Aidan Chronister commits to Missouri

There are many reasons to show up before tipoff and watch a prospect work through their pregame routines, but one of the wonkier ones is to get a forensic glimpse of a shooter’s mechanics.

When it comes to Aidan Chronister, there’s not much — outside of guide-hand positioning — to critique about his form. And when you do a deep dive into data, the 6-foot-7 wing spent most of the spring and summer producing results that make him one of the best jump-shooters in his class.

And moving ahead, he’ll be supplying those services for Missouri, which scored a commitment from the top 100 prospect on Sunday. He joins Jason Crowe Jr. and Toni Bryant in a class that’s currently tracking toward finishing in the top 15 nationally.

Landing Chronister should also fortify MU’s depth on the wings, assuming the Tigers bring back Annor Boateng and Trent Pierce next season. Chronister should also prove a nice complement to Boateng, a fellow Arkansan, who is more of a power wing and keen to attack in straight lines. On paper, MU would still have another vacancy on the wing, but the presence of the Natural State tandem would mean coach Dennis Gates would likely find himself shopping for an affordable depth piece.

Let’s Meet Aidan Chronister

• From: Rogers, Ark.
• High School: The New School
• Position: Wing
• HT/WT: 6-7/180
• 247Sports Composite Rating: 0.9657 (No. 93)
• On3 Sports Industry Rating: 91.99 (No. 95)
• Notable Suitors: Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, Saint Louis, Arkansas State

This is a condensed version of a scouting report published on Sept. 15 for subscribers at RockM+ and ahead of Chronister’s official visit to Columbia.

The race for Chronister’s services came down to MU and Wake Forest, which might seem odd given that he could be a plug-and-play floor spacer. That slightly tepid demand stems from the fact that veteran shooters are not hard to find in the transfer portal each spring. Chronister’s long-term projection is also murky. In adding Chronister, the Tigers are signing on to the idea that his game has appreciable upside.

In the near term, though, there’s no doubt about what he’ll be expected to provide the rotation. Only 18.2 percent of Chronister’s touches with AAO Flight, which played on the Puma PRO16 circuit this spring, saw him operating in handoffs, isolations, and pick-and-rolls. After some early diversification, Chronister steadily reverted to his old role.

Another round of sorting and sifting only hammers home the notion that Chronister will start his collegiate career as a 3-and-D wing. For example, catch-and-shoot jumpers comprised almost 80 percent of his field-goal attempts in the half-court. The only modest bit of intrigue was whether he was spotting up, sprinting off a screen, or receiving a flip from a stationary handoff.

Often, we associate shooting with keeping proper spacing and operating room against a set defense, but it’s equally vital in transition. When MU pushes the pace, there are usually two guards trying to win races down the flanks, and one is usually sprinting to the deep corner. Having a consistent shooter in that spot forces an already taxed defense into a bind: Does it sell out to stop the ball? And if a defender does, will a teammate be able to respond if the ball is pitched out? Put simply, it creates width and depth.

That’s a trait Chronister displayed in spades this spring, hitting 9 of 19 shots from long range after running the wings.

Yet Chronister’s catch-and-shoot looks in the half-court yielded more mixed results. He only sank 31.4 percent of those attempts from beyond the arc, and there wasn’t a wide gap between guarded and open looks. The more influential variable was whether Chronister was stationary or shooting off movement.

As a pure spot-up option, he canned 9 of 25 attempts. When Chronister is set, his shooting mechanics are the kind you’d see in an old-school instruction film: feet are a shoulders’ width apart, torso square to the target, knees bent, and hands positioned right at his shot pocket. While Chronister doesn’t achieve explosive lift off, his frame, smooth upward motion and a high release point make it a chore to close him down.

That pristine form faltered and buckled, though, when Chronister sprinted off screens (5 of 16) or received the ball in handoff (1 of 9) this spring. Even if Chronister managed to establish a base, he often twisted hafter elevating to align his torso with the target. Or he might not decelerate enough to avoid keep his frame from leaning or drifting.

Maybe these are just natural growing pains that ease with experience or as Chronister’s body matures. But they could also be the byproduct of the wing speeding up his shot to account for limited separation.

Once Chronister hits campus, a chief question will be how he exploits the gravitational pull his jumper can create. A common progression is mastering shot fakes to create efficient pull-ups, but Chronister has shown flashes of facilitation when driving against closeouts.

Often, his reads and assists were simple and heady — finding a big man for a drop-off in the short corner, coaxing a help defender to help up and creating space for a teammate to cut along the baseline, or making timely kickouts when a perimeter stunted into a gap.

While Chronister is reliable with the ball in his hands and possesses a functional handle, he lacks the initial burst or bounce to apply frightening rim pressure. Yet those aren’t fatal flaws for his profile. If Chronister’s shooting on the move stabilizes, he could be a long-term source of shooting while also smuggling some secondary playmaking onto the floor. The real linchpin might be improving his finishing through contact.

At the other end, Chronister spent the bulk of his time as a trustworthy off-ball defender. He also held his own in occasional ISO situations, but there were some struggles when navigating handoffs and ball screens.

Yet Chronister’s average footspeed and lack of wiggle were rarely exposed. Instead, he did a bang-up job off the ball and in the defensive shell for AAO this spring. Opponents only shot 19 percent on threes shot off the catch, and Chronister only allowed nine open attempts across our 13-game sample.

Bland as it seems, there’s comfortable reassurance watching a defender understand just how far he can stray when sliding over to the midline or the timing on stunting to slow down a driver. The film will not blow you away, but it’s heartening to watch competent team defending.

Chronister also averaged 2.5 steals and blocks per game last season, creating that disruption without running up a high foul tally. Combined with his steady presence minding his assignment away from the play, it suggests that MU might not have to hide Chronister by tasking him with guarding stretch fours. If he can track wings and handle short-duration switches against combo guards, MU won’t have to make compromises to keep his shooting on the floor.

Before the transfer portal became the default source of talent acquisition, prospects like Chronister were staples of long-term stability and continuity. And while we can debate how much upside he offers, the Arkansan would set foot on campus with a couple of proven tools that could help him carve out steady minutes toward the back end of MU’s rotation.

TL;DR Summary

Aidan Chronister will arrive in Columbia as a floor-spacing wing with legitimate size and a smooth stroke, but questions remain about athletic burst and on-ball creation. His shooting volume and mechanics suggest long-term value as a perimeter specialist in Missouri’s system, while smart passing and team-defense instincts hint at rotational reliability. To maximize upside, Chronister must stabilize his efficiency, develop off-movement shooting, and continue refining his defensive agility. It’s easy to see why Caleb Grill appeals as an archetype for Chronister, who still projects as a multi-year starter by his junior campaign.