COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Sean East II wanted to go first.
Both the Missouri men鈥檚 basketball point guard and coach Dennis Gates were scheduled to meet with reporters after the team鈥檚 Friday practice. Typically, Gates speaks and answers questions first, which alleviates some of the talking point-generation burden from his players.
But in the hallway connecting the Mizzou Arena floor to the press conference room鈥檚 podium, East asked Gates a question: 鈥淐oach, can I go before you?鈥
Gates was confused, at first. But East explained that he had a yoga class scheduled and didn鈥檛 want to be late. Showing up late to yoga class would break his routine, so East spoke first.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we see,鈥 Gates said. 鈥淲e see routine, but we see results.鈥
Making positive results a routine has been the story of East鈥檚 second year with the Tigers, the first time in his college basketball career he has spent more than a single season in the same place and with the same program. The effect of that continuity has been transformational for East鈥檚 game.
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鈥淚鈥檝e seen him trust more, from his teammates, from his coaches, being in the same place for the first time (for) two years in his college career,鈥 Gates said.
East, who leads MU in scoring, 3-point shooting, assists and playing time, has only a few games left in his college career. There鈥檚 senior night Tuesday, a road regular season finale Saturday, and whatever the bottom-seed Tigers are able to do at the Southeastern Conference tournament next week.
But the results of his transformation are already apparent, even on a team that has yet to win an SEC game. Just ask any coach who tries to figure out how to stop East.
鈥淓ast is one of the best players in college basketball,鈥 Mississippi coach Chris Beard said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 very, very efficient. Like, there鈥檚 a lot of guys that can have a 30-point game, but he does it on 12 shots. He鈥檚 just got a poise about him, so he鈥檚 definitely one of the best players in college basketball. Believe it or not, we had some game plan focuses around him 鈥 didn鈥檛 look like it.鈥
A day after East hustled over to his yoga class, he dropped 27 points in a loss to Ole Miss. He did so on 10-of-12 shooting, including going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. East added three assists and a steal.
Though Missouri lost by six points, it outscored the Rebels by two when East was in the game. The Tigers scored on 68.6 percent of the possessions in which he was playing, and his 29.1 usage percentage was the highest of any player in that game.
All that is to say, quantitatively, what the eye test will quickly prove: East is vital to Mizzou.
鈥淵ou start talking about first-team all-conference in this league 鈥 if there鈥檚 five guys better than him, I haven鈥檛 coached against them,鈥 Beard said.
It was East鈥檚 demonstrated ability to score at all three levels that shredded Ole Miss鈥 defensive game plan at times, a skill set he has rolled out over the course of the entire season.
East鈥檚 go-to shot, it would seem, is his floater. If he鈥檚 moving downhill and crossing the free throw line, it almost feels inevitable 鈥 at some point, his left hand will flick upward, simultaneously arcing and rolling the ball up, down and into the rim.
If it looks quick, that鈥檚 because it is. East forged the shot with hours spent on Pop-A-Shot set-ups 鈥 the popular arcade basketball game that functionally asks players to squeeze off as many floaters as they can before time expires.
The result is a runner that is worth 1.17 points per shot, according to Synergy鈥檚 tracking, which is in the 94th percentile nationally. (The distance of some of East鈥檚 floaters to the rim means some may wind up classified in other shot categories, so it鈥檚 not a perfect tabulation.)
His jumper is also worth 1.17 points per shot, good for the 92nd percentile in that category. While most of East鈥檚 jumpers come off the dribble 鈥 he takes more of those than 99 percent of college basketball players, he鈥檚 lethal off catch-and-shoot looks, too.
And against the Rebels, East leaned into his ability to score in the post. He posted up Ole Miss defenders four times, especially late in the game when the Tigers had closed within striking distance. On the occasions when East does decide to back down his defender and try his luck from the low block, he scores 1.5 points per possession.
鈥淗e obviously has a heavy load on his shoulders offensively,鈥 Beard said. 鈥淗is ability to play with his back to the basket, I think translates to pro basketball for him.鈥
East joined Mizzou from John A. Logan Community College, where he was named the national junior college player of the year. He transferred there after a season each with Bradley and UMass, looking for the right environment to develop.
Now, he鈥檚 shooting more, scoring more, grabbing more rebounds and doing so more efficiently than he has at any other stop on his Division I career.
鈥淚鈥檝e tried to grow everywhere, but just learning what the coaching staff wants from me, mentally getting better, becoming a better leader,鈥 East said.
Gates sees a transformation that was fueled by East鈥檚 trust and routine 鈥 an example of what time in the Missouri system can mean for players that will last past the impending finale for East.
鈥淭he Sean East we see right now is not the Sean East that started at UMass or the Sean East that was at Bradley, the Sean East that was at Logan College,鈥 Gates said. 鈥淭his is a guy that has allowed his coaching staff to push him, the environment to raise him a little bit.鈥