Missouri’s Cuonzo Martin: “I am compliance.”

Man, I hope this line doesn’t backfire because it’s great:

“I am compliance,” he said. “I’ve always been a guy to stay on top of that, any little thing. Because at the end of the day it’s not worth it (to cheat). When I go to bed at night it’s already tough enough to sleep after losing tough games or making sure guys do what they’re supposed to do.

That’s Cuonzo Martin in response to college basketball’s current corruption scandal. I. Am. Compliance. Martin spoke with media on Friday, as Mizzou opened practice for the much-anticipated 2017-18 season. The KC Star got quotes from both Martin and K-State’s Bruce Weber on the matter. (Speaking of scandal, if you’re wondering why Louisville’s interim head coach’s name sounds familiar, well, there’s a reason for that.)

News on the scandal will likely trickle out for months, even years, and as Sam and others have written, the story of shoe companies and agents and, shall we say, inducements, has been going on for years. No team is completely safe from potential trouble, though it does appear that Martin has taken a harder line than some coaches on the matter through the years. Here’s to hoping his assistants (current and past) have been as clean as he says he is through the years.

On a happier note ... Jontay! What’s it like to go straight from being a high school junior to a college freshman?

Boone County’s two oversized teen celebrities don’t go anywhere without being recognized, but like everything else, Jontay has adjusted, even in the classroom, where his courses are “pretty easy compared to high school classes,” he said. He missed the first day of fall semester classes while finalizing his paperwork to enroll early but quickly caught up.

“The homework’s not too bad,” he said. “As long as you show up to class you’ll be fine.”

We’ll say his coursework is easy because of his rigorous high school work, not because Mizzou is cake.

Hey Mike, how’s your brother doing?

More Links:

• How I Spent My Bye Week, by Barry Odom.

• Corey Fatony: good.
• Mizzou chancellor Alex Cartwright reminds us that winning takes time and patience.
• I briefly drew reference to it yesterday, but Mizzou indeed lost a commit over the weekend: linebacker La’Dedric Jackson has opened things back up. The mid-three star recruit is QB commit James Foster’s teammate at Montgomery Lanier. This bad season is potentially going to end up screwing up both Mizzou’s chances with in-state talent and its odd, wonderful Montgomery pipeline.

• WASH. LIKE. A CHAMPION.
• Ho hum, another race, another win for Karissa Schweizer. Mizzou went to the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, and she won the damn thing by 29 damn seconds. Mizzou Women’s CC finished third behind No. 25 Ole Miss and No. 9 Penn State, while the men finished sixth.
• Nice weekend for Mizzou Volleyball. The Tigers moved to 3-1 in SEC play by twice coming from a set down to beat previously unbeaten Auburn in five sets on the road on Friday, then sweeping 12-5 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Mizzou is just 10-7 overall, but there’s no question that this team found itself in time for SEC play. Very impressive turnaround thus far.

• The going’s been rougher for Mizzou Soccer, now 1-3 in conference play and 5-7-1 overall. The Tigers fell 5-3 at Vanderbilt in a wild Sunday affair — Mizzou scored on a Madison Lewis free kick 10 minutes in, then Vandy proceeded to score three times in 15 minutes. Mizzou scored twice in four minutes to tie the game at 3-3, but Vandy scored in the 67th and 81st minutes to finally put the game away.

• Mizzou Swimming & Diving invited most of the state schools to town for the Show-Me Showdown and won both the men’s and women’s meets. The women scored 700 points (second-place Missouri State had 541), and the men tallied 676 (MSU: 553.5).

• NEW PAPN! Missouri did come up, but only briefly, I swear. (It was in reference to how good Auburn has looked for most of this season.)