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But we’ll start here: Coach Dennis Gates essentially traded young Jordan Butler to South Carolina for hardened Southeastern Conference veteran Josh Gray.

College basketball is a grown-man sport today, and Gates has a bunch of them, Gray included, playing at a high level.

Butler was part of a promising 2023 freshman class that wasn’t ready to produce. And when many things went wrong for the Tigers last season, that was exposed.

Anthony Robinson II struggled with the adjustment to college basketball on and off the court, due in part to family concerns. Trent Pierce dazzled during the summer, then vanished during the season while limited by an inner ear issue.

The wiry Butler threw himself into the fray, but he got manhandled in league play as the Tigers went 0-18.

Missouri would have been more competitive last season had Caleb Grill and John Tonje stayed healthy and starred like they have this season. That didn’t happen, so Truman took a beating.

Grill ranks second in Division I hoops on 3-point shooting with 49% efficiency; Tonje is averaging 18.6 points per game for Wisconsin after moving on from his lost season in Boone County.

Such scoring, combined with what Sean East II and Tamar Bates provided last season, would have won some games.

Ah, the would-haves and should-haves ...

Last season’s failure put Gates squarely on the spot. The equity he built with an exciting run to the NCAA Tournament in Year 1 was gone.

Gates had to make sure this time around. He lined up an excellent freshman class of high-level recruits, but he also marshaled the program’s resources to secure well-tested veterans via the transfer portal.

The Butler-Gray swap with South Carolina was symbolic of that commitment, but it was also integral. Butler still isn’t ready for the SEC, as his limited role with the Gamecocks this season underscored.

Meanwhile, Gray provides this team the rebounding muscle and general aggression needed in this highly physical conference.

Until he totaled 10 points at Mississippi, he hadn’t scored in double figures all season. But that’s not what he’s here for.

“I don’t think I even put a shot up in some of those games where I went scoreless,� Gray noted last week. “I was just really keying in on being locked in on the defensive side, running our stuff right and getting people open with my screens.�

Gates challenged this team to attack the basket and earn free throws. Duke transfer Mark Mitchell led that charge, beating bigger defenders off the dribble and backing down the smaller ones.

Iowa transfer Tony Perkins brought tough on-ball defense and steadiness running the point. He and Robinson set a tenacious defensive tone out front, something the Tigers lacked last season while turnstile Nick Honor logged big minutes.

Like Robinson, Pierce matured during his sophomore season and became an impact player. But UT Martin transfer Jacob Crews, who turns 25 this summer, can tag in as needed and add a lift at both ends of the court.

Northern Kentucky transfer Marques Warrick slid to the edge of the playing rotation during league play, but he is a pure scorer who has produced 12 or more points six times.

Last season, 7-foot-5 Connor Vanover wasn’t the biggest disappointment in program history, but he was among the tallest. Jesus Carralero Martin was a bust after transferring from Campbell — and this season he has been a bust at Bethune-Cookman after transferring there.

Junior college player of the year Curt Lewis quickly proved he wasn’t a high-major player. He moved on to more disappointment at mid-major East Tennessee State.

After enduring last season’s fiasco, Gates went overboard while improving his depth. He gathered 14 viable players, plus 7-foot-5 Trent Burns, who presumably is using a redshirt year to build strength.

Freshmen Marcus Allen, Peyton Marshall and T.O. Barrett have all delivered good stretches in key game situations. And prized recruit Annor Boateng might have the most upside of any player currently running 14th on a Division I depth chart.

But since freshmen eligibility became a thing, it’s never been tougher for first-year players to make a mark. Over at Illinois, Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic are special cases because of their European training against older players.

Will Riley was one of the top 2024 North American recruits, and even he has experienced serious ups and downs for the Fighting Illini in his first year.

Across the major conferences, teams have acquired established transfer talent at the expense of teenagers. Name, image and likeness money and limitless transfers allow coaches to reload with seasoned veterans.

Jordan Butler doesn’t turn 20 until this summer. Josh Gray, in Year 5 of the SEC wars, turns 24 in April. Gray’s listed 260 pounds is only 20 more than Butler’s listed 240, but he brings about three times more heft in the lane.

Compared side by side, these two big men can tell the story of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 Missouri Tigers.