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1) Let's start with football and we'll move to hoops. The last spot on the staff is the offensive line coach. We expect that's either wrapped up or will be shortly. We do not know who it will be at this point in time. Like we told you about the other position coaches, we really aren't qualified most of the time to say it's good, bad or indifferent. Many of these guys we haven't even heard of before they're hired, so it's going to be who it's going to be. I'd definitely expect it to be announced sometime this week, but I don't have a definite timetable.
2) The focus is obviously going to be recruiting. There's been a lot of talk about Montra Edwards. Keeping Brick Haley was big with him. There is definite reason to feel good and we wouldn't be surprised to see a commitment any day now. That said, he'll still likely take a couple more visits before signing day so the announcement may not mark the end of the road. The other one we're watching closely is Ennis Rakestraw, who Sean wrote about this morning. Chance Luper is also visiting this month and with his father on staff, we'd think it would be a surprise if he didn't end up here. That's three spots. It leaves probably around seven more. If I'm remembering correctly, Eli Drinkwitz wants an offensive lineman, a skill position player, a DB and a defensive lineman at least. We expect them maybe to leave a couple spots open for potential transfers.
3) Speaking of transfers, there haven't been any at this point. That doesn't mean there won't be. School doesn't start for a couple of weeks, so it's definitely possible there are players who will choose not to come back. The other time frame for potential transfers would be after spring football. We would certainly expect some. First, there are some every year. Second, there are always some with a coaching change. Don't have a specific number, don't have specific guys we're expecting, but we definitely are expecting a handfu.
4) Let's move on to hoops. First of all, everyone seems to have returned for second semester and they've now played a couple of games, so we aren't looking at any mid-year transfers off the roster. I know there was a lot of thought that Mario McKinney would be a candidate, but that seems to have passed at this point in time. McKinney has gotten some run in the last couple of games. More surprisingly, Axel Okongo got a minute or two against Kentucky. We wouldn't expect to see him a lot, but he may be a guy that can fill in a minute or two if Jeremiah Tilmon is in foul trouble or if his foot injury lingers. I think it's ideal to play him some. It was always a bit of a head scratcher, but it would be even more so if you were talking about extra year of eligibility. If guys aren't going to be major contributors, there's no reason to have them on scholarship for longer than necessary.
5) The Kentucky game went very much like I expected it to go. Kentucky isn't great this year, especially on offense. They have some of the same problems Missouri does with regard to shooting the ball. But they have a better frontcourt and that was on display on Saturday. Missouri is good enough to make Kentucky pay attention and put out a good effort, but not good enough to beat them there. After a very slow offensive start, there wasn't really any sense for the last 25 minutes or so that Missouri had a chance to really challenge the Cats. That game kind of illustrated why I've raised my eyebrows when Cuonzo Martin has said if they're healthy this team is as good as any in the SEC. To be blunt, I've never seen that with this roster. I think it can be a tournament team. I think if they get some bounces they can be an upper half of the league team and maybe even in contention for a double bye as one of the top four teams. I just don't see it as realistic that this team could compete to win the SEC.
6) The major issue is that they don't have a go to scorer. They have guys who on certain days can get hot and we've seen that. But when they go through a drought (and this team ALWAYS goes through a drought) who do they turn to? Dru Smith? He's more of an all around player, a facilitator, a stat stuffer, than a guy you're turning to for 10 straight points in an SEC game. Mark Smith or Torrence Watson? Sure, if the jumper is falling. Jeremiah Tilmon? It's time to move past that thought, isn't it? When Kentucky couldn't do anything right on offense, Nick Richards was there scoring 14 of their first 16 points. He picked up the slack while his teammates got their feet under them. Eventually, enough of them did. Who does Missouri have that can do that? I honestly think the best candidate is probably Xavier Pinson.
1) Let's start with football and we'll move to hoops. The last spot on the staff is the offensive line coach. We expect that's either wrapped up or will be shortly. We do not know who it will be at this point in time. Like we told you about the other position coaches, we really aren't qualified most of the time to say it's good, bad or indifferent. Many of these guys we haven't even heard of before they're hired, so it's going to be who it's going to be. I'd definitely expect it to be announced sometime this week, but I don't have a definite timetable.
2) The focus is obviously going to be recruiting. There's been a lot of talk about Montra Edwards. Keeping Brick Haley was big with him. There is definite reason to feel good and we wouldn't be surprised to see a commitment any day now. That said, he'll still likely take a couple more visits before signing day so the announcement may not mark the end of the road. The other one we're watching closely is Ennis Rakestraw, who Sean wrote about this morning. Chance Luper is also visiting this month and with his father on staff, we'd think it would be a surprise if he didn't end up here. That's three spots. It leaves probably around seven more. If I'm remembering correctly, Eli Drinkwitz wants an offensive lineman, a skill position player, a DB and a defensive lineman at least. We expect them maybe to leave a couple spots open for potential transfers.
3) Speaking of transfers, there haven't been any at this point. That doesn't mean there won't be. School doesn't start for a couple of weeks, so it's definitely possible there are players who will choose not to come back. The other time frame for potential transfers would be after spring football. We would certainly expect some. First, there are some every year. Second, there are always some with a coaching change. Don't have a specific number, don't have specific guys we're expecting, but we definitely are expecting a handfu.
4) Let's move on to hoops. First of all, everyone seems to have returned for second semester and they've now played a couple of games, so we aren't looking at any mid-year transfers off the roster. I know there was a lot of thought that Mario McKinney would be a candidate, but that seems to have passed at this point in time. McKinney has gotten some run in the last couple of games. More surprisingly, Axel Okongo got a minute or two against Kentucky. We wouldn't expect to see him a lot, but he may be a guy that can fill in a minute or two if Jeremiah Tilmon is in foul trouble or if his foot injury lingers. I think it's ideal to play him some. It was always a bit of a head scratcher, but it would be even more so if you were talking about extra year of eligibility. If guys aren't going to be major contributors, there's no reason to have them on scholarship for longer than necessary.
5) The Kentucky game went very much like I expected it to go. Kentucky isn't great this year, especially on offense. They have some of the same problems Missouri does with regard to shooting the ball. But they have a better frontcourt and that was on display on Saturday. Missouri is good enough to make Kentucky pay attention and put out a good effort, but not good enough to beat them there. After a very slow offensive start, there wasn't really any sense for the last 25 minutes or so that Missouri had a chance to really challenge the Cats. That game kind of illustrated why I've raised my eyebrows when Cuonzo Martin has said if they're healthy this team is as good as any in the SEC. To be blunt, I've never seen that with this roster. I think it can be a tournament team. I think if they get some bounces they can be an upper half of the league team and maybe even in contention for a double bye as one of the top four teams. I just don't see it as realistic that this team could compete to win the SEC.
6) The major issue is that they don't have a go to scorer. They have guys who on certain days can get hot and we've seen that. But when they go through a drought (and this team ALWAYS goes through a drought) who do they turn to? Dru Smith? He's more of an all around player, a facilitator, a stat stuffer, than a guy you're turning to for 10 straight points in an SEC game. Mark Smith or Torrence Watson? Sure, if the jumper is falling. Jeremiah Tilmon? It's time to move past that thought, isn't it? When Kentucky couldn't do anything right on offense, Nick Richards was there scoring 14 of their first 16 points. He picked up the slack while his teammates got their feet under them. Eventually, enough of them did. Who does Missouri have that can do that? I honestly think the best candidate is probably Xavier Pinson.
