Rest in peace, Coach Cox

Mizzou women’s basketball director of recruiting Willie Cox died from Stage IV pancreatic cancer on Thursday.

Cox was a coach at Mizzou for the past nine seasons; his final game with the Tigers saw an emotional send-off from the players:

Per his bio on MUTigers.com, Coach Cox is survived by his wife, Juanita, his three daughters, Cassandra, Tamara and Anissa, and four grandchildren, Alandrea, Brian, Charleston and Chanceton.

Cuonzo Martin talks federal investigation with the media

Mizzou men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin met with the media on Thursday and didn’t hold back on the on-going federal investigations into college basketball.

Mitchell Forde’s write-up of the exchange (and his whole notebook) is worth a full read, but here’s a brief excerpt from Martin:

“If rules are being broken, then those universities should be accountable for their actions,” Martin said. “And not to make it sound black and white, but it appears to be there. When you have four coaches in the FBI stuff that happen to be black Americans but the head coaches are still okay….”

Also included in the notebook — an injury update on Mark Smith (positive!), how seriously Missouri pursued a graduate transfer and how many players Martin hopes to play in his rotation this year. So, check it out the entire read from Forde.

Restructuring results in shake-up of leadership for the Golden Girls, cheerleading squads

Dave Matter reports that Suzy Thompson and Shannon Fry were fired from their positions as coaches of the cheerleading squad and Golden Girls.

In a statement provided, the move is part of a “restructuring” of the programs, which will combine the two organizations under one leader. Per Matter, both Thompson and Fry will be able to apply for the newly created position.

Matter also provided some more context on the moves via Twitter:

Yesterday at Rock M

• Breaking down the MLB potential for Jacob Cantleberry, Chris Cornelius and Cameron Dulle
• Three 2019 Mizzou Tigers who can make their mark on the record books

More Links:

• Mizzou Athletics received a $2.5 million donation specifically to renovate the basketball facilities.
• Becky Keating finished 22nd in the hammer throw at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship
• Former Mizzou LB Eric Beisel is getting a shot at the XFL, which seems very on-brand for Beisel.
• Drew Lock’s already showing his value to his new Broncos teammates — this time, showing why he was also a highly regarded basketball recruit.