there were a handful of quality spot-up looks that came his way by simply relocating to a corner or popping back out after driving and kicking.

Even if a defender does their job on the ball, Adkinson finds ways to score – an innate ability that’s translated in almost every type of setting. That physical and intelligent use of his frame is vital in Missouri’s offense, which relies on guards – especially in high and low split cuts – to quickly read their defender and decipher whether to bolt to the rim.