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1) Let's start by going back. Kobe Brown became the 16th player in Missouri history to be chosen in the first round of the NBA Draft when he went to the LA Clippers with the 30th pick on Thursday night. I'll be honest: I was more convinced than most that Kobe was making the right move going pro. I did not see him going in the first round. It is fantastic for him. He will sign a contract that is guaranteed for two years for a little more than two million bucks a year with team options for years three and four. Worst case scenario, Kobe is going to get two years to prove himself and is going to make four million bucks over the next two years. He's mature, he's smart and he's got a good support system around him so even if the NBA career lasts only those first two years, he's in pretty damn good shape. I'm not an expert on the Clippers' roster (or any other in the NBA), but they used 22 players last year and 19 of them played in at least 22 games. Only three played in at least 65. In other words, in the era of load management, Kobe should get some chances.
While it's great for him, it's every bit as good for Dennis Gates and Missouri...
2) There is no better recruiting tool than putting your players in the pros. That is true of every sport. Gary Pinkel often said that Don James told him his program would take off when he started consistently putting players in the NFL. He was right. The same is true for Gates at Mizzou. Pretty much every kid that signs with a high major basketball program thinks he's playing in the NBA. They might not all say it out loud, but they pretty much all think it. Nothing is more valuable for a coach than the ability to show recruits he can do it.
A year ago, Kobe Brown was a good college basketball player, but very few thought he was a pro. He's now a first round pick. A year ago, D'Moi Hodge was a constantly overlooked skinny shooting guard who had done a nice job in the Horizon League. He's now a Los Angeles Laker (Hodge signed a two-way deal within minutes of the draft ending). That's the best recruiting tool Gates could have asked for. He can tell every kid he is recruiting "We had two players that weren't considered pros turn into pros in just one year playing for us. Imagine what we can do for you in three or four years."
Brown and Hodge deserve the lion's share of credit for making it to the NBA. But don't discount what Gates and his staff did for them.
3) Missouri had its biggest recruiting weekend of the year this past weekend and there have so far been no public commitments. Is it time to panic?
That's an emphatic no. For those of you who have been here for a while, Sunday used to be the day where commitments would break all over the country. On these big time visit weekends (which mostly used to happen in December) we'd spend the entire day calling kids and getting updates. The majority of them would pick up the phone and talk to us. And quite often, they'd tell us they had committed and we would break the news.
Social media has changed all that. Most kids don't go public with a commitment in the immediate aftermath of a visit. Many of them may have told the coaches they're coming, but they need a day or two to put together a graphic or a video for Twitter and Instagram. They just don't go public with the news right away. That's certainly happening here. I can say with absolute certainty that multiple players who were in town have told the Missouri coaching staff they are coming. It's just that none of them have told the rest of us quite yet. I'd set the over/under at commitments in the next couple of weeks at 5.5 and I'd probably take the over.
4) So let's dive into the specific players and who the Tigers are looking good with. Here are the updates we do have from yesterday already:
Four-star LB Brian Huff: He's announcing in mid-July and has a top four of Mizzou, UCF, Arkansas and UNLV. We feel good that Missouri is the favorite.
Three-star DE Cole McConathy: He'll announce July 6th. It's Missouri or Louisville. We aren't ready to make the call on this one quite yet.
Three-star DT Justin Bodford: Announcing this coming Sunday. We'd be very surprised if it isn't Mizzou.
Three-star RB Johann Cardenas: Has Mizzou and Vandy on top. No date set yet. Not ready to make a prediction.
Safety Jackson Hancock: Doesn't have a date set yet, but spoke highly of the Tigers. As his lone Power Five offer right now, if he sticks to a summer commitment, you have to favor Missouri.
Three-star ATH Jude James: We'd have put him as the most likely to commit this weekend coming in. He said he has more visits planned. A commitment might not happen immediately, but we'd still put Mizzou as the favorite.
5) Here are some thoughts on the other visitors, to whom we have not yet talked:
Williams Nwaneri: He got the ultimate red carpet treatment. Missouri made its pitch. He then went to Georgia for an unofficial visit. We'd still tab Oklahoma as the favorite, but the Tigers will continue to prioritize him.
Ryan Wingo: We haven't been able to talk to the five-star receiver yet, but he's the top priority on offense for Mizzou. Most think Texas is the stiffest competition. We'll be in touch with him this week to get more. We're confident he hasn't committed anywhere yet.
Darrion Dupree: No idea yet.
Jeremiah Beasley: We haven't talked to him yet. It's tough to see a Michigan kid who has offers from Michigan and Michigan State ending up at Mizzou.
Nicholas Rodriguez: Again, we need to talk to him to get a better idea, but it's a positive sign that Mizzou got the four-star LB on campus.
Cameron Keys: He's been on the radar for quite some time. Also visited Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Can't make a call here yet.
Cam Dooley: He has the same three finalists as Keys. He was all over social media yesterday and followed quite a few Mizzou-related accounts. We're going to go ahead and say we think he's one who will jump on board in the near future.
Elias Williams: Has visited Mizzou, UCF, Kansas and Indiana. We're supposed to talk with him later today. Cautiously optimistic here for right now.
Austyn Dendy: A surprise addition to the visitor list this weekend. We need to talk to him to get a feel where he's at in his recruitment.
William Echoles: Has also visited Mississippi State and Auburn. We exchanged a couple of messages, but haven't talked to him yet. Hope to do so today. Again, not ready to make a prediction.
