Written by Matt | 14 July 2009

Hello again, everybody. Betcha thought I ran and hid after the recent rash of on-and-off-the-court Mizzou basketball butt kickin’s. As painful as events have been lately in reality I was travelling for work (the real work, the one that comes with a paycheck and everything) and got sick as a dog last week. But I’m back to 100% and can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing than talking Mizzou hoops, especially as this most special of seasons is winding down.

In reading the news articles and message boards regarding the Athena Five and the off-court stuff I think I have a little different take on what’s going on down in Columbia than most. I’m going to truly miss Stefhon Hannah and I think the Athena Five has gotten a pretty raw deal. Not the most popular opinions in the blogosphere to say the least. Did they break rules? Yes, and they were punished. Do I think Stefhon and/or Sam the Blue Bird aka Jason Horton were the bad guys in all this? Maybe, maybe not. Really, it’s irrelevant.

Bottom line is Stef’s gone, this season can’t end soon enough and Tigerboard has been awash in an amazingly entertaining and all too predictable simultaneous mix of rage, euphoria, depression, giddiness, hate, sarcasm, racism, fear, laughter, pessimism and hope. Ah, hope. That’s what I love about T’board, for all the schizophrenia and negativity there are always the eternal optimists who think the next 1993-94 is just around the corner. I’m not that way anymore (since Ricky Clem-clem and Elson’s wife led us to the end of the innocence), but I do tend to fall on the optimistic side of the argument most of the time.

I digress. The reason why this season doesn’t really bother me too much is because these guys were never going anywhere this season for three main reasons.

REASON ONE: SIZE
The moment the butt of Kalen Grimes’ shotgun connected with that DQ Blizzard lover in St. Louis was the moment any serious postseason possibilities for 2007-08 disappeared. The size deficiency this team faces on a nightly basis is simply too great to overcome and Kalen was going to be the man, the only big man, in the middle. The rebounding load has been transferred to undersized, often undertalented, individuals.

REASON TWO: BASKETBALL IQ
Marshall Brown, Jason Horton, Leo Lyons, Darryl Butterfield and Stefhon Hannah have a very low combined acumen for the thinking aspect of basketball. Some call it instinct, some call it feel. Whatever you want to call it, these dudes don’t have it. They might be the smartest dudes in the world in the classroom I don’t know (insert Hannah joke here), what I do know is they’re dumb as a box of rocks on the basketball court. They simply make poor decisions on a consistent basis, making it impossible for Missouri to truly grow as a team.

REASON THREE: SCORING
Keon Lawrence is the only member of the team (now that Hannah’s gone) who can create his own shot off the dribble from any point on the court. With Matt Lawrence’s struggles behind the three-point line there is not a player in the lineup who can be depended on to make deep shots. There is absolutely no inside scoring threat. Any team that grinds for points as much as this one does better be tearing it up on the defensive end (a la Oklahoma teams of a few years back). This team does not play defense well enough to compensate for a lack of scoring.

So that’s why we never had a chance this year. Is there anything that we can take from this season that will help us in 2008-09? The answer, of course, is maybe. The reason to believe is that effort from certain players, particularly DeMarre Carroll, J.T. Tiller, Keon Lawrence and Justin Safford was extremely encouraging. Those players form the core of returners and will be matched with recruits Lawrence Bowers, Kimmie English, Marcus Denmon, Steve Moore, Miguel Paul and Keith Ramsey.

Size will continue to be a problem for the foreseeable future, but basketball IQ and scoring should definitely improve.

Honestly, I couldn’t be more excited for next season. It is going to be so refreshing to see these new guys play. Hopefully surrounding Leo Lyons with positive influences will help him to realize his vast potential. And maybe with a little less of the load to carry Matt Lawrence will be able to relax and begin making shots.

While next year is going to be fun, 2009-10 could be simply incredible if Mizzou gets a couple of breaks in recruiting. High school juniors Michael Dixon (above) and De Marcus Cousins (below) are both currently interested in the Tigers. Land both players and MU is an instant contender for the conference title. Even if they don’t land either the tide is starting to turn in the right direction thanks to next year's class.

Hang in there, MU fans. Brighter days are ahead, maybe sooner than we think. Are there obstacles in front of us? Absolutely. Might Mike Anderson fall on his face and never figure it out at this level? He might, though I doubt it. After all the heartbreak and self-imposed punishment of the last decade it is going to be so sweet when the Tigers get back on track.

And, call me crazy, but I wouldn’t want to trade place with any other fans in the country, especially not KU or KSU fans, because the guy below left is about to disappear and the guy below right uh, uh, uh, isn’t.

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