Welcome back to Rock M Nation Podcasts!

Sam Snelling is back, bringing you another episode of In The Short Corner. He is joined by PowerMizzou hoops recruiting writer, AJ Blankenship. They talk the recent commitment of Caleb Love to UNC and other happenings around Mizzou Basketball, take some questions from Twitter, and give their thoughts on where this program is going. Here we go.

Episode Breakdown:

:15 – 9:15: Welcome AJ Blankenship and let’s get to it. Caleb Love is heading to UNC, and exactly no one is surprised. Looking at some of his more memorable games vs other former high priority hoops recruits, it’s not a reach to see how he could end up in Chapel Hill. How does this impact recruiting for the rest of the state now? Almost every kid is saying that they loved the relationship they built with Cuonzo Martin, so what’s the next step? The difficulty for Missouri right now is their consistent lack of success.

9:16 – 10:56: As for the St. Louis guys currently on the roster, which one do you see as making the next step and being an impact player? Torrence Watson had a breakout at the end of last year— will it continue? While Javon Pickett is the “energy guy”, Torrence has the capability to be the leading scorer by the end of his Missouri career.

10:57 – 18:19: Losing Caleb Love is a loss, but what can Mizzou do moving forward? Josh Christopher isn’t committing until his season is over. Davion Bradford is a top priority- does he take a prep year at Sunrise Christian a la Pickett and Jackson? Cuonzo continues to be the king of operating under the radar, and appears to be building his roster like Leonard Hamilton’s FSU teams (not necessarily a bad thing).

18:20 – 26:15: With 2020 about wrapped up, looking at the future at 2021 and 2022 recruiting. The state of Missouri doesn’t have a huge number of “real dudes” out there at the moment. Tarris Reed (2022) is a name to watch who could blow up and become a priority target. Kellen Thames is a name that may sound familiar to Mizzou fans. AJ has a few other names to monitor, including a 2023 (!) kid from Hazelwood Central (editor’s note: my alma mater! Go Hawks!)

27:35 – 32:07: MAILBAG Time! The guys took some questions from Twitter and attempted to answer them. Is Mizzou making a mistake by targeting big names and losing than by going after more diamonds in the rough? What should we expect from the “giant man” who committed from The Skill Factory? Sam mistakenly thinks there are more questions, but really it’s just a bunch of complaints about missing Caleb Love— SHOCKER.

32:08 – 41:18: Where is this program heading? There is potential with this team to make the NCAA tourney. AJ shares his thoughts on Cuonzo Martin— he needs to win recruiting battles and have some on the court success. What we know about Cuonzo’s ceiling is virtually unknown, as he’s only been at programs for three years tops. It’s about believing that Coach Martin has another level to him, and solidifying that Missouri is a top 3-4 program in the SEC.

40:19 – END: Thank you AJ for coming on Rock M Nation Podcasts and some final thoughts!

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