Mizzou Links, 4-23-13

Mizzou Football Links

• Spring Wrap-Up
  The Trib (Dave Matter): Henson makes subtle but significant changes

  QBs on the move: Under Henson's vision and the coaching of Andy Hill, the quarterbacks were on the move this spring, with more play-action passes, more rollouts and bootlegs. The pocket seemed to shift more often, giving the quarterbacks a wider variety of launch points. This should help neutralize the pass rush and give the QBs some running room if they choose to scramble. Speaking of, you didn't see many, if any, designed running plays for the quarterbacks on Saturday. There were a few speed options, but the QBs flipped the ball to the tailback each time. [...]

  Maty Mauk showed off his scrambling ability in the second half of the scrimmage, and if he should win the job, that's a weapon he has in his arsenal. Gary Pinkel used the word "escapability" after the scrimmage, and even mentioned former Missouri QB Brad Smith, one of the greatest running quarterbacks of all time. Not that he was comparing Mauk to Smith, but he was pointing out that teams can't simulate scrambling QBs during controlled scrimmages. "It was hard to see Brad Smith do the things he did until he played in his first game," Pinkel said. "Then it was like, all of a sudden, 'Where the heck did this guy come from?' " If Mauk wins the job, will Henson call more designed runs than he would for Franklin? Not sure, but both QBs can pick up yards on the run. Henson said he can tailor the offense around which quarterback wins the job, but mostly the Tigers will run the system he has in mind, regardless who's behind center.

  We Are Mizzou: PHOTOS: 2013 Black and Gold Spring Game
  
• 2014 Recruiting
  PowerMizzou: PMTV-HD: Greg Taylor talks commit
  PowerMizzou: Grant Jones talks about being a Tiger
• O'Fallon Rivals Camp
  PowerMizzou: Tons of Video Interviews from O'Fallon Camp
  Rivals.com: RCS St. Louis: Top defensive performers
  Rivals.com: RCS St. Louis: Top offensive performers

Mizzou Basketball Links

• We Got Our Second Point Guard
  MUtigers.com: Haith Adds Shane Rector to Recruiting Class

  Considered one of the top players in New York City, Rector averaged a team-leading 17.4 points and 7.1 assists for South Kent as a senior and developed into one of the country's top distributors during his one season of play in Connecticut.

  "We are so excited to be able to add a player of Shane's caliber to our recruiting class and his ability to attack the rim and create for his teammates fits well with how we like to play," Head Coach Frank Haith said. "Shane is also a capable scorer, but he is similar to Wes (Clark) in that he has a knack for making those around him better and that's what we want in our point guards."

  Rector began his career at St. Raymond's High School in Bronx, N.Y., and led the Ravens to their first CHSAA Class AA city championship since 2004. St. Ray's finished the year 21-10 and Rector averaged 13.7 points and 6.2 assists, while being named to the CHSAA All-Tournament Team. He was also named an all-league pick as a junior.

  "With Phil's departure to the NBA Draft we focused on bringing in a second point guard and the friendship Wes (Clark) and Shane (Rector) have is certainly a bonus, because we like to play two point guards together during the course of a ball game," Haith said. "When you look at this class as a whole we were able to fill a number of needs and continue to balance out our classes for the future."

  The Trib: Rector signs letter of intent with MU basketball
  Fox Sports MW: Haith adds to nationally ranked recruiting class
• We Got Our Second Point Guard, So Fill Those Schollies However You Want
  ZagsBlog: Duke, Florida Among Those Reaching Out to Rutgers' Eli Carter

RIP Expansionapalooza™?

• ACC Locks It Down
  Frank the Tank: ACC Grant of Rights: The Beginning of the End of Conference Realignment?

  With 4 of the 5 power conferences having a vested legal interest in seeing grant of rights agreements being upheld in court (and the 5th power conference that doesn’t have a grant of rights, the SEC, being so strong financially off-the-field and competitively on-the-field), it’s likely that we have seen an end to power conference realignment for the next decade or so. There’s a chance that the Big 12 may be compelled to expand back up to 12 or more members from its current 10 or that the Pac-12 could eventually find a current Mountain West Conference member attractive, but the shifting between the power conferences themselves is probably over. From the Big Ten’s perspective, it’s probably all well and good. As much as I personally wanted the Big Ten to look at a school like Florida State, it likely only had eyes for the AAU likes of Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia Tech, all of whom would have been extremely difficult to poach (particularly UNC). The SEC also was set on looking at UNC and maybe rival Duke as a pair, which also would have been a monumental task to pull off. Much like the Big Ten was better off seeing Texas stay in a weakened Big 12 as opposed to heading off to a stronger Pac-16, if Jim Delany can’t nab his alma mater of UNC for himself, maintaining the status quo is much more preferable than seeing UNC head off to the SEC (as unlikely that would have been). From both the conference financial and fan perspectives, there isn’t any Big Ten expansion scenario that makes any sense without 2 or more schools from one of the ACC or Big 12. I’m sure that Mike Slive and SEC fans would feel the same way about SEC expansion.

Mizzou Diamond Sports Links

• Just Call It The Chelsea Award
  MUtigers.com: Thomas Receives Fourth SEC Weekly Honor
• Softball Postseason
  The Trib: Missouri softball: Where it stands in the postseason race
• :-(
  MUtigers.com: Mizzou Baseball Cancels Game with Murray State
• Next Up For Baseball:
  MUtigers.com: Mizzou Hosts Missouri State Wednesday
• Tepesch
  The Trib (AP): Nick Tepesch is OK after getting hit
• Good Luck
  The Missourian: Gerrion Grim, redshirt freshman, leaves Missouri baseball
• WHATNOT
  SimmonsField.com: HI NOTES: One Great Game, Tepesch OK

Other Mizzou Links

• Mizzou Women's Basketball
  MUtigers.com: Norton Named Head Coach at UAB
  The Trib: MU women's basketball assistant leaves for UAB
  The Missourian: Randy Norton, Missouri associate head coach, going to UAB
• Mizzou Wrestling
  KBIA Sports: Mizzou's Dom Bradley

Other Links

• I Didn't Know I Needed This, But I Did
  Flavorwire: Neutral Milk Hotel Mashed Up With Hip-Hop Tracks