Yes, and to answer your question, here is why he would come

Posted on: February 23, 2017 at 17:53:51 CT

to Mizzou:

• The flagship university of a large state. Missouri is the 18th most-populous state, with two large population centers that produce ample talent each year. Mizzou has an edge in recruiting those players, as the only P5 school in the state.

• Conference. The SEC is the easiest P5 league to compete in. A good coach should be able to rack up wins and finish top 4 most years. On top of that, EVERY GAME is nationally televised. The SEC Network is second to none, available in 80+ million households and counting. The only conference network that even comes close in terms of national distribution is the BTN. The Pac-12 Network is a distant 3rd, and the ACC and Big 12 don't even have networks (and probably never will, at least not nationally-distributed ones).

• Financial resources. Our AD's budget has increased substantially since joining the richest conference in college sports. The SEC payout is over $40 MILLION per year now (and will continue to increase, especially when the Tier-1 media rights are renegotiated). We absolutely have the money to buy top coaches and assistants — and doing so would be an INVESTMENT that would likely increase our revenue and budget even further.

• Facilities. We have a modern and luxurious arena as well as excellent workout/training facilities. And as someone else here pointed out, a coach would rather have a 15K packed arena than a 9K packed arena. And that's exactly what will happen (again) if we hire a good coach.

• Fan base. In the past (when our AD was committed to basketball), fans filled the arena and created electric atmospheres that gave our players and coaches a big home court advantage. It was nearly impossible for teams to win at Mizzou Arena. As recently as 2011, we had one of the longest home-winning streaks in the country — the 2nd longest at one point (it got close to 40 consecutive wins IIRC). If our administration recommits to basketball and hires a good coach, we will have that kind of atmosphere again. Fortunately, we have a new AD who can make that happen.

• Low pressure/expectations. Let me put it this way: Kim Anderson is an easy act to follow. Expectations could not be any lower than they currently are. A 12-win season would be progress, a .500 season would be touted as success, an NIT bid would be triumphant. Compare this to jobs like NC State, where job security is low and expectations are unrealistically high (the coach they just fired reached the NCAA tournament 4 of the past 5 seasons, including 2 Sweet 16 appearances).

• It's easy to win at Missouri. Even average coaches have done well here (e.g. Mike Anderson and Frank Haith, who are finding it much harder to win at their current jobs). Norm was able to win consistently. Quin was able to win (before the scandal). Mike Anderson was able to win. Frank Haith, an average coach at best, was able to become National Coach of the Year. Think about that. It would take incredible incompetence (e.g. hiring a D-2 caliber coach) to NOT field a competitive team at Mizzou with our resources, facilities, history, fans, and recruiting base. Consider this: In the 30 years prior to Kim Anderson being hired, we made the NCAA tournament 19 times and went to four Sweet 16s, and three Elite 8s. Norm, Quin, MA, and Haith were ALL able to reach the NCAA tournament over 50% of their seasons, and 3 of them were able to reach the Elite 8. You can easily win at Missouri, if you're a D-1 coach.

• Rich history and tradition. Missouri has 26 NCAA tournament appearances all-time, which is 3rd in the SEC (behind Kentucky and Arkansas). Missouri has 15 conference titles, which is 2nd in the SEC (behind Kentucky). Missouri has reached the Sweet 16 seven times and the Elite 8 five times, both of which are 5th in the SEC (behind UK, UF, UA, LSU). All things considered, I would rank Missouri's *program* 5th in the SEC (behind UK, UF, UA, LSU), its history/tradition 4th (UF was garbage prior to 1994), and the *job* tied for 3rd (with Arkansas, behind UK & UF).

• Reputation. Missouri has long been considered an attractive job by sportswriters and coaches, with enormous potential (hence the "sleeping giant" designation by some), and this is still true after Kim Anderson for all the reasons cited above. Read this article from Sports Illustrated — http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/02/17/nc-state-mark-gottfried-fired-tom-crean-gregg-marshall — and search for "Missouri". You'll see that sportswriters still consider Missouri a job that top coaches will strongly consider. Of course, that largely depends on our new AD and whether the administration will INVEST in basketball again.