Mizzou Links, 2-12-09
by Bill C. on Feb 12, 2009 5:40 AM CST
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PrintSo with a couple full days passed since the KU game and a couple more till the NU game...well, the links are a little paltry and sporadic today. Have fun.
Really only a couple of basketball links today...both from the Upon Further Review blog and neither directly connected to Mizzou: 1) K-State's been ridiculously streaky this year (which makes it pretty hard to predict how they're going to finish up this season), and 2) the Big 12 is a superstar conference (Stipo reference!).
Now, on to football. First up: Mike Alden discusses our Big East- or MAC-like schedule changes for 2009.
BTS: Do decisions like these reflect the difficult financial times that are affecting athletic departments?
Alden: Yes. Yes. Yes. That’s the reality. The reality now is the way we operate and the things we do, we have to think further and further out of the box if we’re going to continue to grow our program … because resources are scarce right now. We have to make sure we’re doing everything we can. But you also have to be sensitive, too. You don’t want to over-commercialize yourself and punish your fans because that will hurt you on the other end. We’ve got to do everything we can, and this would be an example of those options.
How did Josh Henson end up at Mizzou? Apparently some credit goes to an early-'90s Tuttle vs Ada high school football game in Oklahoma, and the '97 OSU vs Missouri game.
After taking a look at the 2010 offensive recruiting outlook a couple days ago, PowerMizzou now switches focus to the defense. Oh, and we MUST land Carrington Byndom--it would go a long way toward addressing our sudden cool-name deficiency.
Finally...congrats to Jim Dougherty, former Mizzou QB and current Washington WR coach.
Oh yeah, and you want one more video from Monday night? Mizzourah's got you covered...
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Love the Henson hire
Who knows how it works out, but I made some comments a few months back about how a program like Mizzou can move from solidly middle-class to elite status where it can consistently contend for the 4 and 5 star recruits like the traditional powerhouses. It’s near impossible. You have to have a lot of random things bounce your way. There are few precedents.
A couple things that a program CAN do, however, include:
1. Produce star NFL players. We hope, and with good reason, that Maclin, Coffman, and Moore will become stars. That keeps the Mizzou “brand” top-of-mind for fans and potential recruits.
2. Strategic hires that get the school into new, fertile recruiting territory. This is, in many, was just as difficult as producing star talent. It’s hard to become an elite program with lots and lots of coaching turnover. That can kill recruiting, which is often based on relationships that take time to cultivate and nurture. At the same time, recruiting networks are like any other networks. The most important network members are those who act as bridges to new networks (and new relationships).
That is, Pinkel’s staff has the whole “mining Texas for under regarded talent” down to a science. But for the program to go from good to great he’s got to be able to get into other talent markets as well. A well-placed, and somewhat fortuitous, hire like this one is precisely the kind of move that MAY allow that to happen. The Gulf Coast market isn’t exactly the same as Texas — more Southern than Southwestern. Breaking into it is rather difficult, and to get a guy who has been lead recruiter at LSU — who makes a pretty good living off in-state guys — is a real coup.
"Those who fear disorder more than injustice inevitably produce more of both." -- Rev. William Coffin
It's early...
Strategic hires that get the school into new, fertile recruiting territory. This is, in many, was just as difficult as producing star talent.
Should read: … "This is, in many ways, just as difficult…
Never been a coffee drinker. Perhaps I should start.
"Those who fear disorder more than injustice inevitably produce more of both." -- Rev. William Coffin
Re: Alden
I agree with what Mike has got to say. Football, and athletics in general, have become a business. Alden has to do all he can to maintain the athletic department. Look at the some of the conference schedules for the non-money makers. There’s four teams for gymnastics, and five for wrestling. Mizzou has teams in both those groups. I don’t the the state of some of the rest of the programs, but I know not all schools in the conference have men’s and women’s swimming. MU didn’t have a track, at all, 15 years ago.
In short, we need these games. Dave points out, that if we didn’t do the switch, the game in Reno isn’t on and Illinois is on the Big Ten Network (good luck with getting that). Perhaps some lose. More win.
I'm the guy that keeps Mr. Death in his pocket.
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