| 14 July 2009
This was the kind of game that would always end up being a roadblock that kept some of Quin Snyder's better teams from reaching elite status. A game against a good team that you should beat with bigger games looming in the very near future. Call it a trap game or whatever you'd like but it became obvious very early Wednesday night that this wasn't going to be a game that tripped up the Tigers. A dominating first half allowed the Tigers to overcome a sloppy second half on their way to a 94-74 victory.
- Damn that was a long game. 49 fouls, wow. I thought the officiating was pretty awful on both sides. At least it was consistently bad for both teams and therefore didn't play a huge role in the final score. Unfortunately, it did contribute to the game lasting 6 hours.
- I give Frank Martin two more seasons before he has an aneurysm on the sideline. Seriously, that guy needs to be institutionalized. Only other coach I've seen freak out like that on his players is Bob Knight. And I think his intensity really worked against his team on Wednesday. I get the point of Martin's intensity. My junior high basketball coach once called one of my teammates a dickhead. Kid was in the seventh grade. But you've got to know when to tone it down and become a calming influence for your team. Halfway through the first half the Wildcats were falling apart, forcing things and playing right into the Tigers' hands. Going to the timeout huddle to face a raging mad Martin wasn't helping matters. In Anderson's first year I remember the Tigers playing a late season game against Baylor. They came out really flat and looked to be on their way to a loss when Anderson took a timeout late in the second half. After the timeout the Tigers rebounded and pulled out the win. I remember reading the next day about how calm Anderson was during the timeout. That allowed his players to relax and play their games. You can be an intense coach in the mold of a Knight but you have to know when to tone it down. Read "Season on the Brink," Knight knew when to do that.
- All season long Mizzou bloggers have been making the case for coach Anderson to give Laurence Bowers more minutes. But tonight, LB made his own case. 16 points and six boards in 15 minutes. I'm not a huge stats guy, but that's efficiency.
- The unsung hero of the first half was Miguel Paul. MP3 was a little out of control when he first came in the game and he struggled in the second half, but he finally started making some plays while J.T. was getting a breather and Zaire was in foul trouble. Had some real nice heads up steals and an absolutely sick alley-oop to Bowers. MP3's never going to be a star. But I think he can be a damn solid backup point guard and I've always thought that's the most underrated position in basketball.
- Kim English seems to have finally hit that freshman wall. Fortunately, Matty Ice has been damn solid as of late (13 points tonight) and it hasn't hurt us. But I did notice Kim barking at the ref a bit in the first half. Maybe I'm looking too far into this but I think there's a mean streak to Kimmie that he doesn't show very often. He's kinda earned the reputation of being a quiet, yessir kinda kid, but I think once he's an upperclassmen we're going to see him come out of his shell and become The Guy of the team. His demeanor reminds me of Kevin Durant's. Please realize I'm not comparing anything about their basketball skills but only their personalities. Durant is usually pretty stoic until things start getting heated and then he'll bark with the best of them. I think Kim's going to be the same way. Also, he's yet to really come up big in the clutch but Kim never shies away from taking big shots.
- Leo Lyons: 16 points, three-of-five from the field. How do we describe that? I don't think efficiency is really the right word. Bizarre? Unorthodox? I have no idea.
- In my opinion, the biggest factor in the Tigers transforming from solid team with the potential to make the Dance to a top 10 team in the country has been the steady improvement of J.T. Tiller. In his last seven games J.T. has committed only 6 turnovers. He's also sporting an excellent assist-to-turnover ration of 2.24. His backcourt mate, Big Shot Za', has an even better 2.85 ratio. When you're playing this style you have to have guards that protect the ball. And the Tigers do.
- I'm going to say this now because things are going to get real intense in the next week, I'm really starting to get excited about next year's team. Not that I'm looking past this year because seasons like this only come along every couple of decades. Earlier this year I thought next season was going to be a big step back for the Tigers, which would provide Mike Anderson and his staff with a huge challenge when trying to build a solid recruiting base. And I still don't expect next year's team to match the caliber of this year's, but I think they can definitely make the Tournament. I'm starting to think J.T. might be a potential all-conference candidate next season. And we might end up having the best defensive team in the Big 12 with Zaire, J.T., Bowers and Ramsey in the rotation. The X-factor might end up being Michael Dixon. I'm hearing this kid is a potential starter, which will kinda create a dilemma with the starting five. Do you move Zaire to the bench if Dixon is too good to keep on the bench? Move J.T. to the flex position and play small? I guess will cross this bridge when we get to it. Just sayin I'm not expecting a big letdown next year.
- Fun fact: I heard this on the postgame radio show. The Tigers are three wins away from tying the school record for combined victories by the football and basketball teams. In 1981-82 the football team won eight games while the basketball team won 29. Something to think about.
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