Here we go. It's almost 6 a.m., we've got three stories on the front page. Before you check those out, keep up with what you might have missed in Monday's Daily Down Low
Now here are this morning's links:
Newcomer Q&A Dimetrios Mason
Wyatt Wilkes cuts it to five
Film Room: Roderick Ford
*The Curators will meet today at 5:30. Word I've gotten is there will be nothing official and likely no announcement after the meeting (although I'll probably still swing by because as Dave Matter reminded me yesterday, we were told the same thing last time and then someone came out of the meeting and ended up telling us Missouri had indeed hired Mack Rhoades). But in all likelihood, there is no statement after tonight. Don't worry, the Curators are going to approve the hire of Jim Sterk and it will likely be announced tomorrow. I mean, I know Mizzou fans are gunshy, but even Mizzou isn't going to not approve what appears to be a pretty good hire after his other school has already announced he's coming to Mizzou.
Most I've seen appear to be very happy about this hire. That's mostly fans, but I've talked to a couple of people around Mizzou that said those that interviewed Sterk were very, very impressed (obviously, I mean they hired him). Sterk was the Under Armour AD of the year last year, so he must be doing something right.
I'm making an effort today to get some more info on Sterk from people who have covered him in San Diego and hope to have that posted on the site later today.
**Speaking of the AD process, Missouri seems to have done a very good job keeping this under wraps. I can tell you, according to sources, that Hank Foley and the search firm interviewed at least three people in Dallas last weekend. I also am told that Foley had a meeting with Jon Sundvold. So that's at least four people that Foley took a pretty good look at. Not sure who the other two were, though AD's from East Carolina and Tulsa were mentioned recently. Missouri, according to everything I've been told, put a premium on hiring a current athletic director from the outset. I think Sundvold was interested for sure, but I don't think the talks ever got all that far because Missouri's intentions were pretty clear from the get go.
I'm not going to pretend I have any idea if this was the right hire or if Sterk will be good here. But on the surface, I think this was probably about as well as Missouri could have done in its current situation. They didn't hire a Power Five AD, but they hired perhaps the best one in the country from that level right below. Considering everything that's gone on the last year, I don't know what more a Mizzou fan could have reasonably hoped for.
***On the Ehren Earleywine front, Blake Toppmeyer from the Columbia Daily Tribune reported yesterday that Earleywine met with Foley and Sarah Reesman yesterday. I asked a source yesterday afternoon when a resolution would come. All I got was "Hopefully soon" which seems to have been the answer for about two weeks now.
I've got to be honest, I don't know what the hold up is at this point in time, but I have been told by multiple sources that Foley is leaning heavily on consultation with Rhoades and R. Bowen Loftin in coming to a final decision. Seems odd to me, but whatever. I'm still fairly confident Earleywine is coming back, but we'll wait for final word, which could come as soon as today.
11:02 AM UPDATE
**2017 hoops prospect Wabissa Bede released his top five and Mizzou wasn't in it. Schiffer wrote a story about him recently, but the top five are Butler, VA Tech, Minnesota, LaSalle and UMASS. Not that we expected Mizzou to be a player here, but passing it on.
We will update this post throughout the day.
11:46 AM UPDATE
Here's the mailbag this week
3:58 PM UPDATE
Mizzou basketball won in Italy today 92-78. Cullen Van Leer had 26
Now here are this morning's links:
Newcomer Q&A Dimetrios Mason
Wyatt Wilkes cuts it to five
Film Room: Roderick Ford
*The Curators will meet today at 5:30. Word I've gotten is there will be nothing official and likely no announcement after the meeting (although I'll probably still swing by because as Dave Matter reminded me yesterday, we were told the same thing last time and then someone came out of the meeting and ended up telling us Missouri had indeed hired Mack Rhoades). But in all likelihood, there is no statement after tonight. Don't worry, the Curators are going to approve the hire of Jim Sterk and it will likely be announced tomorrow. I mean, I know Mizzou fans are gunshy, but even Mizzou isn't going to not approve what appears to be a pretty good hire after his other school has already announced he's coming to Mizzou.
Most I've seen appear to be very happy about this hire. That's mostly fans, but I've talked to a couple of people around Mizzou that said those that interviewed Sterk were very, very impressed (obviously, I mean they hired him). Sterk was the Under Armour AD of the year last year, so he must be doing something right.
I'm making an effort today to get some more info on Sterk from people who have covered him in San Diego and hope to have that posted on the site later today.
**Speaking of the AD process, Missouri seems to have done a very good job keeping this under wraps. I can tell you, according to sources, that Hank Foley and the search firm interviewed at least three people in Dallas last weekend. I also am told that Foley had a meeting with Jon Sundvold. So that's at least four people that Foley took a pretty good look at. Not sure who the other two were, though AD's from East Carolina and Tulsa were mentioned recently. Missouri, according to everything I've been told, put a premium on hiring a current athletic director from the outset. I think Sundvold was interested for sure, but I don't think the talks ever got all that far because Missouri's intentions were pretty clear from the get go.
I'm not going to pretend I have any idea if this was the right hire or if Sterk will be good here. But on the surface, I think this was probably about as well as Missouri could have done in its current situation. They didn't hire a Power Five AD, but they hired perhaps the best one in the country from that level right below. Considering everything that's gone on the last year, I don't know what more a Mizzou fan could have reasonably hoped for.
***On the Ehren Earleywine front, Blake Toppmeyer from the Columbia Daily Tribune reported yesterday that Earleywine met with Foley and Sarah Reesman yesterday. I asked a source yesterday afternoon when a resolution would come. All I got was "Hopefully soon" which seems to have been the answer for about two weeks now.
I've got to be honest, I don't know what the hold up is at this point in time, but I have been told by multiple sources that Foley is leaning heavily on consultation with Rhoades and R. Bowen Loftin in coming to a final decision. Seems odd to me, but whatever. I'm still fairly confident Earleywine is coming back, but we'll wait for final word, which could come as soon as today.
11:02 AM UPDATE
**2017 hoops prospect Wabissa Bede released his top five and Mizzou wasn't in it. Schiffer wrote a story about him recently, but the top five are Butler, VA Tech, Minnesota, LaSalle and UMASS. Not that we expected Mizzou to be a player here, but passing it on.
We will update this post throughout the day.
11:46 AM UPDATE
Here's the mailbag this week
3:58 PM UPDATE
Mizzou basketball won in Italy today 92-78. Cullen Van Leer had 26
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