<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0c0zvU_0wCHmQY200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0c0zvU_0wCHmQY200" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>Over the weeks leading up to the season, this series will dive deep into the players we see making a push for time in the rotation for the 2024-2025 Missouri basketball squad. The pieces read like a birds-eye scouting report. They skew more toward the offensive end of the court for two reasons. First, a player’s offensive metrics are more reliable than defensive data and less team-dependent. Second, it’s considerably easier to describe a player’s qualities with more well-known offensive statistics. As always, we encourage interaction from our readers. Please drop us a comment or find me on Twitter @DataMizzou.The film credits are given to Matt Harris. Matt has provided all of the film used in this series, and plenty more video and analysis on every player that can be found on https://rockm.plus.<h2>The Player</h2>As the famous saying goes, When you can add a player who has scored 2,246 career points to the roster, you do it.Well, maybe it’s not that famous.No matter. Dennis Gates and Co. managed a big transfer haul this spring, and Marques Warrick shouldn’t go unnoticed. The 6-foot-2 super-senior hails from an SEC stronghold in Lexington, Kentucky. After graduating from Henry Clay High School, he was the school’s all-time leading scorer, having tallied 1,909 points during his career.Warrick’s prodigious scoring ability caught the eye of former South Carolina coach Darrin Horn, who had recently rebooted his career at Northern Kentucky University, about an hour’s drive north of Lexington. The match was made, and so was history. Over the next four seasons in a Norse jersey, Warrick set NKU’s scoring record as well. Along the way, Marques earned distinctions such as:<ul><li>Horizon League Freshman of the Year</li><li>All-Horizon First Team, Second Team and Third Team</li><li>Horizon League Tournament MVP</li></ul>Meanwhile, the Norse brought home a Horizon League Tournament crown and a corresponding NCAA Tournament bid. NKU also narrowly missed out on a regular season crown in 2022, finishing second to Cleveland State, who was led by none other than his new head coach, Dennis Gates.<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=42YLd8_0wCHmQY200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=42YLd8_0wCHmQY200" width="960" height="1100" >One might accuse Gates of having a soft spot for former Horizon League players. That person would only be partially correct.Yes, this is the fourth scholarship-level player Gates has imported from the Horizon League, joining current staffer Tre Gomillion and current professionals D’Moi Hodge and DeAndre Gholston. Gates has brought aboard numerous other former Horizon League players to bring energy off the bench. But no, this is not simply a case of biased affinity. Warrick, much like the three transfers before him, can hoop.<h2>The Numbers</h2>While the biggest statistical story is not reflected here, it’s worth discussing at the outset. Warrick is a proven scorer. He averaged 19.9 points per game a year ago, and his career average sits at 18 per night on the dot. In the 119 career games, Warrick eclipsed double digits in 99 of them. In fact, he’s cruised past the 20-point mark in 56 outings — nearly 50% of his total games. Getting buckets is a skill, and Warrick is finely tuned.But as with anything, context is always required. Two additional considerations must be made to fully understand Warrick’s impact at NKU and his potential for translating that performance to Mizzou.First, Warrick played a boatload of minutes, averaging 30 per game every season. Second, he’s always been a focal point of the Norse offense, evidenced by a 26.7% usage rate as a senior and a 26.5% mark for his career. The points are good, but the opportunities have been plentiful. And this cuts both ways.On the one hand, Warrick can be considered a volume shooter. His career 50.3 effective-field-goal percentage is solid if unspectacular. On the other hand, only 16 players in Division I hit these parameters last season:<ul><li>80%+ minutes played</li><li>110.0+ offensive rating</li><li>26.5%+ usage rate</li><li>50.0+ eFG%</li></ul>So, yes, Warrick had ample opportunities. But he also performed very well at cashing them in.One facet that some folks might naturally point out is that Warrick struggled from long range last season. A 29.3% clip from behind the arc is concerning. However, it might also be an outlier, given that each of Warrick’s first three seasons saw him hover around 36% from distance.Digging a little deeper, I see that Warrick’s biggest issue during his senior season was making shots off the catch. More specifically, guarded catch-and-shoot attempts proved a thorn in his side. Per Synergy Sports, Warrick had averaged 0.982 points per possession on those looks, but that efficiency slipped to just 0.830 PPP last year. It also coincided with 66.4% of his catch-and-shoots being guarded, an 8.2 percentage point increase.To be sure, taking more contested shots and making less is a bad combination, but context is required. After years of tormenting league foes and non-conference opponents alike, the book on defending the talented scorer was not only out, but it was also in its fourth edition.When parsing Warrick’s preferences on offense, he’s not great at any one thing. His greatness can be more observed by seeing that he’s been pretty darn good at everything. He’s an efficient scorer in a high usage setting in scoring off the break, posting a career 1.112 PPP on those opportunities, which is more impressive considering how much time is spent individually pushing the ball up the floor.His career numbers scoring in spot-up chances and off of screens also more than break even, evidenced by his career 1.024 PPP when combining the two most typical jump shot areas. He’s posted reliable efficiency with the ball in his hands, notching above-average marks in isolation, ball-screen and handoffs. His best work comes when spaced to the right, allowing him to work his strong left hand down the center of the defense.However, there are some legitimate concerns about whether Warrick’s on-ball creation may translate to the high-major level.Although a crafty scorer, Warrick’s game could benefit from an expanded finishing arsenal and sharing the floor with other scoring threats. When defenses sit on Warrick’s preferred moves or actions, the going can get a little rough. Expanding his finishing arsenal and sharing the floor with other scoring threats are the best remedies to this conundrum.Although not terribly active as a cutter or posting up, his career marks pass muster. The moral of the story is this: When you get up as many shot attempts as Warrick did, you’ve got to do it in many different ways and be pretty good at everything. He was.Defensively, there are more questions than answers at this point. Warrick possesses neither the physical attributes nor the past history of a relentless determination to prevent buckets. Sometimes, he can be in the right place at the right time but lacks the physical prowess to prevent the play from being made. And unlike much of this roster, he hasn’t proven the ability to generate deflections, as evidenced by his low steal and block rates.Perhaps a renewed interest in guarding or a requirement that it happens to see the court solves the issue. Or worst case, Mizzou as a team struggles to defend across the board and Warrick isn’t seen as an outlier? No matter, it’s a consideration when evaluating the level of playing time he’ll see.<h2>The Role</h2>Aside from the proficiency mentioned above of putting the ball in the basket, the most significant thing Warrick has in his corner is Mizzou’s relatively shallow depth at the guard positions. A rarity for a team with FIFTEEN scholarship-level players.Only Tony Perkins and Anthony Robinson profile as point guards. Even Mizzou’s combo guard position comprises guys who might profile better as wings than as secondary creators. As a result, Warrick could have the necessary runway to feel high-major competition and find himself a niche in the rotation.As it stands, I’d project Warrick to grab about 50% of the minutes — 20 minutes per night — which would be good for fifth on the team. His usage rate of 26.7% will surely come down a bit, and I’d wager that it will settle in the 24% neighborhood. That’s a reduction in opportunities, but it still makes him a significant piece of the offense. Should his efficiency numbers hold up, we can reasonably project him to average between eight and 10 points per night.<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0wgJcr_0wCHmQY200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0wgJcr_0wCHmQY200" width="960" height="1517" >When I reviewed transfers with similar statistical profiles, those who jumped to a power-conference program made a tradeoff: a deep cut in usage in exchange for better efficiency. No longer tasked with carrying a sizable chunk of an offense, “up transfers” like Warrick can narrow their focus to excel at their strengths.Now, Warrick’s profile doesn’t really suggest that he has elite offensive skills. However, shedding some questionable pick-and-roll and ISO attacks could allow him to see a similar boost. Most importantly, Warrick offers a known — and proven — commodity to the coaching staff, which has paid dividends for them in the past.PPP: Points Per PossessionMin %: This is simply the percentage of minutes played by a given player.Usage %: A measure of personal possessions used while player is on the court. This includes making a shot, missing a shot coupled with a defensive rebound and a turnover.eFG%: Same as traditional FG% with the added bonus of 3-point shots given 50% more weight to account for additional point.OR%: The percentage of possible offensive rebounds a player gets.DR%: The percentage of possible defensive rebounds a player gets.AST%: Assists divided by field goals made by player’s teammates while on the court.TO%: The percentage of personal possessions a player uses on turnovers.FTR%: A rate which measures a player’s ability to get to the free throw line.FT%: Free Throw shooting percentage.2PT%: 2-point field goal percentage.3PT% 3-point field goal percentage.</div></body>

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Mizzou Hoops Player Preview: Marques Warrick

Over the weeks leading up to the season, this series will dive deep into the players we see making a push for time in the rotation for the 2024-2025 Missouri basketball squad. The pieces read like a birds-eye scouting report. They skew more toward the offensive end of the court for two reasons. First, a player’s offensive metrics are more reliable than defensive data and less team-dependent. Second, it’s considerably easier to describe a player’s qualities with more well-known offensive statistics. As always, we encourage interaction from our readers. Please drop us a comment or find me on Twitter @DataMizzou.