COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Men’s Basketball head coach Kim Anderson has announced three signings for the program’s 2016 recruiting class, with future student-athletes Willie Jackson (Cleveland, Ohio), Reed Nikko (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Mitchell Smith (Van Buren, Ark.) inking with the Tigers.
“We’re excited about the young men who have signed their letters of intent to come to the University of Missouri to play basketball,” Anderson said. “We feel like we’ve addressed some needs for our program. One of our main goals was to recruit size. With all three guys, we’ve got some bigger players.
“The thing we’re always looking for is young men who have been successful at their previous institutions and who will be great representatives of our university. All three of these young men are like that. They’ve been extremely well-coached at the high school level. We look forward to welcoming them to Mizzou to be a part of our family.”
A 6-6 small forward, Jackson has been electric for Garfield Heights High School, averaging 18.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game and helping head coach Sonny Johnson’s group to a 24-4 record as a junior in 2014-15. Standing 6-9, Nikko powered Maple Grove High School to a 23-4 record last season while averaging 9.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game for head coach Nick Schroeder. A 6-9 forward, Smith scored in bunches for Van Buren head coach Randy Loyd, averaging 18.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a junior.
Jackson was named Cleveland.com Area Player of the Year following his junior campaign. On the Nike EYBL circuit for the King James Shooting Stars, Jackson averaged 8.4 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game and led the group to a stout 13-4 record. Jackson chose the Tigers over offers from Boston College, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Temple and Wichita State, among others.
“Willie is a basketball player,” Anderson said. “What I mean by that is he can do a lot of different things. He’s a good defender and a guy who shoots the basketball well. He can drive to the basket. He comes from a winning program and was extremely well-coached in his high school and AAU basketball. Similar to Reed and Mitchell, he’s a person of high character who will be great for our program.”
Nikko, a traditional post-style player, also starred on the travel ball courts for Net Gain. As a sophomore in 2013-14, Nikko scored in double figures in 12 of Maple Grove’s 28 games. He chose to wear the Black & Gold over offers from Kansas State, Minnesota and Iowa.
“We’re looking forward to having Reed in our program,” Anderson said. “He’ll bring some size, which is something we’ll need, especially with the graduation of Ryan Rosburg. He’s a true back-to-the-basket player and has been very successful in high school. He’s continued to grow as a player every year. We feel he’ll continue to mature and become a great player in the SEC.”
Smith moved well up and down the floor to get Van Buren to Arkansas’ Class 7A semifinals last season. He played in the high school offseason with the Arkansas Wings of the Nike EYBL, shooting 46.7-percent from the floor and averaging 4.1 rebounds and a team-best 1.1 blocks per game during the squad’s 2015 season.
“Mitchell is a young man who addresses the need for more size in our program,” Anderson said. “He is very skilled and has continued to improve every year. He comes from a great high school program, and we feel like he has the opportunity to be able to contribute immediately, as do Willie and Reed.”
Mizzou opens the 2015-16 season at Mizzou Arena on Friday, Nov. 13, vs. Wofford as part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. The contest tips off at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
— Mizzou Athletics —
MARSHALL, Minn. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team finished a strong opening statement with a 93-61 win at Southwest Minnesota State. The Griffons got a career-high 26 points from Sarafina Handy and 23 from Julia Torres-Alves in her first appearance with Missouri Western.
