COLUMBIA, MO. • For two seasons Jeronne Maymon roamed the Tennessee court as one of the Southeastern Conference’s most rugged power forwards. Now the 6-8, 260-pounder is a Missouri graduate assistant working under his former coach. As Maymon took his position under the basket Wednesday and whacked Mizzou forwards with a giant yellow pad, he was just another guy in shorts, a relative sapling trying to chop down the Tigers’ sophomore sequoias, Jeremiah Tilmon and Jontay Porter.
As college basketball becomes more perimeter-oriented, with frontcourt size more of a luxury than requirement, Cuonzo Martin begins his second season at Missouri with a tandem of skilled and now seasoned 6-10 forwards.