Mizzou Links, 4-16-10

Missouri’s other corners of the internet haven’t stumbled upon the Oregonian story yet. There will be a lot of virtual chewing of fingernails when they do.

I’m going to play it cool. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen other than the dashing of my fondest hopes and dreams?

http://www2.registerguard.com/cms/index.php/opinions-on-sports/comments/breaking-kilkenny-is-in-el-paso-in-pursuit-of-missouris-anderson/

Is Oregon closing in on a coach?

The speculation increased Thursday that the month-long quest to replace Ernie Kent is nearing a conclusion, with one source indicating there could be an announcement today while another predicted "before the end of the weekend."

If it is that soon, it seems likely that Oregon’s choice for a new coach is 50-year-old Mike Anderson, the head coach at Missouri for the past four seasons.

Pat Kilkenny, the former UO director of athletics who is heading the search, was in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday evening after spending time earlier in the week at his second residence in New York City. Also in El Paso was Anderson, to participate in a benefit golf tournament.

A source close to the search said that Anderson was of definite high interest to the Ducks, and a meeting had been planned between Anderson and Kilkenny to discuss the position. That source said there had been no firm offer made to Anderson, however, as of midnight.

Missouri officials denied again Thursday that Oregon had been in contact to ask for permission to talk with Anderson, but that has become less of a common formality between schools in recent years.

When he was asked about Oregon’s possible interest at midweek, Anderson laughed off the question from a reporter for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. That came after a Kansas City radio station reported that Oregon was prepared to offer Anderson a contract worth about $3 million in annual compensation.

That couldn’t be verified by any other sources and Oregon offered a denial, but it might take an offer close to that amount to pry Anderson away from Missouri. He reportedly turned down both Alabama and Georgia last year, with the offer from Georgia put at $2.1 million.

Anderson then signed a seven-year extension at Missouri, with an annual salary of $1.55 million. There is a $500,000 buyout in that agreement, to be paid either by Anderson or the school he leaves for, to break the deal.

In his four seasons at Missouri, the Tigers have compiled an 88-46 record and reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons.

Oregon’s wait this week to move forward on a coach was apparently tied to Wednesday being the first day that letters of intent could be signed, and coaches not wishing to impair that process for their current school by being discovered to be in contact about other jobs. Missouri signed two of the nation’s top junior college players on Wednesday to augment players signed in the fall, giving Anderson one of the top 10 recruiting classes in the country in one ranking.

Before taking the Missouri job, Anderson was 89-41 at Alabama-Birmingham in four seasons, taking the Blazers to the NCAA Tournament in his final three seasons. He was hired by UAB after 17 seasons at Arkansas, where he served as an assistant to Nolan Richardson when the Razorbacks made 15 consecutive postseason appearances, including three Final Fours and an NCAA championship in 1994.
Like his mentor Richardson, Anderson’s teams play a fast-paced style with full-court pressing, which the Missouri media guide describes as "The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball." The Tigers defeated Oregon 106-69 in a game in December.

If Kilkenny can’t entice Anderson to Eugene, it will be at least the third coach known to have turned down a firm offer from the Ducks. Sources close to the search have confirmed that Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh and Brad Stevens of Butler both were offered the job by Kilkenny but ultimately decided to stay in their current positions.

There were also strong overtures made to Mark Turgeon of Texas A&M, though Turgeon has been quoted as saying it wouldn’t be accurate to report that he was ever offered the position.

Beyond that, who knows for sure?

As of Thursday evening, UO director of media services Dave Williford said nothing was planned for today by his department in relation to any announcement on men’s basketball.

There is also not a gathering of UO players scheduled for today, which presumably would be necessary to allow the new coach to meet his future team.

the nature of true temptation is that it causes one to think out of the box, considering things one never dared to imagine. However, I wonder if money is enough to tease CMA with right now: surely his greatest goal at this time is to get the national championship, and moving to Oregon would put him at least two-three years farther away. Add all the other elements (which we all know: Presseys, etc.) and I think it is safe to say CMA will probably consider any offer carefully, and then decide to stay put.

Sounds reasonable – but I’m still checking back every few minutes throughout the morning, somewhat concerned.

into the story, and I’m under no illusion that Anderson would never leave Missouri for another job (he left UAB for Mizzou; he could leave Mizzou for Kentucky or UCLA or some other top-level program). But I have a hard time envisioning him leaving for another reclamation project. He’s 50. After four years at Mizzou, he has put together the pieces that should allow him to have chance to succeed on a national scale. It would be very, very hard to walk away from that into another situation where he knows that he’s at least two or three years away from having the program on similar footing, with no guarantees that it ever happens at all. At Mizzou, he could be a national title contender at age 52; at Oregon, he might still be spinning his wheels at age 55. If he leaves for another program, my guess that it will be for one that is ready to win right away.

An extra $1.5 million can buy you 300,000 KFC Double Down sandwiches.

Only now will you recognize the gravity of this situation.

…you’re all forgetting Mizzou’s secret weapon/ace in the hole.

You’ll notice the Mizzou Secret Weapon In The Hole (or MSWITH) on the left side of this picture.

(Hi Dr. Austgen!)

This is lame. Mike said no. Then AD goes out of his way to plead. It’s like an 80’s movie.

Further, for 1.5 million dollars (/finger to mouth), you could buy 750,000 waffles from Waffle House…

Make it stop!

Does this moment make everyone regret their absolute glee this past week with the JuCo signings? We were too happy and too optimistic and the sports gods are putting us back in our rightful place.

The plot thickens.

Nor do I think that everyone has a price. After you get more money than you can reasonably spend, WTF difference does it make?

After tax, Anderson’s making roughly $85,000/month. So how much do you need, really? Money meets needs. It doesn’t lead to self-actualization.

How could Anderson have even had an offer to decline before yesterday if Oregon just asked permission to talk to him last night?

/just kidding – luv ya Z!

can’t be good for anderson’s golf game

i will have negative respect for mike anderson and he will be #1 on my shit list for a long, long time.

…nothing we don’t already know.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2010/apr/16/anderson-meets-oregon/

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindducksbeat/2010/04/oregon_basketball_pat_kilkenny_2.html

A freelance reporter working on behalf of The Oregonian encountered Kilkenny in the lobby of his hotel around 11:30 a.m. in El Paso, and the former Oregon athletic director had no comment on the status of the search as he made his way to lunch. The reporter watched Kilkenny and one other man – not Anderson – board the plane before it took off around 12:40 p.m. Mountain time.

MY HEART CAN"T TAKE IT!!!!

well, shit. (via the trib)

link

Take Your Mind Off Mike Anderson for a minute

safe for work.

what if, and this is really out of left field, but they were talking to CMA about Coach Watkins? I always felt he got shafted at aTm, and is a hell of a recruiter. Maybe? No?

I’ll open the floor for questions.

your round has to be over by now.