The Oklahoma native made a pretty big leap in year 2, even if consistency eluded him.
Last season when we conducted our top 8 roster experiment, there were only three people who picked Trent Pierce to land himself inside the top 8 in the rotation. Out of more than 40 submissions, only three thought Pierce would be an impactful player. That wasn’t a knock, necessarily, on Pierce. After a freshman season in which he saw double digit minutes in only 4 games on a bad team, few had any idea what we might get from the sophomore.
But Pierce stood out early with a good performance against Memphis to open the season, and then had a solid run through non-conference play which set up a move into the starting lineup by the start of conference play.
He started 16 straight games starting with the home game against LSU. Through those 16 starts the Tigers could take the ceiling off when Pierce was playing well, which wasn’t often enough. His combination of length, and off the ball movement offensively helped create space. Plus he was a demon in transition with a double ability to attack the rim or space out to the three line. And his agility and size improved Missouri’s defense.
Until it didn’t.
Pierce’s play went in waves. He struggled against Tennessee and then played just 6 minutes against Texas A&M. Then he only saw the floor for 2 minutes in the home game against Oklahoma. If the three point shot was falling, it helped Pierce with his confidence. If it wasn’t he became more hesitant.
Attacking the rim became the hallmark of confident Pierce. He posterized the Florida Gators twice on cuts to the rim, his shooting inside the arc blossomed after attempting just 17 two point shots as a freshman. Pierce was noticeably more aggressive in driving the basketball, and now just shooting jumpers from the outside. But it was his outside shooting becoming more consistent which opened up some of those drives. He still took 60% of this shots from beyond the arc. However his shooting percentage jumped from an ugly 17.2% as a freshman up to 33% as a sophomore.
Moreso Pierce’s shooting stroke always looked like it would lead to more makes so the jump in percentage isn’t that surprising. His confidence still wanes a bit, which leads to some inconsistency. And he’s still a bit of a mess at the free throw line.
All told Pierce jumped his efficiency from 0.716 ppp to 1.21 ppp. Which is dramatic.
At 6’10 he showed precisely what made him such an intriguing prospect. A shooting stroke that looks good, fluid movement in and around the rim, the ability to defend positions up and down the order. He just needs to remain confident and engaged. It’s inarguable that his late defensive gaffe at Vanderbilt cost Missouri a game they had in their hands. It’s also inarguable that when he and Anthony Robinson were engaged and playing well at the same time it made Missouri a much more dangerous team.
Consistency is the key, and consistency is found through confidence. His confidence faltered at times and it forced Dennis Gates hand to sit him with more regularity. You just hope that it’s all part of the learning process.