Portal Profile: Will Mizzou get the chance to reboot Rylan Griffen?

The Kansas transfer is exploring transfer options, including a reunion with Alabama or joining a rebuild at Texas A&M. Mizzou has tried to get in the mix, but what kind of impact might Griffen offer? Could it potentially block up developmental pathways for younger Tigers?

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It sure doesn't sound like he'd be much help.

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Griffen would help -- to an extent. He's shown he can make shots and can be effective in the right situations playin off the bounce. In the right scheme, you can compensate for some of his issues defensively. But he was the fourth option behind Sears, Nelson, and Estrada on that Bama team that went to the Final Four. He's almost a role player in terms of actual usage. I don't want to dismiss what he could offer, but I want to be cautious and avoid overstating his potential impact.

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For what it's worth, my projections have him at:

Minutes: 50.6%
Usage: 18.0%
O-Rating: 101.4 (dinged by ku data; could be up in the 108-110 range)
BPR: 3.67

His projections are fairly similar to what Tony Perkins did last year at Mizzou
Minutes: 54.4%
Usage: 20%
O-Rating: 113.3
BPR: 3.65

As similar as those numbers are, ironically, they're very opposite players. But in terms of production impact, that's what I'd expect.

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Different routes, but if Griffen wound up at the same destination (8.7 points and 2.5 rebounds), I could see a segment of folks whining that Rylan was underwhelming. But it would also fit his career production so far.

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Agreed on the whining. That said, throw that in with a Mark Mitchell (hopefully 15-17 ppg) and Ant Robinson (hopefully 13-15 ppg), you just need two of Mack, Crews, Pierce, Boateng to get around 10 ppg to be solid. I'd personally be very good adding some Uncle Tony-like depth (even with the limitations/play style differences you all documented). But since this (excellent) analysis/profile now exists, I'll assume he commits to Bama or A&M within 24 hours.

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Right. You're hoping Mack's jumper improves at the margin to reach 12-13 points per game. Then you're hoping one or two other guys approach double figures.

To continue the Perkins-Griffen comp, what happens if Boateng makes a jump similar to what we saw from Ant? It put Tony in a weird spot as to his role night to night and might have stifled him finding consistency. We just watched Rylan endure the same yo-yoing role and see his performance take a hit.

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Maybe it creates locker room friction. But signing Rylan just to have Boateng take his minutes seems like a pretty good problem to have from a fan standpoint.

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Which is why I'm skeptical Rylan ends up here at all. But hey, maybe this winds up as a reverse jinx.

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