An important member of the Missouri basketball organization gained valuable experience from a polarizing NBA front office member.

Most people in or around a sport have a mentor.

Shooting guards will look up to Michael Jordan, quarterbacks will look up to Tom Brady and strikers will look up to Cristiano Ronaldo.

For the newly-hired general manager of Missouri men’s basketball, Tim Fuller, the person he gained the most experience from is a long-time Nike executive and current Dallas Mavericks general manager, Nico Harrison. The two shared time together at Nike, with Harrison serving as the vice president of basketball operations and Fuller holding an executive role.

“That time I had at Nike under Nico Harrison and Lynn Merritt, literally, now, 15 years later, is paying off, because that is what basketball has transitioned to,” Fuller said in a press conference on June 14.

For Fuller, the time he spent with Harrison and Nike was transformational in his career. He helped with the nuances of the role when it comes to marketability, an important skill for this newly created general manager position.

The pair had a chance to speak before Fuller accepted the position with the Missouri Tigers, with Harrison jokingly claiming a stake in Fuller’s earnings. This speaks to their relationship, but also what both of them mean to each other.

“I was talking to Nico Harrison recently, the GM has been under a lot of scrutiny, and he’s a mentor of mine,” Fuller said. “As I was taking the position, he said, you owe me for your first check.”

Harrison recently underwent plenty of national attention, most of which was negative, for a roster decision he made involving the Mavericks. He made the choice to move star guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, a polarizing trade that left many stunned.