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Cuonzo Martin, Michael Porter Jr., and renewal

Here are today’s Mizzou Links

By Bill Connelly

"This feels like home." — Cuonzo Martin

“It could be something real, real special just to come home and do my thing there, it would special.” — Michael Porter Jr.

Michael Porter Jr. is back on the market, and his comments in a Wednesday interview have quickly made the rounds. Basically every Porter-related development of the past week, since Cuonzo Martin took the Mizzou job and Lorenzo Romar was fired from Washington, has been good news for Mizzou, and yesterday’s was no exception.

I’ve got nothing particularly profound to say beyond that. We know that the odds are pretty good that Porter (and potentially two Porters, if younger brother Jontay reclassifies as a 2017 recruit to play a year with his brother) ends up at Mizzou, and we know the odds are very much not 100 percent yet. The car could still swerve off-course.

But if nothing else, it’s nice to hear Columbia spoken of as home and to have that referred to as a good thing. Virtually every high-caliber Rock Bridge prospect leaves Columbia. Mizzou itself has been beset by stupid politics and legislative cuts. The Football and Men’s Basketball products have not been particularly fun to watch. It’s been a frustrating/insecure couple of seasons to be a Mizzou fan.

Through all that, though, change has come to Mizzou Athletics of late, and it’s brought an honest-to-god sense of renewal. We’ll see how long it lasts. Maybe Porter chooses Oklahoma and Martin doesn’t fare any better with local recruits than his predecessors. But the days following a coaching change are opportunities for optimism and renewed self-esteem. And it’s nice to be feeling that for a while. If you can’t get your How Stella Got Her Groove Back moments right after a coaching change, then when can you, right?

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