Here's the latest I've got. I know this will pop up on Twitter fan accounts and probably on Tigerboard like everything else. I can't control that. But these types of things are why you guys subscribe, to know what isn't necessarily out there for the public. That's why I'm posting it on the board and not on the front page in a story everybody can read. So think about the value of a subscription for others before you run to Twitter saying "Here's what I'm thinking..." or "Sounds like this is the deal...":
Sean East: Has visited BYU, USF and Mizzou. BYU people seem confident but I don't think that's based on a lot more than hope. I've heard Missouri is in very good shape and it could happen this week.
D'Moi Hodge: Am told Missouri still feels very good here. Kansas State media was reporting over the weekend he was headed to Manhattan, but it seems that was premature. Think the Cats have a chance, but certainly not a done deal.
Jason Roche: Haven't heard back from the kid since his visit and he doesn't tweet so tough to read. Haven't seen any other visits that we know of for sure and he seems to have gone silent. Tough to read this one, but as long as Mizzou remains the only visit he's taken, you have to like their chances. Pitt and Texas A&M are the other schools we're mostly watching at this point.
Jamarion Sharp: As of now he isn't in the portal so there's nothing to talk about...for right now.
Patrick Baldwin Jr.: Same deal as Sharp, though I'm less confident anything comes of this because the salary pool for assistants would be tougher to fit Pat Baldwin Sr. in than it would be Kyle Smithpeters.
Connor Turnbull: Was supposed to visit last weekend and couldn't. Trying to set up another visit. There's been some SLU buzz. SLU and Butler are pursuing him harder than Mizzou is. Will be interesting to see if the visit happens this week. If it does, it's a sign Missouri is very interested and I'd say would have a very good shot. If it doesn't, I'd guess he ends up at SLU with a return to Butler being possible.
For now, there is one spot left. That's obviously going to change. We feel good about Mizzou getting East and Hodge (East probably a little more than Hodge) so that means at least one guy is leaving, most likely a guard (this could be as simple as Christian Jones not qualifying, which is in question from what I'm told). If Sharp hits the portal and/or Mizzou takes Turnbull, I've got to think that forecasts Yaya Keita leaving. With Noah Carter coming in and Kobe Brown seemingly staying, it's fair to wonder about Ronnie DeGray as well because they're all three fairly similar players. Add that all up, we're looking at up to five players Missouri could still realistically add as of now (East, Hodge, Roche, Sharp, Turnbull) and up to five (Boogie Coleman, Amari Davis, Jones, Keita, DeGray) that could potentially still look elsewhere.
On the staff, I'm still confident Missouri is hiring Kyle Smithpeters. I haven't had anyone tell me it's 100% done, but I've had enough people tell me they think it's happening that I believe it's happening. The timing is strange, but it may be as simple as they want Sean East to make his decision before anything happens officially with Smithpeters so it doesn't look like they hired Smithpeters to get East. And FWIW, I don't think that's why you're hiring Smithpeters. I think hiring him would have a more direct impact on getting Sharp than it would East (that's just me reading tea leaves).
I'm much less certain what's going on with the third assistant. My guess is that either Dru Joyce III or Rob Summers will follow Dennis Gates from Cleveland State. But it's truly nothing more than a guess. I don't have anybody telling me they know that is happening. I also haven't seen any indication that either one is staying at Cleveland State. Both are still on the CSU athletics site and both still have Cleveland State in their Twitter bios, but I haven't seen anything indicating either is being hired by Daniyal Robinson. It's certainly possible Gates has another guy lined up we just don't know about.
Stay tuned...
Sean East: Has visited BYU, USF and Mizzou. BYU people seem confident but I don't think that's based on a lot more than hope. I've heard Missouri is in very good shape and it could happen this week.
D'Moi Hodge: Am told Missouri still feels very good here. Kansas State media was reporting over the weekend he was headed to Manhattan, but it seems that was premature. Think the Cats have a chance, but certainly not a done deal.
Jason Roche: Haven't heard back from the kid since his visit and he doesn't tweet so tough to read. Haven't seen any other visits that we know of for sure and he seems to have gone silent. Tough to read this one, but as long as Mizzou remains the only visit he's taken, you have to like their chances. Pitt and Texas A&M are the other schools we're mostly watching at this point.
Jamarion Sharp: As of now he isn't in the portal so there's nothing to talk about...for right now.
Patrick Baldwin Jr.: Same deal as Sharp, though I'm less confident anything comes of this because the salary pool for assistants would be tougher to fit Pat Baldwin Sr. in than it would be Kyle Smithpeters.
Connor Turnbull: Was supposed to visit last weekend and couldn't. Trying to set up another visit. There's been some SLU buzz. SLU and Butler are pursuing him harder than Mizzou is. Will be interesting to see if the visit happens this week. If it does, it's a sign Missouri is very interested and I'd say would have a very good shot. If it doesn't, I'd guess he ends up at SLU with a return to Butler being possible.
For now, there is one spot left. That's obviously going to change. We feel good about Mizzou getting East and Hodge (East probably a little more than Hodge) so that means at least one guy is leaving, most likely a guard (this could be as simple as Christian Jones not qualifying, which is in question from what I'm told). If Sharp hits the portal and/or Mizzou takes Turnbull, I've got to think that forecasts Yaya Keita leaving. With Noah Carter coming in and Kobe Brown seemingly staying, it's fair to wonder about Ronnie DeGray as well because they're all three fairly similar players. Add that all up, we're looking at up to five players Missouri could still realistically add as of now (East, Hodge, Roche, Sharp, Turnbull) and up to five (Boogie Coleman, Amari Davis, Jones, Keita, DeGray) that could potentially still look elsewhere.
On the staff, I'm still confident Missouri is hiring Kyle Smithpeters. I haven't had anyone tell me it's 100% done, but I've had enough people tell me they think it's happening that I believe it's happening. The timing is strange, but it may be as simple as they want Sean East to make his decision before anything happens officially with Smithpeters so it doesn't look like they hired Smithpeters to get East. And FWIW, I don't think that's why you're hiring Smithpeters. I think hiring him would have a more direct impact on getting Sharp than it would East (that's just me reading tea leaves).
I'm much less certain what's going on with the third assistant. My guess is that either Dru Joyce III or Rob Summers will follow Dennis Gates from Cleveland State. But it's truly nothing more than a guess. I don't have anybody telling me they know that is happening. I also haven't seen any indication that either one is staying at Cleveland State. Both are still on the CSU athletics site and both still have Cleveland State in their Twitter bios, but I haven't seen anything indicating either is being hired by Daniyal Robinson. It's certainly possible Gates has another guy lined up we just don't know about.
Stay tuned...
