Random Thoughts - Long

Posted on: February 23, 2020 at 17:23:51 CT

1 - On Saturday they should have done a better job looking for Nikko. Arkansas has a small team and it was there all game long. Still hard to believe Nikko didn't have a single rebound but they honestly had no one on their team that could defend him in the post and he's a pretty decent passer. Take advantage of what you have coach.

2 -Pinson had a rough day. Little too much hot dog. He and Dru are really the only guys you have to defend now. Pretty tough playing 2 on 5 on the offensive end. Dru also did not play well but he and Pinson at least make an effort to get to the basket. If you are either of these guys, who are you really looking to pass the ball too?

3 - I really hate to knock kids that play their butts off but Pickett, Mitchell and Watson are 3 of the worst Division 1 offensive basketball players I've ever seen at this level. I applaud their hustle honestly and want to see them succeed and two of these guys are still sophomores so there is plenty of time for them to develop. Per scouts on Torrence "A strong combo wing who has terrific explosion to finish over defenders. His agility and the ability to finish through contact is noticeable." Explosion and finish are his weaknesses. Both he and Pickett set up in the corner and stick there on offense. When either drives to the bucket they can not finish. Between the three I've never seen so many missed 5 footers in my life. I will also add that Mitchell should be a nightmare to defend. 6'10' and very athletic for his size - he should be unstoppable for opposing centers - not so.

4 - The officiating is so bad it's really hard to watch these games. Not sure what is going on here but you watch a Big 10 game and they beat the **** out of each other. No idea what these guy get paid but this should be a full time gig and they should be paid accordingly if they are worth a crap- the SEC has the money to pay for the best. In fairness, we did not get screwed that bad against Arkansas. They received their fair amount of bad calls. The timing was more an issue. $hit tons of money in the SEC. Hire the best.

5 - This team is still young and not I'm not in any way trying to makes excuses. Freshmen and Sophomores are a year or two out of high school and they make immature/stupid mistakes and they make up the biggest portion of the team that is on the court.

6 - This only relates to what I thought would be our two best players this year. Tilmon had not improved a bit going in to this season but he is extremely gifted athletically. Maybe he doesn't have it between the ears. Some players have a feel for the game but he just doesn't have it yet. I honestly don't even know what his injury is but he has the body and ability of an NBA player. The feel for his game is off the charts bad. Mark S may be the same way. Really hard to understand how a player that shot 45% from behind the arch on a bum ankle can not hit the side of the ocean this year when supposedly healthy? Say what you want but he was dreadful from the three. He also has no ability to drive to the basket thank you Big Guard U or whatever that means. so our spot up shooters are Pickett and Watson now. One quick note, Mark has a very fast release - It was too fast and that was his issue. Not sure how you get a bad back shooting quick threes but maybe he's just injury pron and will never be healthy but love to have him back.

7 - Coaching is a broad subject here. Say what you want about Cuonzo but he is the closest thing Mizzou fans will ever see to Norm Stewart in our lifetime. He is the exact same without the charisma. Defense first and let the chips fall where they may. In that regard I respect CM and so should others. Without seeing any practices I promise that CM awards hustle and defense over putting the ball in the hoop and I suspect his practices are both brutal and defensively aggressive. Honestly, I think this is impacting the health of out team. This is really old school and I'm not sure that's what TOP recruits want to emphasize defense and I think that ties into our recruiting. If you are a top 50 player, do you really want to attend a program that emphasizes defense? Doesn't matter if you can put the ball in the hole, you can play only f yo can defend.

That being said, CM appears to run a very clean program and the players on this team seem like really good kids and they play their butts off even when they are clearly out of contention. Kansas and some of the other good programs seem to have a bunch of thugs that they get through the system each year are available one to two years before they leave for whatever they can get $. No idea where we should go from here. I think I would prefer Final Fours and the chips fall where they may but that is for us as a fan base and an administration to decide.