Came home to beat as much of the ice as I could before finishing up. Photo gallery and a game story are on the way soon. My story on Chievous is on the front page.
The actual game was not super compelling. Kentucky jumped out early and just kept Mizzou at arm's length. The Tigers fought and scrapped and beat Kentucky by 12 in the second half, but the hole was so big at halftime that there was never a point that it seemed like Missouri had a real chance to make Kentucky sweat a ton. Not trying to take away from the second half effort because it showed me a lot about this team (and I'll get to that shortly) but as far as winning the game, it wasn't ever a real option.
When Jeremiah Tilmon got his second foul six minutes in, it was kind of curtains for Mizzou. They are outmanned in the frontcourt against Kentucky anyway, but without Tilmon, it's a no contest. I honestly didn't see either of his first half fouls. They were away from the ball so I wasn't watching him when they got called. I can't say they were good, bad or indifferent. I can say that the refs (despite calling 17 fouls in the first 17 minutes) never had any semblance of control of that game. They weren't any good. But I don't know if they were worse for Tilmon than anybody else.
Mitchell Smith had the two biggest hits of the night. He delivered the first one on a (legal) screen against Immanuel Quickley. And he took the second one on an elbow from EJ Montgomery. It wasn't a dirty play, his elbow just hit Smith's head on his way down from a shot. Cuonzo Martin said after the game Smith was fine.
Cuonzo said a lot after the game. At halftime, he told the team it was the first time he'd seen them not playing hard. I asked him why he thought that was in the first half and he said, "DId you see it?" He said he could see it in guys' eyes when they weren't ready to play. Then he said "Javon (Pickett) and Ronnie (Suggs), I always see the same thing in their eyes." He repeatedly praised those two for stepping up to meet a challenge rather than backing down. That's why those guys are playing the minutes they are.
He also said in response to one question something along the lines of appreciating guys who have been here and put in the time "but at some point I've got to do what's best for the program." For the second straight game, Kevin Puryear sat the final 16 minutes. He may continue to start, but his playing time is going to go way down. Asked about the four-guard lineup which he's been reluctant to use, but did against Arkansas by necessity and then did by choice tonight, Martin said they'd do a lot of it going forward. Not only is Missouri a better team playing that lineup, but those are the guys that are putting forth the effort Cuonzo requires. Tilmon and Reed Nikko both do that. KJ Santos was minus-15 in 11 minutes tonight. He simply doesn't look like he wants to touch the basketball. Mitchell Smith seems to yoyo between good graces and the doghouse (as does Xavier Pinson to a lesser degree). And the aforementioned quote I took as a shot across the bow of Puryear.
If you're going to play for Cuonzo Martin (and really most coaches, but Cuonzo especially) you're going to be tough. He praised Mark Smith for playing with "two inches of tape on his ankle." He said "That's part of it." The man grew up with a single mom in East St. Louis and was an all-American on the knees of a 50-year-old and beat cancer. He doesn't have any time for soft or lazy. He's going to play the guys that play hard, whether they're the most talented guys or not.
I'm going to write more about this later in the week, but I think tonight was a line in the sand. Halftime tonight was when Cuonzo Martin put his stamp on this program going forward. He called his team out at halftime and then he played the guys who responded to the challenge and they went out and beat Kentucky by 12 points and dominated them on the glass in the second half.
Here's your coach in a single quote, when asked if tonight showed him his team was still buying in even though it wasn't winning games
"I don't know why they wouldn't. It's what you do. You're on scholarship. You're part of a program. It's what you're supposed to do or you've got to find a new program. I've never been one to kind of judge or gauge whether or not they're buying in. If you're not buying in, you got to relocate. I don't understand that. I really don't. This is what you're supposed to do. Give everything you've got. I mean you're on scholarship, somebody's paying for your school, it's the least you can do is play hard."
That's like Cuonzo Martin's mission statement. This is his program. I actually have much more belief it's going to work tonight than I have at any point in the last 10 months.
The actual game was not super compelling. Kentucky jumped out early and just kept Mizzou at arm's length. The Tigers fought and scrapped and beat Kentucky by 12 in the second half, but the hole was so big at halftime that there was never a point that it seemed like Missouri had a real chance to make Kentucky sweat a ton. Not trying to take away from the second half effort because it showed me a lot about this team (and I'll get to that shortly) but as far as winning the game, it wasn't ever a real option.
When Jeremiah Tilmon got his second foul six minutes in, it was kind of curtains for Mizzou. They are outmanned in the frontcourt against Kentucky anyway, but without Tilmon, it's a no contest. I honestly didn't see either of his first half fouls. They were away from the ball so I wasn't watching him when they got called. I can't say they were good, bad or indifferent. I can say that the refs (despite calling 17 fouls in the first 17 minutes) never had any semblance of control of that game. They weren't any good. But I don't know if they were worse for Tilmon than anybody else.
Mitchell Smith had the two biggest hits of the night. He delivered the first one on a (legal) screen against Immanuel Quickley. And he took the second one on an elbow from EJ Montgomery. It wasn't a dirty play, his elbow just hit Smith's head on his way down from a shot. Cuonzo Martin said after the game Smith was fine.
Cuonzo said a lot after the game. At halftime, he told the team it was the first time he'd seen them not playing hard. I asked him why he thought that was in the first half and he said, "DId you see it?" He said he could see it in guys' eyes when they weren't ready to play. Then he said "Javon (Pickett) and Ronnie (Suggs), I always see the same thing in their eyes." He repeatedly praised those two for stepping up to meet a challenge rather than backing down. That's why those guys are playing the minutes they are.
He also said in response to one question something along the lines of appreciating guys who have been here and put in the time "but at some point I've got to do what's best for the program." For the second straight game, Kevin Puryear sat the final 16 minutes. He may continue to start, but his playing time is going to go way down. Asked about the four-guard lineup which he's been reluctant to use, but did against Arkansas by necessity and then did by choice tonight, Martin said they'd do a lot of it going forward. Not only is Missouri a better team playing that lineup, but those are the guys that are putting forth the effort Cuonzo requires. Tilmon and Reed Nikko both do that. KJ Santos was minus-15 in 11 minutes tonight. He simply doesn't look like he wants to touch the basketball. Mitchell Smith seems to yoyo between good graces and the doghouse (as does Xavier Pinson to a lesser degree). And the aforementioned quote I took as a shot across the bow of Puryear.
If you're going to play for Cuonzo Martin (and really most coaches, but Cuonzo especially) you're going to be tough. He praised Mark Smith for playing with "two inches of tape on his ankle." He said "That's part of it." The man grew up with a single mom in East St. Louis and was an all-American on the knees of a 50-year-old and beat cancer. He doesn't have any time for soft or lazy. He's going to play the guys that play hard, whether they're the most talented guys or not.
I'm going to write more about this later in the week, but I think tonight was a line in the sand. Halftime tonight was when Cuonzo Martin put his stamp on this program going forward. He called his team out at halftime and then he played the guys who responded to the challenge and they went out and beat Kentucky by 12 points and dominated them on the glass in the second half.
Here's your coach in a single quote, when asked if tonight showed him his team was still buying in even though it wasn't winning games
"I don't know why they wouldn't. It's what you do. You're on scholarship. You're part of a program. It's what you're supposed to do or you've got to find a new program. I've never been one to kind of judge or gauge whether or not they're buying in. If you're not buying in, you got to relocate. I don't understand that. I really don't. This is what you're supposed to do. Give everything you've got. I mean you're on scholarship, somebody's paying for your school, it's the least you can do is play hard."
That's like Cuonzo Martin's mission statement. This is his program. I actually have much more belief it's going to work tonight than I have at any point in the last 10 months.
