Mizzou basketball lands top transfer portal wing. He put up big numbers (& can shoot)
So it begins.
Missouri basketball landed UT Martin transfer wing Jacob Crews on Tuesday afternoon. The commitment comes just one day after the transfer portal officially opened and just a few days removed from the end of MU’s postseason at the SEC Tournament.
Crews confirmed the news via social media. CBS Sports ranked him third of all available transfers as of Tuesday morning.
Crews is coming off a stellar season for the Skyhawks. The 6-foot-8, 210-pound wing averaged 19.1 points and 8.2 rebounds in the 2023-24 season.
On paper, he should fit Gates’ mold of high-volume, accurate 3-point shooters. He made 41.4% of his shots from behind the arc on more than 200 attempts last season, and he was a 48.5% shooter from the field. He shot 81.6% from the free throw line on 136 attempts.
Nobody on Missouri’s roster attempted or made more shots from 3 than Crews last season, and only standout Sean East II went to the stripe more often.
Missouri enters an important offseason after a 0-18 SEC regular season and first-round exit in the conference tournament. The Tigers finished the campaign 8-24, one year removed from a 25-10 season and NCAA Tournament win in Dennis Gates’ first year.
The Tigers are losing East, Nick Honor, Noah Carter and Connor Vanover, who all ran out of eligibility. Missouri has the nation’s No. 4-ranked recruiting class coming to Columbia next season, with five freshmen set to join the program.
Crews, a Hilliard, Florida product, could likely play anywhere between the two and the four for Missouri. On3 reported that Crews had been contacted by schools such as Kansas, Kansas State and Arkansas, although that is not a sure sign of interest from those schools.
The wing previously played two seasons at North Florida before moving to Daytona State College for the 2022-23 campaign, when he was an NJCAA second-team All-American.
This is unlikely to be Missouri’s last venture into the portal in the coming weeks, with a center and a point guard still likely near the top of Gates’ offseason shopping list.
The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.
