First off, a welcome and thanks to our new sponsor for this weekly column, Stein & Summers Real Estate, a Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Partner with offices in St. Joseph and Kansas City.
Stein & Summers is a rock solid real estate firm with over 46 years of success that can be attributed to our willingness to go the extra mile in service and expertise. We provide a full range of services in residential, commercial, multi-family, investment and agricultural real estate. Confidence comes from feeling you’ve been taken care of, so when you see our sign you can rest assured that one of our agents will be ready to provide the best care for any of your real estate needs.
1007 E. St. Maartens Dr. Saint Joseph , MO 64506
Phone: 816-232-2000
Now that the bills are paid, let's get to this week's ten thoughts:
1) I think some clarification is in order on the basketball program. I ruffled some feathers with my closing thoughts from Saturday's home finale. So let me explain. First of all, you can take exception with the phrase "playing out the string." All I meant was that this team clearly wasn't good enough, as currently constructed on the court, to play for something meaningful. We knew that in mid-January. It's not an indictment of the program, it's not an indictment of the coach and it's certainly not an indictment of the effort. Every single person from the opposition who has seen this team play has complimented how hard Missouri plays. They bust their butts. They just weren't good enough to win many more games than they did. That's all I meant. It was obvious two months ago that the absolute ceiling for this team was sneaking into the NIT. That's what I meant when I said they were playing out the string. You can argue with my word choice if you want, but I think the meaning was misunderstood.
Second, I've made no judgment on Cuonzo Martin. I've clearly stated all season long that this year is too soon to do so. He took over an utter abomination of a program. He went all in in year one, a strategy I understand and actually agree with. In hindsight, it didn't work out, but that wasn't his fault. He then lost his best player in year two and another top three or four player halfway through the season. In no way am I telling you that I think Cuonzo has done a poor job or that I don't think he can succeed here. I just don't know it yet.
Next year is a year we start to get to make some fair judgments. Year three is soon enough to see significant progress in college basketball. It's plenty of time to overhaul a roster. I'm not saying Missouri has to be a Sweet 16 team next year. I'm not saying it even necessarily has to be a tournament team. But, if healthy, it has to be better than this year. We have to see clear progress. I think we will. If we don't, I'm not going to bury Martin and say it's a failed hire. But I'll have some doubts. I believe he has a longer honeymoon period than any coach I've seen at Mizzou and a longer one than most coaches do when they take over a program. And, again, it's very understandable why. Here's (paraphrasing) what I said when Missouri fired Kim Anderson: "The goal is not to hire someone better than the guy you just fired. Because legitimately anyone will be better than Anderson was. The goal is to hire the guy you think can take this program back to where it was from 1976-94." Cuonzo Martin might be that guy. I'm not as sold that he is as many of you are. That doesn't mean I don't like him. It doesn't mean I think he isn't that guy yet. It just means I'm not sure. If you take issue with that, that's your prerogative and there's nothing I can do to change your mind.
2. Before I get buried in negativity, let's talk about the reasons to be optimistic:
Xavier Pinson has exceeded my expectations. I think he'll be the secondary point guard again next year, but he'll play plenty. I think Dru Smith is going to run the point, but Pinson will spell him and I think we'll see plenty of times where Pinson runs the point and Smith can play off the ball too.
Torrence Watson is becoming the guy I thought we'd see most of the season. I think he's got a chance to lead this team in scoring next season.
Mark Smith was much better than I thought he would be before he got hurt. Assuming he's healthy for a full season, that's four very good SEC guards...and we haven't even talked about Javon Pickett. Pickett is an interesting case. I think he'll be a good player here for four years. I think his improvement (for lack of a better word) will be less than a lot of other guys because I think he came the closest of anyone on this roster to maximizing his ability as a freshman. I'm not saying he won't be a better player two years from now than he is today, but I just think there's maybe not as much room for growth in him as there is in other guys.
I can't type much more on Jeremiah Tilmon. We all know he only has one issue. And we all wait to see if he'll solve it.
Reed Nikko actually gives me optimism for next season. He filled his role on this team better than perhaps anyone except Pickett. At the beginning of the season, I probably wouldn't have predicted Nikko to return next year. Now I'd be very surprised if he doesn't.
Tray Jackson is going to be a starter from day one. He's going to get every opportunity to excel and to fight through the growing pains to do so.
3. Okay, so now the flip side. What are my doubts?
I think the recruiting has to get better. I think Jackson/Mario McKinney/whatever else is added is a solid class. I think it's the type of class that can have you consistently middle of the pack to a little above that in the SEC. I do not think it is the type of class that can win league titles and/or get you a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament. In other words, I see classes like that being good enough to get you IN the NCAA Tournament, but not to be a serious threat to make a run consistently.
Part of this is the misses: I remain convinced Blake Harris was taken as a nod to the Porters. They were friends and they grabbed him and I don't think it was ever a fit with Cuonzo. The CJ Roberts situation was strange. That also was never a fit and based on what I've been told, that was communicated but he stayed with his LOI anyway. There was never any real expectation Roberts was going to contribute here. So I'll give Martin passes on those two. Not so much on KJ Santos and Christian Guess. To be fair, Santos can't be definitively called a miss yet. Perhaps he will turn into a good player here. I haven't seen it yet, but I know it was expected last fall. If this happens, this alleviates some of the concern here. With Guess, I know people will say "there's no damage because the alternative was not using the scholarship." That's somewhat true, but isn't that in itself an issue? At some point you could have gotten someone. Guess was a major flyer in September. It didn't work out and I'm not burying anyone for it, but it also didn't ever make a whole lot of sense to me.
There are still too many empty spots on this roster. I'll give the power forward position a pass for now because Jontay Porter was supposed to play there and Kevin Puryear was expected to play better than he did. The problem was the No. 1 was gone and the No. 2 played more like a No. 3. And because of that, we saw a lot more of Mitchell Smith and KJ Santos than I think was expected. This question might be answered this spring. But if the only addition at power forward is Jackson, it gives me concern for next year. Because not only is he a freshman (and I've detailed why 8 points and 4 rebounds a game would be a very good season for him), but there is a gaping hole behind him barring a TON of improvement.
4. So given unlimited space, hopefully I've explained my stance a little bit more. I have nothing against Cuonzo Martin. In fact, I really like the guy. He's personable and he's a good man and he's someone I'd be happy to send my own son to play for four years. I have not decided he's not going to be a huge success here. I just want to see a little bit more before I make the call.
Stein & Summers is a rock solid real estate firm with over 46 years of success that can be attributed to our willingness to go the extra mile in service and expertise. We provide a full range of services in residential, commercial, multi-family, investment and agricultural real estate. Confidence comes from feeling you’ve been taken care of, so when you see our sign you can rest assured that one of our agents will be ready to provide the best care for any of your real estate needs.
1007 E. St. Maartens Dr. Saint Joseph , MO 64506
Phone: 816-232-2000
Now that the bills are paid, let's get to this week's ten thoughts:
1) I think some clarification is in order on the basketball program. I ruffled some feathers with my closing thoughts from Saturday's home finale. So let me explain. First of all, you can take exception with the phrase "playing out the string." All I meant was that this team clearly wasn't good enough, as currently constructed on the court, to play for something meaningful. We knew that in mid-January. It's not an indictment of the program, it's not an indictment of the coach and it's certainly not an indictment of the effort. Every single person from the opposition who has seen this team play has complimented how hard Missouri plays. They bust their butts. They just weren't good enough to win many more games than they did. That's all I meant. It was obvious two months ago that the absolute ceiling for this team was sneaking into the NIT. That's what I meant when I said they were playing out the string. You can argue with my word choice if you want, but I think the meaning was misunderstood.
Second, I've made no judgment on Cuonzo Martin. I've clearly stated all season long that this year is too soon to do so. He took over an utter abomination of a program. He went all in in year one, a strategy I understand and actually agree with. In hindsight, it didn't work out, but that wasn't his fault. He then lost his best player in year two and another top three or four player halfway through the season. In no way am I telling you that I think Cuonzo has done a poor job or that I don't think he can succeed here. I just don't know it yet.
Next year is a year we start to get to make some fair judgments. Year three is soon enough to see significant progress in college basketball. It's plenty of time to overhaul a roster. I'm not saying Missouri has to be a Sweet 16 team next year. I'm not saying it even necessarily has to be a tournament team. But, if healthy, it has to be better than this year. We have to see clear progress. I think we will. If we don't, I'm not going to bury Martin and say it's a failed hire. But I'll have some doubts. I believe he has a longer honeymoon period than any coach I've seen at Mizzou and a longer one than most coaches do when they take over a program. And, again, it's very understandable why. Here's (paraphrasing) what I said when Missouri fired Kim Anderson: "The goal is not to hire someone better than the guy you just fired. Because legitimately anyone will be better than Anderson was. The goal is to hire the guy you think can take this program back to where it was from 1976-94." Cuonzo Martin might be that guy. I'm not as sold that he is as many of you are. That doesn't mean I don't like him. It doesn't mean I think he isn't that guy yet. It just means I'm not sure. If you take issue with that, that's your prerogative and there's nothing I can do to change your mind.
2. Before I get buried in negativity, let's talk about the reasons to be optimistic:
Xavier Pinson has exceeded my expectations. I think he'll be the secondary point guard again next year, but he'll play plenty. I think Dru Smith is going to run the point, but Pinson will spell him and I think we'll see plenty of times where Pinson runs the point and Smith can play off the ball too.
Torrence Watson is becoming the guy I thought we'd see most of the season. I think he's got a chance to lead this team in scoring next season.
Mark Smith was much better than I thought he would be before he got hurt. Assuming he's healthy for a full season, that's four very good SEC guards...and we haven't even talked about Javon Pickett. Pickett is an interesting case. I think he'll be a good player here for four years. I think his improvement (for lack of a better word) will be less than a lot of other guys because I think he came the closest of anyone on this roster to maximizing his ability as a freshman. I'm not saying he won't be a better player two years from now than he is today, but I just think there's maybe not as much room for growth in him as there is in other guys.
I can't type much more on Jeremiah Tilmon. We all know he only has one issue. And we all wait to see if he'll solve it.
Reed Nikko actually gives me optimism for next season. He filled his role on this team better than perhaps anyone except Pickett. At the beginning of the season, I probably wouldn't have predicted Nikko to return next year. Now I'd be very surprised if he doesn't.
Tray Jackson is going to be a starter from day one. He's going to get every opportunity to excel and to fight through the growing pains to do so.
3. Okay, so now the flip side. What are my doubts?
I think the recruiting has to get better. I think Jackson/Mario McKinney/whatever else is added is a solid class. I think it's the type of class that can have you consistently middle of the pack to a little above that in the SEC. I do not think it is the type of class that can win league titles and/or get you a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament. In other words, I see classes like that being good enough to get you IN the NCAA Tournament, but not to be a serious threat to make a run consistently.
Part of this is the misses: I remain convinced Blake Harris was taken as a nod to the Porters. They were friends and they grabbed him and I don't think it was ever a fit with Cuonzo. The CJ Roberts situation was strange. That also was never a fit and based on what I've been told, that was communicated but he stayed with his LOI anyway. There was never any real expectation Roberts was going to contribute here. So I'll give Martin passes on those two. Not so much on KJ Santos and Christian Guess. To be fair, Santos can't be definitively called a miss yet. Perhaps he will turn into a good player here. I haven't seen it yet, but I know it was expected last fall. If this happens, this alleviates some of the concern here. With Guess, I know people will say "there's no damage because the alternative was not using the scholarship." That's somewhat true, but isn't that in itself an issue? At some point you could have gotten someone. Guess was a major flyer in September. It didn't work out and I'm not burying anyone for it, but it also didn't ever make a whole lot of sense to me.
There are still too many empty spots on this roster. I'll give the power forward position a pass for now because Jontay Porter was supposed to play there and Kevin Puryear was expected to play better than he did. The problem was the No. 1 was gone and the No. 2 played more like a No. 3. And because of that, we saw a lot more of Mitchell Smith and KJ Santos than I think was expected. This question might be answered this spring. But if the only addition at power forward is Jackson, it gives me concern for next year. Because not only is he a freshman (and I've detailed why 8 points and 4 rebounds a game would be a very good season for him), but there is a gaping hole behind him barring a TON of improvement.
4. So given unlimited space, hopefully I've explained my stance a little bit more. I have nothing against Cuonzo Martin. In fact, I really like the guy. He's personable and he's a good man and he's someone I'd be happy to send my own son to play for four years. I have not decided he's not going to be a huge success here. I just want to see a little bit more before I make the call.
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