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Feb 18, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers center Shawn Phillips Jr. (15) dunks the ball against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images
It was mid-April of 2025 when Missouri got a commitment from Arizona State transfer Shawn Phillips. I can’t say it was viewed through a positive lens at the time. After all, it was easy to see through the stats than Phillips had been a net negative while on the court during his three seasons at LSU and then Arizona State.
Mizzou moving onto Phillips had an air of “I can fix him” to it.
Because the measurables with Phillips jump off the page. He’s an agile, legitimate 7-foot center with an elite vertical leap. Shawn, for any of his faults as a player, was blessed with the kind of athleticism most find tantalizing. It’s the things you can’t teach that Phillips has.
The combination of size, agility, and sheer athleticism is just something you can’t ignore when it comes to Phillips. There just aren’t that many players who can sit in the dunker spot and catch a lob at the height of the top of the back board. When you see Phillips move and jump, it’s easy to see what Mizzou thought they could earn with his talent.
The problem Phillips has had is he’s not been able to turn his talent into consistent production. It was evident with his stint at Arizona State that Phillips was capable of being exceptional, but not on a consistent basis. Injuries played a role in stunting his progress, for sure. But still he’s never been able to find a level of consistency.
Mizzou saw that player for most of the 2025-26 season. Philips started every game he played in. His minutes fluctuated, but not by a lot. He played less than 15 minutes just twice, and more than 30 minutes just once. On the season he played 47.8% of the minutes, which was a career high. While he was on the floor, Phillips provided good rebounding, and excellent 2-point field goal shooting, but his efficiency was marred by a nearly 30% turnover rate. One out of three possessions ended with a turnover, dragging his excellent 68.3% effective field goal shooting and 65.8% true shooting rates into a mere 101.9 Offensive Rating.
From inside the arc, Phillips shot 68.3%, which was top 50 in the country. His 8.9% block rate ranked 28th. But his free throw shooting, just 52.8% from the line, coupled with a reasonably high free throw rate, cost valuable points all season.
Phillips wasn’t without some real moments, both for good and ill.
His performance against Texas A&M was memorable in a good way. 12 points, 8 boards, including the dunk to put the Tigers ahead, and the defensive possession plus block to seal the win. Without Philips making plays down the stretch the Tigers don’t win that game. On the downside, many might remember him being switched off on a baseline out of bounds play at home against Georgia, on that play Phillips gave up a game losing basket to 5’11 Smurf Millender, and a foul to boot.
The results with Phillips were a mixed bag, and it was as evident as the difference between these two game endings.
So it’s definitely understandable if Mizzou fans have mixed feelings on Phillips. He could definitely be tough to watch at times, and then moments later do something absolutely spectacular. Perhaps the play that will stand out the most to me is from the first round of the NCAA Tournament, early in the 2nd half with Mizzou trailing by a point, Phillips blocked Shelton Henderson at the rim on a dunk attempt. That led to a secondary fast break for the Tigers, T.O. Barrett drove baseline and from underneath the rim he dropped a pass off for Phillips. All he had to do was catch and dunk it. But Phillips took his eyes off the pass to look at the rim, and the ball slipped out of his hands. Like so much of the season, with Mizzou so close to being a truly good team.
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