FBCB: Missouri Tigers

[mtaystl03]

Fast Break College Basketball: University of Missouri Tigers

In a surprise move, Missouri head Men's Basketball coach Quin Snyder has decided to resign following the recent sanctions handed down by the NCAA. His decision was based on the recent "embarrassing" punishments handed down as well as other things going on in his personal life that he needs to work out. He stated that he needed to get his life back on track and that means taking a leave of absence from the game of basketball.

He went on to say that he regrets leaving the program in such a tough situation, being just three weeks prior to the start of the season. The players were also stunned but none commented.

Mizzou A.D. Mike Alden announced that he will start the search for a replacement right away. Most likely, the successor will come from the current staff as an assistant.

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Missouri athletic director today announced that he will officially promote assistant coach Mark Taylor to Head Coach for the 2004 season. Taylor, a graduate of Duke University was placed on the staff four years ago after he completed his playing days at Duke. He was a deep reserve throughout his career, playing just five minutes in all his time there. Snyder, while an assistant coach at Duke, always admired his work ethic and leadership and told him that he thought he would make a great coach someday.

When Snyder took the Missouri job he told Taylor there was a spot for him on his staff when he got out if he wanted it. Taylor accepted and was his first assistant this past season. He is just 28 years old and taking over a prominent division-I program in the Tigers.

Snyder privately told Alden that he would fully endorse Taylor for the job and he trusted him. He interviewed and after talking to many of the players, Alden made it official.

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Hi, I'm Mark Taylor and I am taking over the University of Missouri Tiger basketball program. This is a dream job and I need to take advantage right away. I have been told I am on the bubble from the start since they are taking a risk by hiring me as the head man.

My good friend Quin Snyder ran into some tough times and I feel terrible about the circumstances that I will take over but I realize I have a job to do and I will do it to the best of my ability.

The first thing I need to do is hire a guy to take my place as the assistant coach. I need to review and finish setting the schedule and get this thing started out right.

Come along for the ride as I try to make Missouri the best basketball program in the nation!

[mtaystl03]

First things first...

I got into my new office and just sat down and couldn't believe that I was the head coach. A couple players stopped in to say that they are happy they hired me and they are ready to lay it out on the line for me. I really appreciated that. We have a good group of guys here and that will help.

Mike Alden, my boss stopped by also to let me know that I needed to fill my old spot as coaching assistant and dropped by a piece of paper with his expectations and the boards expectations for my performance. He let me know that they hired me almost on an interim basis and they hope I do well right away or I might be replaced.

I already knew who I wanted to be my assistant coach. Freddy Peters, a 59-year old man that is currently living in Franklin Park, IL. He played with my dad at the University of Kentucky and was enjoying his retirement but did mention that he wanted to get back into it. He coached at Kentucky as an assistant for close to 20 years.

I gave him a call and while he said it was unlikely he would come out of retirement he told me he would think about it. I told him he doesn't have time and quickly offered him $120,000. He said he didn't need to think anymore and he would be here tomorrow.

On that sheet of paper, Alden mentioned how much money I could spend on my assistant and recruting and all that good stuff. Freddy joins Quin's lead scout Sydney Reed and recruiting coordinator Merrill Johnson. I asked both guys if they weren't interested in working with anybody other than Snyder and they both said they would be happy to keep their jobs and work with me.

My total salary for the staff is $350,000. That is alot.

I called Alden to find out exactly what my budget was for the rest of the season and to find out if he approved of my decision. He said he agreed and would add him to the payroll. He also said I have $633,750 to spend.

Next I will take a look at the schedule and our roster for 2004!

[mtaystl03]

Scheduling

I got a call from the tournament director of the "Top of the World" pre-season tournament and they invited us to play as the #6 seed. I decide this would be good competition and exposure early in the season and will give us a good idea of where we stand with the better teams in the nation. I accept and we are matched up against Florida in the first round on the 18th of November.

I think we will need a tune up game before that game with Florida and only one because that is all we have time for. I have Mike call the University of Furman for a tune-up game and they accept.

I want to play some consecutive games (just one day break) a few times before the conference schedule starts. I also want to get all those games in before the conference season starts so my guys can concentrate only on the Big XII at that time.

We make some calls and here is what we come up with:

Non-Conference
11/14 - vs. Furman
11/18 - vs. Florida (TOTW Tourney)
11/19 - Tourney
11/20 - Tourney
11/21 - Tourney
11/24 - vs. Davidson
11/26 - vs. Southwest Missouri State
11/28 - @ California
12/2 - @ St. Louis U.
12/5 - vs. Penn State
12/7 - vs. American
12/13 - vs. Ohio State (home and home)
12/20 - South Carolina State
12/31 - @ Gonzagoa

Conference - Now the real fun starts!

1/8 - @ Colorado
1/15 - @ Kansas
1/22 - vs Colorado
1/26 - @ Nebraska
1/29 - @ K-State
2/05 - @ Texas Tech
2/07 - @ Iowa State
2/09 - vs Iowa State
2/16 - vs Kansas
2/19 - @ Baylor
2/23 - vs K-State
2/26 - vs Texas A&M
2/28 - @ Oklahoma State
3/02 - vs Texas
3/05 - vs Oklahoma

That conference schedule is brutal! I am going to focus on that stretch of January 26 to February 7 as a crucial part of the season. We are on the road for four strait games. I want us to be playing our best basketball at that point. Nebraska, K-State, Texas Tech and Iowa State. Those are all teams we can beat and I want to take three out of those four games.

Other than that we should go into the conference with a decent record and hopefully we can compete and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. That is the goal the board has set for me and I'll be damned if I let us miss that tourney again!

[mtaystl03]

Meeting with the players...

It's time to sit down with each one of my guys and define roles and all that good stuff. I have a lot to learn as my new position makes every aspect of their game more crucial. I will be making the starting lineups, subs and adjustments.

The first guy I set up a meeting with is our best player, captain and an all-around great player, point guard, Miles Stambaugh.

Miles is 6'3'', 199 lbs. and from Somerset High School in Somerset, Wisconsin. He is a great shooter (from the field and 3-pointers). He is a good ball handler which is very important at this position. He can pass with the best of them as well. He can create, play some "D" and has great stamina (100).

I let him know that he is our captain and team leader as a Senior and he needs to step up right away and lead us. His academics are somewhat of a concern (23) and hopefully he stays eligible because this team needs him.
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Next I call in Chris Alfaro, a Junior point guard from Wayne, NE. He is a solid player who specializes in ball handling and passing. Not a great shooter but he is very quick and will be a nice guy to bring in late in games when the pressure is on. He should work his way into the starting lineup next season or if something unexpected happens to Miles. He is very good in the classroom and can use that intelligence on the court.
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Our 3rd point guard on the squad is Domingo Graves from Armstrong, Iowa. He is a Junior as well and he is a pure shooter. He might get moved to the shooting guard position but his 5'10" height could hurt us. OK handling/passing, a decent defender and is quick and can jump. He might not see much time unless we need him to spell one of the other two at the point guard or shooting guard position.
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Next up is our starting two guard Milan Pospisil from Frydek, Czech Republic. Milan is a Junior and is 6'4", 200 lbs so he is good sized and can create and can shoot the jumper. The thing that he does the best is shoot the three. He is ranked '85' by our scouting director in that area. He is lackluster in ball handling which should amount to some turnovers. He is average technically. He is above average strength/quickness and jumping.
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I call the next two guys in to my office at the same time because both are liabilities in the classroom and I make sure they know what is at risk if they become ineligible. They are both my backup shooting guards, Elton Sealy and Robin Clegg. The two couldn't be more different people but both rated a '0' in academics. Not good.

Sealy is a freshman from Kansas, Ohio. 6'4" and 213 lbs. He can shoot the three, he is a decent handler and passer and can jump with the best of them. He is most likely the 1st backup to Pospisil. Clegg, a Senior from Cloncurry, Australia was more of a project when he first came to Mizzou. He hasn't really developed and he didn't ever really pick up the acadmics. He should be the 2nd backup and buried at the end of the bench, unless Sealy become ineligible and he could see some time. He won't help us much but shouldn't hurt us either. He is a good handler/passer and can shoot the trey. He is above average on offensive rebounding. He can jump out of the gym (96).
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To the small forward position, we have some guys that will fight for playing time. Right now, I have sophomore Jack Johnson as the starter. He has the most potential on this team and could develop into something special. He is a good jump shooter and a solid fundamental player. Again, he should start but needs to keep his grades up which could catch up to him in time. He is very tall at 6'8" and 229 lbs. and his rebounding is a key to his game.
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The 1st backup/spot starter is another sophomore Nestor Wilson from Slater, MO. Nestor is a very fundamental player that doesn't strike you as brilliant in any part of his game but he doesn't do anything really 'bad' either. He isn't lightning quick or very strong but will hit some shots and hold on to the ball. He is scrappy on defense and is a steal specialist. He will see some time this year and possibly some starts for that defense. He is also a pretty darn good rebounder at 6'7", 229. He is another guy I worry about becoming ineligible if he falls behind.
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Our 3rd small forward is 6'6" from Grand Rapids, Michigan Rolland Sparks. He is a freshman and should develop into a good player. Right now he can't handle the ball and that should keep him on the bench. His strengths are shooting and blocking. He rebounding leaves some to be desired but should improve with time. He will get the job done in the classroom.
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On to the power forward position. I need a good rebounder in this spot and I have my guy in another sophomore Noble Richardson from Arkansas. Right now he can create shots and while he might be a little undersized at 6'6" 229 lbs. he can sure rebound the basketball. He can handle it well for a big man as well. We don't need scoring out of this position. We need defense and rebounding and Noble should provide that. He can block a shot from time to time as well.
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We have two backups at the power forward position that will have to come in and spell Richardson here and there. They are both freshman and both very inexperienced and underdeveloped. First, Geoffrey Hobson, a 6'7", 218 pounder from High Ridge, MO. He is a smart kid and should rebound just fine. He can actually shoot the ball from deep but we won't be asking him to do that. We will need around 7-10 minutes a game in which he can chip in any way he can. He gets tired very easily so he needs to work on that as time goes on.
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The other froshie PF is Raymond Stewart from Adrian, MO. Stewart has a lot to learn and should be the last one off the bench in games. He should develop into a good rebounder with his 6'8", 240 pound frame. He should also be a good shot blocker and already does that well. He could possibly see some time in a couple years but right now we might red-shirt him.
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On to the 'really' big men and the center position. I want to see some inside scoring from this spot and good, not great, rebounding. Senior Jerry Kraft is 6'10" and 253 pounds. He is decent scorer inside, can handle the ball alright but his defense is very good. He might lead the Big XII in shots blocked. That is his specialty. He has great strength and should get the job done for us. He is very smart so we won't have to worry about losing him to suspension.
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Junior Joshua Hayden from Mexico, MO is 6'8" and 235. A very solid player that might have to step up and play this position next year. He needs to develop a little more scoring ability to make up for the lack of size. He is good in school and should be around.
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Finally, sophomore Rudy Allen is fittingly named because it would take a miracle for him to start for this team in the near future. He does have great size at 6'11" and 315 lbs. but he just isn't very technically developed. He is slow and can't score. He will be a good rebounder and shot-blocker someday but his lack of scoring should keep him off the court. He will work hard in practice and provide us with a big man to go up for rebounds against which will really help us a lot.

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That is a quick look at our guys. Should be a fun season. I hope our guys get the job done in the classroom and we don't have to worry about anybody missing time.

Next up, it's never to early to start recruiting and I will take my first look at that soon. We are getting into heavy practices as we prepare for our opening game against Furman.

[MizzouRah]

Reading this one!

GO MIZZOU!!!!


Todd

[mtaystl03]

I was waiting for you Todd! Mizzou-RAH!

Recruiting stage one

I get started right away on recruiting and I talk with Merrill, our new recruiting coordinator. He right away mentions a guy that we want to get, a kid named Richard Phillips, a JUCO guy from Oklahoma C.C. He is a point guard and he could step in right away and take over for Miles next year. He tells me how good he is and how we must get him. I jokingly ask "How much is it going to cost us?", he wasn't ammused.

The basics are that we have 3 scholarships to use and 3 Seniors that will be leaving us. We will need to fill the PG, SG and C position. I would like to fill the C position with a JUCO guy that can come in right away. Point guard isn't as important even though we want Phillips, we have a good backup now in Chris Alfaro, so that isn't as pressing.

The shooting guard we are losing is Clegg, the Australian so that won't hurt too bad. I want a freshman there. We might go after two shooting guards and make the recruiting class a little bigger because I have some serious doubts that Elton Sealy, our froshie will make grades and be able to play. Milan is coming back so we won't need to fill a starting role.

I go ahead and send some scouts to evaluate Phillips. I also want to find out about a solid point man from Ohio, a high-schooler who has high interest in us. His name is Gary Kissel and I evaluate him. He is almost a back-up plan for Phillips who is looking hard at Kentucky, Illinois, Texas and Stanford. We might not get him.

At shooting guard I want to evaluate Ruben Bono a 5 star player and ranked #10 overall. He isn't a likely guy to come but I wanted to see what we got on him. I also went out and contacted Mr. Basketball in Missouri, Benjamin DeHart. I know some Mizzou fans would have my head if I didn't at least try for him.

The Center position is going to be tough. The highest anybody is interested is 'average', other than one 'high', so we might need to spend some major time and money getting somebody to come in and play right away. First, I contact and evaluate Maurice Bernard, Mr. Basketball in Iowa and a great prospect. The other guy I talk to is Elvis Cole, a solid three-star prospect from New Jersey. He is a 7-footer and the only guy that seems to show any interest from that position. We will have to spend some dough to keep going up to New Jersey but he is a good player so we will see. I also added a JUCO center, Bradley Lawlor from Armarillo, Texas to the call list.

Recruiting round-up- I will post one of these after each rant so you can get a quick look at how things are going.

Point Guard
1. Richard Phillips* - (JC) - Contacted and evaluated.
2. Gary Kissel - (HS) - Contacted and evaluated.

Shooting Guard
1. Ruben Bono* - (JC) - Contacted and evaluated.
2. Benjamin DeHart* - (HS) - Contacted and evaluated.

Center
1. Maurice Bernard - (HS) - Contacted and evaluated.
2. Elvis Cole - (HS) - Contacted and evaluated.
3. Bradley Lawler (JC) - Added to call list.

*- offered scholarship.

[mtaystl03]

Recruiting continued...

I am taking a no non-sense approach to this recruiting season. I know who I want early and I am going to do anything and everything in my power to get it done. Our number one guy right now is Richard Phillips, the JUCO point guard from Oklahoma C.C. I decide to go meet with him and his family and I bring Freddy with me. When we get there we talk to him and he is impressed that we both came to see him. We did what we had to do, pitched the program and offered him a campus visit. He promplty accepts and tells us that we are near the top of his list. I did get an eerie feeling when I was at his house that Kelvin Sampson is doing all he can and we might have entered Sooner territory. I hope we dont invest too much into Phillips only yo have him go to our rivals. We are ranked #2 behind the Sooners in his rankings right now.

Our backup plan to Phillips isn't looking too hot right now but we arent really actively pursuing him. Gary Kissel is ranking us 3rd behind Villanova and Temple who are going hard after him. I send Freddy to see him and offer him a campus visit. We are waiting to see if he accepts.

On to the two guards. Ruben Bono is the #10 recruit in the nation and after evaluating him we decided to go strait from Oklahoma to Texas to give him a look. He told us his interest is growing but he really likes what Illinois has to offer. That really put a damper on our party down there. He does say we are 2nd on his list and we offer him a visit to the campus. We hope he accepts.

Mr. Basketball in Missouri is Benjamin DeHart and we would like to keep him here. We make the trip to nearby High Ridge, MO to give him a look. He is looking at some other schools but said he would consider it.

Since we are taking a big risk counting on Bono and DeHart I decided to have some scouts evaluate some more shooting guards around the country. Antone Trinh from Carrolton, Texas, Dexter Parker, an all-stater in Utah and Virgil Kingsbury, from New Florence, Pennsylvania. I will get a better idea where these gentlemen stand by the next report.

As for the big men (Centers), I decided to cut ties with Maurice Bernard. We had a very small chance at landing him so I would just as soon spend the money elsewhere. Elvis Cole becomes more interested and we are 2nd on his list behind Oregon State. This is the one from New Jerseay. He must really want to get away from home. We offer hima campus visit as well.

A new Center we are taking a harder look at is Bradley Lawler from Armarillo, Texas. He is a JUCO player which is what we want to come in and play right away. We visited him on our way back up from visiting Bono. Hopefully we can generate some interest and get him to check out the facilities.

The fianl guy we decided to take a look at was Joe Wolfe from Galesburg, IL. We will get a report on him soon enough.

Recruiting round-up

[MizzouRah]

Black and Gold!


Todd

[GoldenEagle]

Are we going to have to listen to MizzouRah's references throughout the dynasty?

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Are we going to have to listen to MizzouRah's references throughout the dynasty?

What references?



Fight Tigers:

Fight, Tigers, fight for Old Mizzou,
Right behind you, everyone is with you,
Break the line and follow down the field,
And you'll be, on the top, upon the top;
Fight, Tigers, you will always win,
Proudly keep the colors flying skyward,
In the end we'll win the victory,
So Tigers, fight for Old Mizzou!

[Blade6119]

GO MIZZOU

[mtaystl03]

Thanks guys!

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Recruiting stage three...

Well, things are looking up on the recruiting front. I find some extra time between practices to sit down and talk to my staff to see where we stand and get the low down on some new prospects that we should consider making a run at.

First of all, let's get up to date with the guys are trying for now. The main guy from day one has been JUCO point guard Richard Phillips from Oklahoma. We heard back from him after our nice visit with him and he tells us that right now we are looking like the school he wants to go to! I am very excited to hear this. I set up another trip with Freddy to pound the point home that we want him bad!

Our back up plan is Gary Kissel and he seems rather unimpressed with our efforts so far. We don't have a scholarship to offer him and that isn't something he likes. He needs some money. We move down to 4th on his list and most likely off the charts. If we don't get Phillips we will go after him a lot harder after a scholarship opens up and we will just rely on Chris Alfaro to start next year. I send Freddy just to let him know we aren't giving up on him yet.

Now to the shooting guards and Ruben Bono surprised the hell out of us when we called to contact him again when he said he is saying that we are the leaders right now. This is the #10 recruit in the nation. He becomes our #1 priority. We both make the trip again to see him and he is even more impressed. He says he isn't giving up on Illinois and he also like Oklahoma State and Duke.

In what I have deemed as my toughest decision yet I decided to let Benjamin DeHart (Mr. Basketball in Missouri) know that we are going to revoke the scholarship offer because we are really going to need it for a center. While he was disappointed he is looking at going to Kentucky anyways and they are offering a scholarship so he will be happy.

Dexter Parker, the guy from Utah we heard back from our scout Sydney Reed and he let me know that he is a solid player and if Ruben falls though we can feel confident in Dexter. I send Freddy to let him know we are interested.

Last time we sent our scout to check out Virgil Kingsbury from New Florence, PA. He reports back he is another solid player, a lot like Dexter. I send Freddy there as well to let him know that we are interested to see what his response may be.

We also found out that Antone Trinh, from Texas isn't eligible so we decide not to pursue him any further.

On to the centers. After close consideration I decide that we would really like to get a JUCO guy in here that can make an impact right away. I also realize that we have a Junior right now named Joshua Hayden that can step in and play for us next year as a starter. If not, we need a guy that can spell him from time to time and a freshman will most likely not get the job done. If that is all we can get then we will live with it.

I decide that our #1 prospect at the center position is Bradley Lawler, a JUCO guy from Armarillo, TX. I visited him last time and was impressed. He let me know when I called him this week that he wasn't that interested but he would like to see me again and maybe we can work something out.

Elvis Cole is another guy we like but is a high schooler. He had a lot of interest but we didn't send anybody to see him so he lost a little. He is getting an offer from Oregon State which is #1 on his list and we realize we will need to offer him something for him to go here so this situation is looking bleak. I send Freddy to talk to him and tell him not to make any harsh decisions too early because a scholarship may open up for him.

I am going to hold onto the scholarship offer until I hear back from Sydney on a JUCO player named Dan Valentin. I will get an evaluation and then decide who gets the offer. I feel that I can convince whoever I offer it to, to come to school here.

Sydney told me that Joe Wolfe, a center from Galesburg, IL just isn't good enough from what he saw. I have heard enough and we cut ties with him.

I figure I have a little money left over for this period so I send my scout to do some scouting overseas. I heard about a guy over in Totton, United Kingdom named Xavier Roberts. He is 6'9" and a big time center. Freddy and Sydney are heading over there to take a look and talk to him.

That's it for this round. I really hope we can land both Phillips and Bono.

[mtaystl03]

Big day for the Tigers!

Today I got word that two of our key recruits for next season have already decided to take our offer and play for us next season! Yes, Richard Phillips and Ruben Bono have accepted our offer and will become Tigers in 2005!

I am so excited. They actually called me within 10 minutes of eachother. Bono called first and basically said that he liked what we had to offer and wanted to be a part of it. Sounded like he was sincere. This is the #10 overall recruit in the nation we are talking about and we went into Texas and snagged him. I couldn't even run to Sydney or Merrills office to let them know the good news before Phillips called me and I didn't know what to expect. He started out by saying that Oklahoma wasn't going to let go...I interrupted him and told him that I just heard that Bono signed. He was so excited and told me that he was going to tell me he was planning on doing the same thing. He just needed a little more reassurance and that gave him all he needed.

I don't want to make a big deal about this to the players. I don't even mention it to any of my coaches during practice. We have a good work out and afterwards I called them all into my office for another meeting. I told them that our recruiting job just got a little bit easier. They couldn't believe we got them both.

I am sure the press will get a hold of it soon enough and we will have some questions to answer. Good questions that is.

Switching gears...

After having a beer with the guys, Freddy lets me know that it is really time to start training the guys and getting them ready for Furman. We need to decide once and for all which defense we will use and all that good stuff.

The celebration didn't last long and now it is back to work.

Here is what all of our guys need to work on this training session. I have also made some position changes to meet our team needs:

-Chris Alfaro should be in our starting lineup with his ball handling. I am moving him from backup PG to SG. He will start there. We will work on his shooting.
-Nestor Wilson was slated to be the backup SG but now will work the point. He will go into games when we need ball control and Domingo Graves will take over when we need some big shots.
-Milan Pospisil makes the move from SG to SF to keep his 3-point shooting in the game.
-Rolland Sparks (SF) is going to get a redshirt this season.

Here is a training overview:

Point Guards
>Starter: Miles Stambaugh (SR) - Working on a little handling and school work.
>Backup: Domingo Graves (JR) - A pure shooter, we work on INS and ball handling.
>3rd string: Nestor Wilson (SO) - Working on handling with the move from SG.

Shooting Guards
>Starter: Chris Alfaro (JR) - He may be our best ball-handler so we work on his shooting with the move to two guard.
>Backup: Robin Clegg (SR) - He just needs to work on schoolwork a ton!
>3rd string: Elton Sealy (FR) - Another guy that needs to work on school. We are also going to improve his shooting.

Small Forwards
>Starter: Milan Pospisil (JR) - Pure shooter. Will need to work on INS and rebounding and post defense.
>Backup: Jack Johnson (SO) - We will condition him a lot and will work on all aspects of his game.
>3rd string: Roland Sparks (FR) - Schoolwork.

Power Forwards
>Starter: Noble Richardson (SO) - We will work a lot on post defense and inside game. His shooting could improve too.
>Backup: Jeffrey Hobson (FR) - He will needs come conditioning and inside game/post defense help.
>3rd string: Raymond Stewart (FR) - He also needs conditioning and ball handling.

Center
>Starter: Jerry Kraft (SR) - Shooting and inside game. We need him to score some to keep defenses honest.
>Backup: Joshua Hayden (JR) - Inside game and conditioning.
>3rd string: Rudy Allen (SO) - All kinds of improvement needed.

Team Strategy

We will work on a 1-3-1 zone which will be our main defense. We will also work on a man-to-man in case we need it. We won't use press and trap too much unless it would be to our advantage. On offense we will use a lot of motion, pace and 3-pointers from Miles and Milan. It will be a balanced attack if Kraft can work on his finishing.

[mtaystl03]

Rating the Training

We did testing before Quin left for the purpose of finding out how much people have improved at certain things. I kept the results and we are having our post-training testing session. I am analyzing the results for the main players (starters and 4 guys that will come off bench). Here is how they did:

PG - Miles Stambaugh - Miles got better at his INS, jump shooting and passing. His 3-point shooting did suffer a little.
SG - Chris Alfaro - Chris improved his INS, jump shooting, passing, perimeter defense and his stamina went way up (10).
SF - Milan Pospisil - Milan's stamina went down, we shouldve worked him harder. He did improve INS, 3-pointers and defensive rebounding.
PF - Noble Richardson - Noble had the BEST training of anybody! He improved a lot in INS, offensive and defensive rebounds, blocking and stamina!
C - Jerry Kraft - Jerry got better at his INS, handling, offensive reboudning, shot blocking (now at 100!) and stamina (+11).
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SUB 1 - Joshua Hayden (C/PF) - Josh improved slightly in INS, more in offensive rebounding and post defense. His stamina also improved greatly.
SUB 2 - Domingo Graves (PG/SG) - Domingo's shooting has gotten just plain awesome. His jump and 3-point shooting went up, as well as his stamina.
SUB 3 - Jack Johnson (SF) - Jack improved just a little in INS, jump and 3-point shooting, offensive and defensive rebounding and stamina.
SUB 4 - Nestor Wilson (SF) - Nestor got better at passing the ball, offensive and defensive rebounding, steals and stamina.

-A very good training session looks like our starters will fit better in their new roles and the subs can come off the bench and we can have a lot of confidence. We are a very deep team and that means we will play with a lot of pace this season. Our starters can get a breather and we won't miss a beat. I am excited.

[mtaystl03]

November 11th, 2004

The games started today. Here were the results:

#3 Kansas 86, Brigham Young 45
#6 Maryland 85, #20 Michigan State 61

So KU is off to a good start and same with Maryland. I am off to scout our opponent Furman.
We should win handily but you can never be too prepared (ie: Belmont last year).

November 12th, 2004

That pre-season tourney continued as BYU upset #20 Michigan State to take 3rd place, 58-51. #6 Maryland defeated #3 Kansas, 79-76. While it was good to see KU lose a game early I was able to see most of that game and saw that their big man Edison Broadway is going to be a whole lot to handle down low. He is a great player and we will not match up well with that. Their power forwards James Woods is another force to be recon with and if we have an off-day shooting you can call it early. They are a dangerous team.

November 13th, 2004

The day before the game we all go out to eat around 6 P.M. and they have strict curfews as we prepare to get the season kicked off. I am confident that we will open the season off right and the Paige Sports Arena will be opened to see a win. It is a beautiful new facility that will be our home. We want to win a lot at our home court. I have trouble sleeping and get sick all night. I wonder how the guys are doing.

[mtaystl03]

GAMEDAY! #12 Mizzou (0-0) vs. Furman University (0-0)
November 14, 2004 - Paige Sports Arena, Columbia, MO


Pre-game: I am so excited to get this thing kicked off. I talk to the guys and let them know that we will finally play one that counts. They are clearly excited and the ceremony to bless the new facility was over and we were ready to go in 2004!

The game: We came out very sluggish and found ourselves down quickly 8-2. Miles Stambaugh our great point guard had three fouls in the first seven minutes, including a technical foul for yelling at the ref. I sat him down and he wouldn't see the court the rest of the half. The shooting was just awful. We were 1 for our first 10! We battled back and the turning point was with 1:54 left in the first half we got fouled and Roble Richardson missed his 2nd free throw and rebounded it himself and put it back. That was the first time we led. Richardson was our best player in the first half with 7 points and 11 rebounds. Milan Pospisil had 10 points. We each had 10 team fouls but they had 10 turnovers to our 3. We shot just 30% from the field. Ugly. We led 30-24 at the half.

Miles gets his first basket of the year on the first possesion of the 2nd half. The 2nd half belonged to us. Our shooting improved and we routed them. Final score was 77-56.

Post-game: Looking at the stats we out-rebounded them 52-31 and won the turnover battle 23-11. We also had more blocks, steals and assists. Honestly, we should lead in all categories against these guys. It was a good win.

Player Evals: Stambaugh finished with 8 pts. even though he only played 14 minutes because of the foul trouble. Milan Pospisil lead all scorers with just 12 but Domingo Graves had 11 and Noble Richardson had 9. Nestor Wilson did what he does best and had 4 steals in just 17 minutes. Richardson gets player of the game for his 9 points, 15 boards and 2 blocks.

Final Score: Missouri 77, Furman 56
Player of the Game: Noble Richardson (Missouri)
-----------------------------------------

We will take the win. It wasn't pretty especially at the beginning but a win is a win and now we get ready for Florida!

Upsets:
UNC-Greensboro beat up on #15 Wake Forest 66-62 at home.

[mtaystl03]

Monday, November 15th 2004

We all recover from the game last night so the guys get a nice day off.

We get the new media poll and we are ranked number 9! We deserve it for that tough win over Furman! Here is the complete new top 25:

 Top 25 Poll

 #    School                        FPV   Record  Points  Previous
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1.   Illinois                      (54)  0-0     1771    1
 2.   Maryland                      (13)  3-0     1706    6
 3.   Kentucky                      (5)   1-0     1656    5
 4.   Stanford                            0-0     1630    2
 5.   Cincinnati                          0-0     1516    4
 6.   Oklahoma State                      0-0     1323    8
 7.   Iowa                                0-0     1316    7
 8.   Kansas                              1-1     1293    3
 9.   Missouri                            1-0     1272    12
 10.  Indiana                             0-0     1202    9
 11.  Texas                               0-0     1043    10
 12.  Florida                             0-0     1032    11
 13.  Oklahoma                            1-0     943     18
 14.  Arizona                             0-0     840     13
 15.  Syracuse                            0-0     808     14
 16.  Boston College                      0-0     773     16
 17.  Duke                                0-0     643     17
 18.  Connecticut                         1-0     593     22
 19.  UCLA                                0-0     489     19
 20.  North Carolina                      0-0     424     21
 21.  Tulsa                               1-0     381     NR
 22.  Temple                              0-0     190     24
 23.  Tennessee                           0-0     181     23
 24.  California                          0-0     172     25
 25.  Wake Forest                         0-1     129     15

 Others Receiving Votes:
      St. Bonaventure                     1-0     39      
      Notre Dame                          0-0     30      
      Xavier                              0-0     4       
      Minnesota                           0-0     1       

There is no doubt the most impressive team so far is Maryland, at 3-0 with wins over BYU, Kansas and Drexel. They got 13 1st place votes and you can add mine. Wake Forest takes a tumble after their loss to UNC-Greensboro.

[MizzouRah]

Nice job on the game and recruiting!!

Florida is going to be tough.


Todd

[mtaystl03]

Tuesday, November 12th 2004

We have a nice little practice and tune-up before leaving for Madison Square Garden in New York for the opening round of the Top of the World Tourney. We have a nice flight and get in around 11 PM. I tell the guys to go strait to bed so we can be well rested.

Wednesday, November 13th, 2004

We wake up and have a shoot around at MSG at noon. We have a nice little practice where we break a sweat but don't show too much since the press and who knows who else was there. I think we are ready. Lights out a midnight and we will play tomorrow at 7:30 P.M. Big game.

[mtaystl03]

GAMEDAY! #9 Mizzou (1-0) vs. #12 University of Florida (0-0)
Thursday, November 18, 2004 – Madison Squre Garden - New York, NY.


Pre-game: We get ready for the game at Madison Square Garden and I figure out that we need to exploit their shooting guard, Dale Winters, a sophomore that really has problems handling the ball and pressure. I set Alfaro to high pressure and we will double him on the perimeter. Other than that, I pray that our shooting is on.

The game: We came out very hot. We actually jumped out to an 8-0 lead when Alfaro made a big three and Miles had a couple assists. We held a ten point lead that actually got as high as 12. That until C Jerry Kraft got bumped on the head and the doctors were afraid he had a concussion. They took him in for observations. Then not two minutes later our only other big man that could hold his own, Josh Hayden was clawed in the eye and couldn't see strait (blurred vision). We were forced to throw in freshman Jeffrey Hobson who not only got dominated by all Florida's big men, he got called for three, yes three illegal screens. I had to go to another freshman Raymond Stewart who wasn't much better. The Gators took full advantage of this and we started getting really sloppy. Noble Richardson accumulated 4 fouls in the first half as we as a team managed to get 16! They rode their hot streak to an 8-point advantage at the half.

They came out in a press and we threw it away right off the bat in the 2nd half. I had to keep Noble in there because he was our ONLY big man. Of course, three minutes in he fouls out. Basically we got smashed 88-67.

Post-game: They beat us in all aspects of the game. I got out coached. Sure it didn't help that both Kraft and Hayden went down. We were sloppy and they werent. They shot good and we didn't. They out rebounded us by more that I would like to disclose. We had 19 turnovers (mostly forced by their press) to their eight. We shot just 46% (22 of 55).

Player Evals: Miles Stambaugh showed why he is our leader and best player scoring 23 points to lead the squad. Other than that we just didn't play well at all.

Final Score: Florida 88, Missouri 67
Player of the Game: PF Erick Bogle (Florida)

-----------------------

I am saddened by this performance. I knew when both big men went down we would be in for a long night. We didn't hold on to the ball at all and the shooting was just plain bad again. I feel bad that Noble fouled out that early but with both them out I needed him to play. We will get better. 1-1 now.

[mtaystl03]

Friday, November 19, 2004

We are now in the losers bracket and here is look at how the other games went:
#1 Illinois 73, UNLV 47
#10 Indiana 91, Georgetown 50
#24 California 76, Gonzago 69

We now take on Georgetown on Saturday.

Other games:

#13 Oklahoma beat up on Georgia State, 77-53. Unranked Iowa State, another Big XII school beat #19 UCLA at home. #16 Boston College struggles again and lose at home 71-69 to Central Connecticut. They are now 0-2.
Other Big XII games saw Texas A&M lost to Texas-Arlington 60-58 and K-State beat a good Creighton team 83-77.

[mtaystl03]

GAMEDAY! #9 Mizzou (1-1) vs. Georgetown (0-1)
November 20, 2004 – Madison Squre Garden - New York, NY.


Pre-game: They are coming off a big loss to Indiana and they aren't as bad as that score represents. We need to win this game to come back from the loss. Jerry Kraft will give it a go and Hayden looks like he can give us a few minutes as well. Big game.

The game: Miles sets the tone right away with a steal and a breakaway layup. Both teams came out pretty cold and the rebounding was even. We go down 7-4 after a 3-pointer by their SG Jamaal Greeson but answer when Pospisil hits two in a row to go up 10-7. With 6:18 left Noble gets a technical foul and gets them right back in the game 18-15. With 3:30 left we need to get the backups in there and we come up with a steal from Hayden and then Domingo Graves hits a big three-pointer, 29-23. We take the halftime lead 35-29.

We come out on a mission in the 2nd half and score the first 7 points, 5 by Pospisil who is heating up. Miles got the other two and we lead 42-29. We need to hold this lead. We continue to play good basketball and force them into some costly turnovers. Miles really leads the squad in the end and we win 69-51. A solid win for us.

Post-game: I talk to the guys and let them know that I am proud that they came back and played well against a decent squad. I also tell them that we still have a long way to go. We won despite getting out rebounded 42-36. The difference was in the turnovers. We won that battle 23-10! I love to see that. We had 13 steals to their 3.

Player Evals: We finally got that complete game from our starters. Miles led the team with 24 points and 7 of our 13 steals. Milan chipped in with 22 points. Noble had 8 points and 9 boards while Kraft led the team with 11. Chris Alfaro managed 5 assists.

Final Score: Missouri 69, Georgetown 51
Player of the Game: Miles Stambaugh (Missouri)

Other games:

Top of the World Tourney Semi's: No. 1 Illinois gets upset by #24 California! The Bears beat the Illini 68-57! They will play #10 Indiana who took care of business against Florida, 67-63 in the final.

-#2 Maryland 73, Utah 59 : Maryland moves to 4-0 and most likely #1 in the next poll with Illinois losing.

--------------------
We now get ready for our 3rd game up here against Gonzaga who won their 2nd round game as well. Should be another dogfight. That game is tomorrow.

[mtaystl03]

GAMEDAY! #9 Mizzou (2-1) vs. Gonzaga (1-1)
November 21, 2004 – Madison Squre Garden - New York, NY.


Pre-game: The Zags have lost to Indiana and beat UNLV in this tourney and both teams would like to get out of New York with two wins. They are a good shooting team and hopefully they have an off night.

The game: This time it is Noble Richardson who set the tone for us right from the get-go when he blocked two shots on their first possession. Noble scores our first 7 points as their pure shooter Vance MacMillon hit a couple treys, 7-7. They are pressing and come up with 5 steals in the first 10 minutes. A lot of fast break points for them and they took a quick lead 21-14. Miles gets in foul trouble with three in the first. They out played us in the 1st half including with no time left we get a stop but they hustle for the rebound and hit a trey. 43-32 at the half. I rip into my guys for lack of effort.

The 2nd half started the way we played in the first. They stayed up by 12 for most of it but we did get within 5 a couple of times. The fact of the matter was that they made some key shots and we didn't we fall in this one 67-57.

Post-game: They beat us by shooting well. That is the way they play. If they are shooting well they will win. That is how this one was. They also created a lot more steals and won that all important turnover war 17-12. They shot 42% from the field (we shot 39%) and they shot 31% from three (we shot 22%). 11 of our 12 turnovers were steals.

Player Evals: Kraft had 12 boards and 8 points. Noble had 9 points and 11 boards. Pospisil and Stambaugh had 10 points each. They win because we shot like crap.

Final Score: Gonzaga 67, Missouri 57.
Player of the Game: Keith Bryan (Gonzaga)

Other games:

Indiana wins the tournament as they smoke Cal, 93-58.
Illinois loses again, this time to Florida, 73-64.

[mtaystl03]

Monday, November 22, 2004

The new rankings came out and we slipped all the way to #23. Not surprising at all. When you lose two games and one to an unranked team you tend to fall quite a bit.

Here is the new rankings:

 #    School                        FPV   Record  Points  Previous
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1.   Maryland                      (58)  4-0     1786    2
 2.   Arizona                       (14)  2-0     1643    14
 3.   Stanford                            2-0     1546    4
 4.   Kentucky                            2-0     1508    3
 5.   Cincinnati                          1-0     1499    5
 6.   Indiana                             3-0     1439    10
 7.   Kansas                              2-1     1420    8
 8.   Temple                              2-0     1294    22
 9.   Duke                                2-0     1266    17
 10.  Oklahoma State                      0-0     1220    6
 11.  Oklahoma                            2-0     1095    13
 12.  Iowa                                2-0     981     7
 13.  North Carolina                      1-0     939     20
 14.  Florida                             2-1     803     12
 15.  Tulsa                               1-0     746     21
 16.  Illinois                            1-2     705     1
 17.  Connecticut                         2-0     632     18
 18.  Minnesota                           3-0     494     NR
 19.  Syracuse                            2-1     441     15
 20.  Georgia                             2-0     440     NR
 21.  Texas                               1-1     409     11
 22.  Michigan State                      2-2     255     NR
 23.  Missouri                            2-2     218     9
 24.  Oregon                              2-0     202     NR
 25.  Kent State                          3-0     184     NR

 Others Receiving Votes:
      Wisconsin                           1-0     58      
      Boston College                      1-2     50      
      Troy State                          2-0     45      
      Miami                               2-0     26      
      California                          2-1     10      
      Mississippi                         1-0     10      
      Vanderbilt                          1-0     10      
      Richmond                            1-0     8       
      Arkansas                            1-1     7       
      Ohio State                          2-1     4       
      Alabama                             1-0     2       
      Seton Hall                          2-0     2       

Not surprisingly, Maryland tops the polls. They are red hot. Arizona is #2 and Indiana is now #6 after sweeping through the "Top of the World" Tourney.

Other games:

Two big upsets today, including a #1 falling for the 2nd time:
Mississippi 77, #12 Iowa 62
Alabama 75, #1 Maryland 65

[mtaystl03]

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

We practice very hard as we get ready for our game tommorow against Davidson.

Other games:

#9 Duke got a scare from Winthrop but end up winning, 58-51.
In a showdown, #11 Oklahoma beat #13 North Carolina 75-73. Big win for the Sooners.
#3 Stanford looks great, beating #10 Oklahoma State, 83-61.
#12 Iowa has lost two in a row now this time losing to UMass, 89-87.

[mtaystl03]

GAMEDAY! #23 Mizzou (2-2) vs. Davidson (1-0)
November 24, 2004 – Paige Sports Arena, Columbia, MO.


Pre-game: Davidson is a solid team but a team that we should definately beat. We don't look to do anything different except that we decide to give Domingo Graves a start at shooting guard for Chris Alfaro. We will see how he responds.

The game: Quick start again. We seem to always jump out early. Pospisil gets a trey and a couple assists for Miles, 8-1 start. We shoot well in the first half and Davidsons obvious strategy was to launch three after three and hope they connect on a few. Unfortunately for them, they didnt hit many and our defense was clicking. We took a 37-15 halftime lead.

They shot a lot better in the 2nd half, hitting some threes but we also played well. We ended up getting almost everybody in the game which was nice. The final was 83-57.

Post-game: We will take it. We showed this team that we were a lot better. We out rebounded them 36-28 and had 21 assists to their 13. We also won the turnover war 16-10. So far our record stands the same as the turnover wars. When we win that we win the game, when we don't, we lose.

Player Evals: Milan Pospisil had a great game, scoring 28 points and Stambaugh wasn't far behind with 24. Miles also dished out 7 assists. Noble Richardson led the rebounds with 12. That was a game we should have won and we did.

Final Score: Missouri 83, Davidson 57
Player of the Game: Milan Pospisil (Missouri)

Other games:

-#3 Stanford continues to play great basketball as they beat #11 Oklahoma, 90-73.
-#25 Kent State managed to crack the top 25 with three wins but lose at Penn State by one, 89-88.
-#13 North Carolina keeps scoring a ton of points and beat #10 Oklahoma State, 113-89.
-#12 Iowa's losing streak moves to three with an 83-80 loss to Vanderbilt!

[mtaystl03]

Thursday, November 25th, 2004

We have a nice practice and walk through today. We rest up for the most part and the coaching staff prepares for 2-0 Southwest Missouri State. They have upset us in the past and they look to do the same tomorrow. We would like to win two in a row for the first time in a while.

Other Games:

The only game of note today was unranked Baylor (B12) beat #19 Syracuse, 76-75 in a great one.

[mtaystl03]

GAMEDAY! #23 Mizzou (3-2) vs. Southwest Missouri State (2-0)
November 26, 2004 – Paige Sports Arena, Columbia, MO.


Pre-game: SMS is thinking upset and we are thinking otherwise. I hope we come to play because we know the Bears will show up ready to repeat history of upsets past.

The game: Slow start for both teams with ice cold shooting. We jumped out to a lead led by Miles who dropped 10 right off the bat and with 7 minutes left the score is 25-10. Noble Richardson already has 8 boards and 4 points. We held on for a 38-19 lead at the break. Richardson finished the half with 11 boards! Miles is leading scorer with 12 and he also has 4 dimes.

We came out in the 2nd half with even more fire than before. We score the first 11 points and move to 49-21. We cruise the rest of the way with just about everybody pitching in as we score a season-high 92 points. Final was 92-55.

Post-game: Again, we will take it even though we should've won it. We move to 4-2 and get a couple wins at home before taking off for California. This should build some confidence. We won the rebounds, assists (25-9), steals (14-2) and that all-important turnover war 20-4. We committed just 4 turnovers. Look how many points we scored. That has a direct correlation. Great job with that.

Player Evals: We did it with everybody chipping in today. Milan did lead the scoring with 18, Miles had 17. Noble ended up with 12 boards and Alfaro and Miles each had 7 assists! Jack Johnson and Domingo Graves both got to double-digits in points with 14 and 10 respectively. Freshman Elton Sealy got in for the last three minutes and scored 7 points and grabbed two boards! Talk about taking advantage of your time. Nice win.

Final Score: Missouri 92, SMS 55
Player of the Game: Miles Stambaugh (Missouri)

Other games:

A couple top-25 teams lost including B12 Texas falls by 20 to Fresno State who shot lights out.
Also, #15 Tulsa lost to Wyoming, 82-76.

[Radii]

Without Quinn Snyder there I can be a Missouri fan I suppose Go Tigers!

[Havok]

just wanted to say im reading. Great dynasty so far!

Go Missouri!

[mtaystl03]

Thanks guys!

[mtaystl03]

GAMEDAY! #23 Mizzou (4-2) vs. University of California (2-1)
November 28, 2004 – Haas Pavillion - Berkeley, CA.


Pre-game: I think we would be best served to utilize Jerry Kraft on their center who isn't very talented. We go with a different game plan for this one to hopefully throw them off and get us an advantage.

The game: A decently played first half we do have some guys in foul trouble though. It was pretty evenly matched. We are trying to go inside to Kraft and our slowed down style of play is seemingly bothering them. They thought we would be running the floor a lot faster. We get a huge boost by a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the half by Milan Pospisil. We have a slim 6-point lead at 29-23 at the break. Milan leading the team with 10 points. Miles has 2 points, 4 boards and 3 assists.

The game continued in it's seasaw battle form and after they tied the game they were up by as many as 5. With Kraft not working that well down low we change it up and go to a lot more motion and pace. We get back even and with 5 minutes left we go back up five. They cut it to 1 with 1:30 left. We use the whole clock, miss the shot but Jack Johnson followed with a monster dunk to put us up 57-54. The clock gets down to :23 before Domingo Graves decides to foul the best free-throw shooter they have. He hits them both and it's a one-point game again. They try to foul us but we did a nice job getting away. The finally got Kraft but there was only 3 ticks left and we hold on for the exciting win!

Post-game: It was a well played game but in the end we escape with a nice win on the road. They were inconsistent shooting the three and that hurt them quite a bit. We out rebounded them by four but actually lost the turnover battle 13-10 but still won. We continue to share the ball well with 17 assists to their 9. Nice game to win on the road.

Player Evals: Miles Stambaugh had a quiet great game. He managed 11 points, 7 boards and 5 assists. Kraft only had two points for us down low. Milan Pospisil led the team in scoring again with 18. Kraft did have 10 boards to lead the team. Jack Johnson had 10 off the bench for us. Milan did have 5 turnovers in the game which wasn't good. I am also not happy with Nestor Wilson who only played 8 minutes but picked up 3 personal fouls including a technical for aruging. That's his second T this year.

Final Score: Missouri 57, California 56.
Player of the Game: Milan Pospisil (Missouri)

Other games:

No other upsets or Big XII games to report.

[mtaystl03]

Monday, November 29, 2004

I thought a solid 3-0 week with a quality win over California would bump us in the rankings and I was pleasantly surprised when they were released to see that we are #12. That looks a lot better than #23.

Here is the rest of the latest Top 25:

 #    School                        FPV   Record  Points  Previous
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1.   Stanford                      (72)  6-0     1800    3
 2.   Kentucky                            5-0     1723    4
 3.   Cincinnati                          3-0     1661    5
 4.   Indiana                             3-0     1579    6
 5.   Maryland                            4-1     1440    1
 6.   Duke                                4-0     1402    9
 7.   Kansas                              2-1     1323    7
 8.   Arizona                             2-0     1310    2
 9.   Connecticut                         4-0     1192    17
 10.  Florida                             3-1     1184    14
 11.  Temple                              3-0     1108    8
 12.  Missouri                            5-2     1026    23
 13.  Oklahoma                            4-1     872     11
 14.  North Carolina                      4-1     813     13
 15.  Illinois                            1-2     643     16
 16.  Minnesota                           4-0     627     18
 17.  Texas                               3-2     593     21
 18.  St. John's                          5-0     506     NR
 19.  Alabama                             2-0     466     NR
 20.  Syracuse                            3-2     389     19
 21.  Boston College                      2-2     288     NR
 22.  Miami                               4-0     278     NR
 23.  Oregon                              3-0     275     24
 24.  Oklahoma State                      1-2     186     10
 25.  Georgia                             3-0     157     20

 Others Receiving Votes:
      Wake Forest                         2-3     148     
      Iowa                                2-3     133     
      Wisconsin                           2-0     105     
      Utah                                3-1     80      
      Michigan State                      2-2     48      
      Ohio State                          3-1     26      
      Richmond                            2-0     15      
      Seton Hall                          3-0     2       
      Southern Mississippi                4-0     2       

Stanford gets all 72 first place votes! We are the highest rated team with 2 losses and there is only one Big XII team ahead of us (Kansas, #7).

[mtaystl03]

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

We need to get back to recruiting today and we have shifted our attention to C Xavier Roberts. He is an overlooked guy from Totton in the United Kingdom. He has great potential and we are battling other schools for him.

If we don't get him, we will go after another center that can make an impact. At this point, Joshua Hayden has shown us that he is capable of starting next year at the position so the need for a JUCO guy to come in and play is downplayed. That is a good thing because there just aren't that many good ones.

We give him a call and he says that he is ready to commit! We use our three scholarships right away and we are just about done recruiting!

We get our point guard in Richard Phillips, our high-school stud and #10 overall recruit in Ruben Bono and now our project from overseas with all the potential in the world in Xavier Roberts.

There have been quite a few major signings this period and here is a look at the top 25 recruits and the schools they will attend.

1. Hunter Cage (SF) - Arizona
2. Abraham McKinney* (PG) - Kentucky
3. Hector Cooksey (PF) - Florida
4. Robery Menjivar (PF) - Kansas
5. Isiah Stackhouse (PF) - Boston College
6. Paul Pisano (SF) - Maryland
7. Bryant Knudsen (SF) - St. John's
8. Gerog Gruess (PG) - Stanford
9. Gerald Amador (SF) - Saint Joseph's
10. Ruben Bono (SG) - Missouri
11. Dino Ouellette (PG) - Purdue
12. Meri Pankratz (SF) - Maryland
13. Jacob Faulkner (C) - Miami
14. David Sommers (PG) - Auburn
15. Eric Roberts (SF) - Dayton
16. Joseph Yount (PF) - Oklahoma State
17. Thomas Whitmer (SG) - Oklahoma
18. Will Totten (PF) - Tulsa
19. Jack Johnson (PG) - Arizona
20. Thomas Tu (SG) - Iowa
21. David Rand (PG) - Georgia
22. Jason Tucker (SF) - Uncommitted (Arizona first choice)
23. Brian Hilliard* (SF) - Cincinnatti
24. Michael Joe (PF) - Iowa State
25. Donatien Masquelier (PG) - Dayton

*JUCO player

A couple things that catch the eye right away are the recruiting efforts of Maryland, Arizona and Dayton. The Flyers got the SF and PG they wanted and landed two in the top 25! Look for them to move up quickly!

Other games:

#13 Oklahoma looked past Fordham and lost 78-74 at home!!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

We have a good practice today as we prepare to head to St. Louis to take on the Billikens. I grew up in St. Louis and have close ties to the program. They are off to a decent start and would love to knock us off.

Other games:

Unranked Baylor has won their second strait game over a ranked opponent, this time knocking off UConn 59-57! Just a few days ago they beat Syracuse by one. Another quality opponent in the Big XII.

[mtaystl03]

GAMEDAY! #12 Mizzou (5-2) vs. St. Louis University (3-2)
December 2, 2004 – ¬Savvis Center - St. Louis, MO


Pre-game: SLU is a solid team with no real glaring weaknesses. We will just play to our strengths and hope for the best. We have a nice fan base in St. Louis so it shouldn't play too much to our disadvantage playing on the road. I am worried about their shooting guard Johan Lindtner, a pure shooter that if he gets hot they will definately win. We will put pressure on him and double outside.

The game: Both teams come out hot but Lindtner is getting open and nails his first four shots and 10 of their first 14 points. Milan Pospisil hit a couple big trey's for us to keep pace. We are getting into early foul trouble (again). I wonder how to limit that? The half continues with both teams catching fire at different times. Their backup shooting guard Lesley Moore came up with like 5 steals in the first half for them. Milan leads our scoring with 11 and Lindtner leads them with 16. We have the 34-29 lead at the break.

Moore picked up where he left off in the first half with a quick steal and 2 points for SLU. Pospisil got a big trey for us to make it 37-31. This will not be an easy game to win. Noble and Jerry get back to back blocks and then Noble drives down and completes a three-point play. Big time. They bring Lindtner in with 15 left...that is scary. I put Domingo in the game because he is our best perimeter defender. Hopefully that will slow him down a little. We have a nice little stretch of 3 minutes in which we built a 13 point lead. They got a big three from Lindtner to bring it back to ten. I am just not comfortable. They finally fall apart and after they got a technical foul and Miles hit all four free throws, they had two strait turnovers. We built a nice 21 point lead and went on to win it by 20, 75-55.

Post-game: A very satisfying win on the road and we now stand at 6-2. I was impressed with Johan Lindtner and he finished with 20 points but it could've been worse. We out rebounded them handily 43-28. They won the turnover war by three but didn't hurt us too much on them. We made 22-of-27 free throws as a team and that killed them.

Player Evals: A great game from Miles Stambaugh who ended with 23 points (14-of-16 free throws). He also managed 7 assists. Noble contributed a very nice game as well with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Pospisil had 13 points on 6-8 shooting. Kraft hauled down 10 boards.

Final Score: Missouri 75, St. Louis 55.
Player of the Game: Miles Stambaugh

[mtaystl03]

Friday, December 3rd, 2004

We finally have a couple days off and now we are getting ready for a Penn State team that is standing at 3-1.

Game time tomorrow is at 7:30 P.M.

Other games

#5 Maryland took care of business against Ole Miss, 67-50.
#2 Kentucky went into Louisville and won a big rivalry game 76-63.
#18 St. John's got a scare from a good Long Beach State team and snuck away with a 94-92 win.
#3 Cincinnati finally hands Baylor their first loss, 68-47.

Saturday, December 4th, 2004

We have a shoot around in the morning and again at night to keep them from getting lazy. This would be a very nice win if we could get it. Penn State comes in at 3-1 with wins over Cornell, Lehigh and Kent State. They lost to an inferior George Mason team. We aren't going to look past any opponents.

Other games:

All three top 25 teams won their games today, including two BIG blowouts:

#16 Minnesota 95, at Marquette 80
at #8 Arizona 83, Nevada 39
#17 Texas, at Valparaiso 36

[MizzouRah]

I like SLU, but it's good to see a Tigers win!!


Todd

[Havok]

i see my Terps are pulling in the bigtime recruits!!