When Cuonzo Martin was hired as Missouri’s basketball coach in March 2017, it only took him a couple of weeks to get a feel for most of the roster he was inheriting.
But with Mitchell Smith, that process took nearly a year.
At the time of Martin’s hire, the 6-foot-10 center was only a few weeks removed from surgery to repair a left ACL tear that he suffered 11 games into his career. Now fully recovered, Smith is playing a different position for Martin with a significantly thicker frame.
Smith returned to summer workouts the July after the operation, but wasn’t able to fully practice.