The Untold Story Behind Trent Pierce’s Rise at Mizzou Basketball: What You Need to Know

All told Pierce jumped his efficiency from 0.716 ppp to 1.21 ppp. Which is dramatic.

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.
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.
Looking back at last season, you’d have been hard-pressed to find many who bet on Trent Pierce becoming a key player in Missouri’s rotation. Out of over 40 predictions, just three foresaw him cracking that top eight lineup — and honestly, that skepticism wasn’t unfounded. His freshman year barely put him on anyone’s radar, with double-digit minutes recorded in only four games on a struggling squad. Nobody really knew what this sophomore might bring to the table. Yet, early glimpses against Memphis flipped the script, as Pierce quickly carved out his spot, earning a starting role by conference play. What followed was a rollercoaster of promise and frustration—16 straight starts flashing his unique blend of size, shooting range, and defensive versatility, only to be undercut by nerve-shaky streaks and inconsistency. But as his shooting improved—especially from beyond the arc—and his aggressiveness around the rim grew, so too did Missouri’s upside when he was locked in. The raw tools were always there; the question was confidence—and yes, sometimes that meant powerful dunks, but other times, painfully quiet moments on the bench. As this young giant learned on the fly, the key to unlocking his full potential remains steady belief in himself and relentless focus. The journey’s far from over, and if he keeps piecing it all together, Missouri’s going to be one heck of a team to watch. LEARN MORE
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.
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.
Until it didn’t.
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.
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.
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.

Past Reviews