It's been a while since we've said this, but we know you're here for the hoops news, so let's get the football stuff out of the way first.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
- Wyatt Blake will more than likely not be picking Missouri today. He is down to Northwestern and Minnesota. Blake is a legit prospect that is going to fill the needs of one of those teams, and is a guy that Missouri could've definitely used.
- Once Grant Norton gets an offer, or if he does, he will be a Tiger, in my opinion. He might not make it public, but he is a huge Missouri fan and grew up watching all of the games. Norton could blow up over this summer/camp circuit as other big schools are sure to find out about him soon. He told us he is supposed to talk about an offer with Missouri at Junior Day on Saturday
- Speaking of Junior Day, this one will be different than what Mizzou did for the Tiger Ten. It is the next couple tiers of prospects from in-state with a select few out-of-state guys as well. We've been told that Mizzou is expecting to host around 30 prospects. Here are the names we've confirmed so far.
Ben Becker - OT - Park Hill
Hayden Bollinger - LB - Lafayette
Kameron Bowdry - DT - SLUH
Khristian Boyd - DT - Blue Springs
Antonio Burks - WR - St Mary's
Bryson Clayton - LB - Rock Bridge
Dimitri Douglas - OT - Saline (Mich.)
Ikenna Enechukwu - DE - Ruskin
Elijah Farr - TE - Lee's Summit North
Marcus Greer - OG - Chaminade
Devin Haney - CB - Park Hill
TJ Kennedy - OT - Lee's Summit
Bobby Lawrence - OT - St. Joe Central
Will Lawrence - OL - Harding Academy (Tenn.)
Marquis Majors - WR - Fort Zumwalt West
Jordan Murray - TE/WR - Lee's Summit North
Cade Musser - RB - St. Joe Central
Grant Norton - OT - Camdenton
Jake Papez - TE/LB - Timberland
Devin Rice - TE/DE - Liberty North
Brendan Schlitler - OL - Eureka
Tyler Walton - WR - CBC
Tre Wheaton - WR - Blue Springs
Shakespeare Williams - DB - Ruskin
In addition there will likely be more events that will focus on the in-state prospects with offers. Nothing set yet, but we're hearing they are in the works. There will be another Night at the Zou this spring, but the date isn't set in stone yet.
- Tift County (Ga.) DE Andrew Johnson, who got an offer earlier this week,said he doesn't know much about Mizzou yet, but is aiming for a summertime visit.
- Tiger Ten member Dallas Craddieth is visiting Vanderbilt tomorrow.
BASKETBALL RECRUITING
Before we get to the specifics of kids (and families) we want to explain the situation to you guys. There are a lot of names being thrown around right now, but there is going to be a little bit of a dance going on as far as reshaping this roster. Cuonzo Martin won't have the freedom to just gut the roster and turn over everything due to the APR.
APR is a four-year score. Your last four years are always taken into account. In any season you're under 930 you're at risk for penalties. Frank Haith's last year, in which Missouri had a score of 850, is still on the books for one more year. Next year, this is no issue. This year, it still is.
We aren't going to pretend to understand every in and out of the APR and explain them. But we do know the specifics of the situation as it pertains to Missouri. Here's the gist: If more than two players who have a GPA below 2.6 leave, no matter where they end up, Missouri would be facing a post-season ban. As one person told me "We will not let that happen."
Players who have above a 2.6, if they were to leave, as long as they end up at another four-year school, there's no penalty. But for those below a 2.6, Missouri can only afford to lose two of them.
Now obviously, we aren't certain who fits into what category and honestly we don't even want to know. But know that it isn't going to be as simple as Martin and his staff coming in and saying "A, B and C aren't good enough" and clearing them out. They have to know every kid's academic situation as they massage the roster. And if there are kids that want to leave of their own volition, the staff has to be careful there too. You can't let three of them below a 2.6 go.
In conclusion, we don't think there's much risk of actually being banned from the postseason because, again, Missouri isn't going to go down that road. They'll make sure it doesn't happen. But it's also not as simple as a daily fantasy game where Martin will have the freedom to clear as much space as he needs to just pick up other guys. Room could potentially be made to bring in four players and keep C.J. Roberts, but it would take some gymnastics and won't be easy. It largely depends on which players are looking to leave.
Want to address the potential staff situations before we move on to the players Missouri will target. It's been reported that Director of Ops Marco Harris will follow Martin from Cal. It is widely expected that lead assistant Tracy Webster will as well. We all believe that there is an assistant spot for Michael Porter Sr. (more on that in a minute). The top target for the other spot is Jamall Walker, who is currently the interim head coach leading Illinois in the NIT. We are told that Walker has been offered a spot, but will wait to see who Illinois hires. Missouri's chances depend on who you talk to. We've been told he'd almost certainly come for a multi-year contract. We've been told he wants to stay at Illinois, but the Illini will need to hire the right coach. This one is up in the air. It's a key situation to watch as we will explain below.
We're gonna turn it over to Alex Schiffer, who has become a PM rock star this week, shortly. But first, want to throw in some thoughts on the situation with the Porter family: Everyone wants this to happen quickly. We know you're wearing out the refresh button. And we are confident that it is likely to happen. But it's probably not going to be real quickly. Schiffer will explain some of the details below. We can say nothing is done yet. The family is likely to at least look around a little bit. Missouri is the heavy favorite, but as far as the timing, we believe that it won't be an immediate thing. Even if it's just for appearance sake, there will be a grace period between leaving Washington and heading to Mizzou. The earliest we can see anything happening is Tuesday, but don't be surprised if this goes on for at least a couple of weeks. The spring signing period runs from April 12 to May 17. Don't be shocked if this plays out until then.
HOLD ON BEFORE REPLYING TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
- Wyatt Blake will more than likely not be picking Missouri today. He is down to Northwestern and Minnesota. Blake is a legit prospect that is going to fill the needs of one of those teams, and is a guy that Missouri could've definitely used.
- Once Grant Norton gets an offer, or if he does, he will be a Tiger, in my opinion. He might not make it public, but he is a huge Missouri fan and grew up watching all of the games. Norton could blow up over this summer/camp circuit as other big schools are sure to find out about him soon. He told us he is supposed to talk about an offer with Missouri at Junior Day on Saturday
- Speaking of Junior Day, this one will be different than what Mizzou did for the Tiger Ten. It is the next couple tiers of prospects from in-state with a select few out-of-state guys as well. We've been told that Mizzou is expecting to host around 30 prospects. Here are the names we've confirmed so far.
Ben Becker - OT - Park Hill
Hayden Bollinger - LB - Lafayette
Kameron Bowdry - DT - SLUH
Khristian Boyd - DT - Blue Springs
Antonio Burks - WR - St Mary's
Bryson Clayton - LB - Rock Bridge
Dimitri Douglas - OT - Saline (Mich.)
Ikenna Enechukwu - DE - Ruskin
Elijah Farr - TE - Lee's Summit North
Marcus Greer - OG - Chaminade
Devin Haney - CB - Park Hill
TJ Kennedy - OT - Lee's Summit
Bobby Lawrence - OT - St. Joe Central
Will Lawrence - OL - Harding Academy (Tenn.)
Marquis Majors - WR - Fort Zumwalt West
Jordan Murray - TE/WR - Lee's Summit North
Cade Musser - RB - St. Joe Central
Grant Norton - OT - Camdenton
Jake Papez - TE/LB - Timberland
Devin Rice - TE/DE - Liberty North
Brendan Schlitler - OL - Eureka
Tyler Walton - WR - CBC
Tre Wheaton - WR - Blue Springs
Shakespeare Williams - DB - Ruskin
In addition there will likely be more events that will focus on the in-state prospects with offers. Nothing set yet, but we're hearing they are in the works. There will be another Night at the Zou this spring, but the date isn't set in stone yet.
- Tift County (Ga.) DE Andrew Johnson, who got an offer earlier this week,said he doesn't know much about Mizzou yet, but is aiming for a summertime visit.
- Tiger Ten member Dallas Craddieth is visiting Vanderbilt tomorrow.
BASKETBALL RECRUITING
Before we get to the specifics of kids (and families) we want to explain the situation to you guys. There are a lot of names being thrown around right now, but there is going to be a little bit of a dance going on as far as reshaping this roster. Cuonzo Martin won't have the freedom to just gut the roster and turn over everything due to the APR.
APR is a four-year score. Your last four years are always taken into account. In any season you're under 930 you're at risk for penalties. Frank Haith's last year, in which Missouri had a score of 850, is still on the books for one more year. Next year, this is no issue. This year, it still is.
We aren't going to pretend to understand every in and out of the APR and explain them. But we do know the specifics of the situation as it pertains to Missouri. Here's the gist: If more than two players who have a GPA below 2.6 leave, no matter where they end up, Missouri would be facing a post-season ban. As one person told me "We will not let that happen."
Players who have above a 2.6, if they were to leave, as long as they end up at another four-year school, there's no penalty. But for those below a 2.6, Missouri can only afford to lose two of them.
Now obviously, we aren't certain who fits into what category and honestly we don't even want to know. But know that it isn't going to be as simple as Martin and his staff coming in and saying "A, B and C aren't good enough" and clearing them out. They have to know every kid's academic situation as they massage the roster. And if there are kids that want to leave of their own volition, the staff has to be careful there too. You can't let three of them below a 2.6 go.
In conclusion, we don't think there's much risk of actually being banned from the postseason because, again, Missouri isn't going to go down that road. They'll make sure it doesn't happen. But it's also not as simple as a daily fantasy game where Martin will have the freedom to clear as much space as he needs to just pick up other guys. Room could potentially be made to bring in four players and keep C.J. Roberts, but it would take some gymnastics and won't be easy. It largely depends on which players are looking to leave.
Want to address the potential staff situations before we move on to the players Missouri will target. It's been reported that Director of Ops Marco Harris will follow Martin from Cal. It is widely expected that lead assistant Tracy Webster will as well. We all believe that there is an assistant spot for Michael Porter Sr. (more on that in a minute). The top target for the other spot is Jamall Walker, who is currently the interim head coach leading Illinois in the NIT. We are told that Walker has been offered a spot, but will wait to see who Illinois hires. Missouri's chances depend on who you talk to. We've been told he'd almost certainly come for a multi-year contract. We've been told he wants to stay at Illinois, but the Illini will need to hire the right coach. This one is up in the air. It's a key situation to watch as we will explain below.
We're gonna turn it over to Alex Schiffer, who has become a PM rock star this week, shortly. But first, want to throw in some thoughts on the situation with the Porter family: Everyone wants this to happen quickly. We know you're wearing out the refresh button. And we are confident that it is likely to happen. But it's probably not going to be real quickly. Schiffer will explain some of the details below. We can say nothing is done yet. The family is likely to at least look around a little bit. Missouri is the heavy favorite, but as far as the timing, we believe that it won't be an immediate thing. Even if it's just for appearance sake, there will be a grace period between leaving Washington and heading to Mizzou. The earliest we can see anything happening is Tuesday, but don't be surprised if this goes on for at least a couple of weeks. The spring signing period runs from April 12 to May 17. Don't be shocked if this plays out until then.
HOLD ON BEFORE REPLYING TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO
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