Mizzou Links, 11-7-08

Need some more recruiting reading material to get over losing Jheranie Boyd to his home state Tar Heels?  Try...THE CHAMBER!!

And while we're on recruiting, apparently Missouri has now offered Rockwall (TX) RB Kendial Lawrence, who is having quite an impressive senior year.

K-State Links!

• The Missourian: MU defense braces for K-State's Freeman
• KC Star: Did Kansas show the way for Mizzou's running game?
• The Trib: Getting to know you: Quick-learning freshman [Kenji] Jackson earns trust of Missouri's coaches
• Dave Matter: Behind the numbers
• Mizzourah: K State: Good, bad and Sleezy
• Topeka Capital-Journal: Outgoing Prince has sights set on bowl (he'll have about 30 to choose from on television...)
  
• Topeka Capital-Journal: Some K-State supporters hold out hope that Snyder will make heroic return

The Post-Dispatch has a nice article about Chase Patton and his reflections on a career as a backup.

"There were a lot of times that I've thought about (transferring), and even though things didn't go the way I (planned) I still wanted to be with this program for the reasons I committed to it," Patton said. "In the midst of the whole transition from Brad to Chase, there were a lot of hard times. I saw Chase take that one step forward and I felt like I was going to be one step behind the whole way. I could feel that."

Patton was well-known around town. His wife Ashley said the stay-or-go question came up "at church, at the grocery store, from our neighbors, wherever we went." She remembers one dinner conversation with Chase about going elsewhere to start, and it never coming up again.

"Never really thought twice about it," Ashley Patton said. "He thought what-if a few times, but he never questioned his commitment. I always had an answer to those questions because of that. ... You can't just walk away. Every year he's gone in with the idea he's competing to be the starter."

Now to basketball.  As one would expect, a balanced Mizzou team knocked Lincoln around, 97-54, last night.  Here's the box score.  Ten Tigers scored between 6 and 12 points.  Mizzou was only 7-for-22 from 3-point range, which is really more 3's than you'd like to see them taking against Lincoln (Miguel Paul took the 'Clarence Gilbert' hat from Marcus Denmon and launched a couple very long-range 3's, ending up 2-for-5), but the defense was good.  Needless to say, Lincoln never had much of a chance with their 7-to-38 assist-turnover ratio.  Also not entirely encouraging for Mizzou: 22 turnovers of their own, and only a 1-rebound edge (40-39).

In the end, though, I'm not going to try to sound too discouraging.  Leo Lyons was fantastic in just 17 minutes of play--12 points on 7 shots, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.  Once the starters are playing more like 25 minutes, the rebounding should go up and turnovers should go down.

And I'd like to reiterate just how lovely it is to see new blood in this program.  Here are some links:

• The Missourian: Missouri basketball's defense excites in blowout win
• The Missourian: Bench impressive in MU's win
• KC Star: Missouri conquers Lincoln in exhibition game