1 - The deadline for staying in or leaving the NBA draft has come and gone...now that the rosters are reasonably* finalized, where do you think Mizzou stands for 2009-10? Any different than what you thought a couple of months ago?
* I say "reasonably" because we still don't know about Keith DeWitt. And I've clearly been reading too much Joe Posnanski lately, with my "star something and explain it in italics at the end of the paragraph" bit here. But he usually has something a bit more humorous than this in his italicized portion, so...guess I'm not quite the same...
2 - New names are beginning to emerge in recruiting for the Class of 2010...but no truly big names. Granted, that's not a complete shock (though Rivals' #2 player in the 2011 class listed Mizzou as a potential favorite), but for those who follow recruiting*, which names are intriguing you the most for this class?
* I sense an italicized meme for this Roundtable (and this one only). For those who don't follow recruiting, go ahead and tell me how much Mediacom sucks instead.
3 - While we're talking recruiting, what about football? Thoughts on how the class may come together based on what you've heard so far*?
* This time, if you don't follow recruiting, go ahead and tell me how much Dave sucks.
4 - It's Bowling Green Week on the Ol' Rock M. I won't ask for any sort of in-depth analysis* here. Just answer this...Bowling Green: sure win, or a bit of a concern?
* Clearly any "in-depth" analysis would be totally faked, so we'll skip the pretense.
5 - What is the appropriate punishment for a rescue dog who, at the end of her best night yet in her new home, decides to pee on the bed*?
* Keep in mind that this is a Tempurpedic and cost us roughly $264,000. Thank you, holy leader of choice, for waterproof mattress covers.
The Beef: 1 - No…you and Joe Po are not quite the same
I think it all hinges on DeWitt…I will be crushed if he does not make it and will not expect us to get over .500 without him…
…or I think we will be pretty solid, but in need of someone to step up to fill the role of shooter.
2 - Um…Kreklow? I think that is the only one I know off the top of my head. Wade maybe?
3 - Yeah…I am guessing we will get about another 17 or so commitments by February
4 - Sure win
5 - I am NOT a fan of these italicized interjections…they made me hit the "enter" button more times than normal. As for the behavior…really? What did you expect?
Doug: I think this Rock M meme needs to fall in a hole and die.
1 - Honestly, what the hell does the roster look like? I think the Tigers will have above-average to pretty good guard play, probably top 4 in the conference for the back court. The front court is where MU will be hurting for the 2009-10 season, and while DeWitt would be a help, he is a bit on the, how do you say... thin side.
2 - Mediacom totally sucks.*
*What's Mediacom?
3 - Dave totally sucks.*
Who's Dave?
4 - I think my cousins went to Bowling Green. I toss that out there as a complete aside... since I don't have thought one about the football team, so it should be an easy win for MU.
5 - The question is: was the water-proof mattress cover in place before the dog's arrival? If yes, then obviously Mrs. The Boy had concerns someone else might pee on the bed.
The Boy: Hey Dave? Can you fill Doug in on who Dave is?
And for the record, the waterproof mattress was there for cat puke purposes...as far as you know.
ZouDave: Dave? Dave's not here, man.
1 - No different for me. I mean, we've got to replace a lot losing Carroll and Lyons but we've also got a really high level of talent and production coming back in the backcourt. We're not going to win the Big XII, but I think a MINIMUM expectation this year will be NCAA tourney.
2 - We talking specifically basketball here? I don't really follow basketball recruiting that heavily. The 2010 name that I know the best is Joe Jackson, a diminuitive point guard from White Station HS in Memphis. I saw him play at the Tournament of Champions last year in Springfield and he was the 2nd most impressive player there (behind John Wall). They list him at 5'10", which would mean I'm 6'5". But he could light it up from 3 and he could dunk with power. At the time, Memphis was listed as his favorite. Without looking it up, I'm betting that has changed. So I don't know if he's now a Kentucky lean or if his recruiting is open. I know Mike Anderson recruited White Station players to UAB while he was there, and we at least took a long look at 2009 White Station star Farrokhan Hall so it's not out of the question that we'd go after Joe Jackson.
3 - I think we're going to be very pleased with the athletic level of the skill players in this class. We're going to end up with some receivers with a lot of skills and some will actually translate well at DB. I think the QB we've got coming to us out of Texas, James Franklin, points to a change in philosophy for our team in that we're going to start moving the QB position to more of a Zac Robinson-type spread QB as opposed to a pure passer that Daniel would be more considered. Grabbing Jimmie Hunt out of Illinois is big, but our eyes are still on Marcus Lucas and Justin McCay to round out the receivers and I think we will get Lucas without trouble and he'll help us bring McCay.
I think we're going to see a smaller class this year based on how few Seniors we have on the current team, and I think we'll have all but maybe 5 spots completely sewn up by the end of the season.
And for the record, I suck like a fox.
4 - Sure win. Next question.
5 - Rub your own nose in it for trusting the dog that quickly.
Or would you accept:
The Beef: Wow…some people on this roundtable are so young…they wont get that…and were maybe 12 when that joke came out
Michael Atchison: 1 - The proper name for the italicized interjection is a "Pozterisk." As for hoops projections, DeWitt makes a difference, but I’m not sure of how much of a difference he makes in the short run. The backcourt is too good to fail. The frontcourt could be just good enough. When guys like Safford, Bowers and Ramsey are asked to do more, they will do more. They might not do Carroll/Lyons more, but they’ll be better than people expect. Safford especially impressed me late in the year. He really started to look like what a Mike Anderson four needs to be – an all-out effort guy who will get some rebounds and bang around on the inside, and then who can step out to the arc and knock down a shot. With Tiller and Taylor running the show, I don’t know why this team shouldn’t make the tourney again.
2 - I don’t follow this nearly as closely as I used to, but the guy who has most caught my attention is Tarik Black. He just sounds like a Mike Anderson big, he’s well-regarded, and he’s from Memphis (which is the new Detroit). Really, there’s so much talent there, and Calipari is gone, and it’s not a long drive.
3 - I don’t have anything to add here, so I’m just going to post an awkward family photo (not my family).
4 - Don’t know, but I’m considering turning my back yard into a bowling green.
5 - Make her watch an episode of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. She’ll never pee again.
The Boy: Wow. I don't think "awkward" was nearly enough of a disclaimer for that picture. I guess that was supposed to be one of those "beautiful" and "natural" shots, but...holy cow. Fail. Epic fail.
ghtd36: I'd like to start by saying that The Boy is most assuredly not Joe Posnanski. How do I know? Because I don't want to bow down before The Boy. A telltale sign.
1 - No different whatsoever. It's time for Zaire Taylor and J.T. Tiller to put on their big boy pants, and it's time for Kim English and Laurence Bowers to live up to the hype. Nothing's changed.
2 - Maybe I'm in the minority, but my experiences with Mediacom were actually quite good. I called to schedule an installation appointment, and they told me they couldn't have a tech out there for two weeks. I called the next day, said that I was having a party two days later (not true), and they were there within two hours. Sometimes, people, you've just got to know what to say.
3 - He doesn't. Dave is to Rock M Nation what Derek Fisher is to the LA Lakers: a glue guy. Could RMN survive without him? Maybe. But it certainly wouldn't be as championship-worthy.
4 - A nice one for Gabbert to get under his belt, depending on what happens in St. Louis. It should be a win, but I sort of hope they test him.
5 - The appropriate punishment is DAWWWWWWWWWW LOOK AT HIM! LOOK AT HIM! HOW CAN YOU STAY MAD AT THAT?!?
/feeds The Boy's dog a filet mignon.
ZouDave: I believe I was just shown some undisrespect.
The Boy: 1 - Yeah, no different for me. I kind of expected Damion James to stay in the draft, so his return was a bit surprising--and clearly UT will be better next year because of it--but...well, we've beaten Texas the last two years with him in uniform, so hey...I don't expect any different there. And the season will still come down to experience, depth, stud guards, and at least one big (Party Starter, I'm looking in your direction) scoring in double digits.
And yeah...the less people know about Dewitt's eligibility, the more hyped he becomes for some reason (if he officially doesn't qualify, it will become official that we just missed out on the next Kevin Garnett, I'm sure), but certainly I hope to have him in uniform. For no apparent reason, I'm optimistic about him qualifying.
2 - I'm becoming jaded because I was actually quite pleased with Mediacom when we got everything set up at the new house. We got wonderful, relatively fast service, and I was optimistic. But now our phone has been out four of the last six days, the internet's gone out three times in a week, and we lost cable last night. And I'm having to reset the modem at least once a day. It's getting really old, really fast.
As for the recruiting question, one thing's for certain: we're looking to take a PG-SG, a SG-SF, and a big with our three schollies. We're looking at quite a few wings, so it will be interesting to see what happens if we get an early commit from one--Kreklow, or something. Do we still aim for a PG with the other guard scholarship, or if Kreklow and another one of the 6'5 guys want to commit, do we take them both?
3 - Dave's alright, but his music sucks. And it's the summer, therefore I'm very optimistic about football recruiting. Getting Jimmie Hunt in the bad was great, and as others have said, there is a LOT of athletic potential in the guys listing Mizzou as a favorite or co-favorite right now. We missed out on Keeston Terry and Little Gabbert, but I just can't concern myself with that as long as guys like Marcus Lucas, Justin McCay, and Trey Millard are still on the table. If they go elsewhere, I'll start worrying...a bit. I just can't make myself worry too much about recruiting anymore, though. It's fun to follow, but I just don't get too emotionally invested. Five years ago, different story.
4 - If this was, say, Miami-OH instead of Bowling Green, I would be 0% worried instead of 5%. But strangely, we've managed to go 1-3 all-time versus the Falcons, so...yeah, nevermind. They're not very good. Sure win.
5 - She's two years old and pee-pad trained, so the bed thing was certainly a bit of a surprise. Apparently it's likely that it was an attempt to show dominance...which failed. She certainly is cute, though.