It’s Thanksgiving Eve! And Happy Hoops Day, Tigers Fans!

And what better way to celebrate than to watch some Mizzou Hoops in their season opener! Josh will have the Oral Roberts preview up early this morning, so be sure to check it out. But to get you started, here’s a few articles that were posted on Tuesday to kick up your excitement level.

(Caption: Haven’t you missed Javon’s energy? I know I have)

Mitchell Forde wrote a GREAT piece on Drew Buggs, whose hardships in life have led him to take on a leadership role at Mizzou. It’s a MUST read and goes into his background and it’s just... wonderful.

On his role complementing the returning point guard tandem:

“Dru and X are terrific, outstanding players, but they don’t bring the same things to the table that I bring,” Buggs said. “So I just want to focus on doing what I can do to help the team. Not trying to do what X does or trying to do what Dru does to impress the coaches, or whatever. Just do what I do and knowing that I help the team in some categories that we need help.”

Dave Matter looked at how Mizzou’s experience should be a strength, citing Derek Chievous’ 1987-88 senior season as the last time Mizzou returned its top 7 scorers. According to the article, Martin’s current roster played 88% of last year’s minutes, scored 88% of the points, pulled down 85% of the rebounds and handed out 95% of the assists. Wow. According to sophomore Kobe Brown:

“This team definitely has a different vibe at practice,” sophomore forward Kobe Brown said. “There’s more leadership from everyone instead of just one or two people. Everyone is contributing. Everyone is holding each other accountable. There’s definitely a higher level of maturity. It’s going to be interesting to see how it relates to the in-game experience.”

Let’s meet the new gentle giant, Jordan Wilmore, shall we?! (Side note: Miss you, Reed, the orginal gentle giant)

I hope everyone has a safe and restful Thanksgiving, and that you find something to be grateful for in such strange times. Me personally, I am grateful for the talented people I get to work with at Rock M and the relationships I’m building in the sports community (I’m such a suck up, it earned me a new Mizzou tshirt!), the retail job that helped me out when I got laid off at Mizzou that is full of pretty amazing people that make going to work actually fun (!!) at times, the joy of starting a small business that allows me to create literally whatever I want and people LIKE it, and for the love and health of my family, who have managed to stay safe despite living in Florida where things are... wild.

On to the Links! There are A LOT of them.

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Yesterday at Rock M (so much content)

• Jacob attended Drinkwitz’s newest MIZ-ZOOM football press conference.
• Kortay attended the basketball MIZ-ZOOM, which featured Zo, Tilly, and Mark Smith chatting about the chemistry of this year’s team and the growth of Tilmon, among other things.
• Sam previewed the #10 team in the SEC, Buzz Williams and the Aggies of Texas A&M.
• Nate (the Great) analyzed the box score of the South Carolina game. Yeah, it was a clunker, but we still WON!
• Nate, and special guest, Aaron Dryden teamed up for a new ep of the Before the Box Score pod. Highly enjoyable, and Aaron filled in admirably for BK.
• Josh was back with a new edition of his Revue: Dumb and Dumber.
• COMING UP: #9 on the SEC Hoops previews (hint: it’s a Tiger), a game preview, a Vandy preview (so many previews), and a super cool basketball piece on pick and rolls from Mr. Matt Harris
• IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Josh and the Hoops beat writers’ position previews so you’re up to speed for the game (!!!) this evening: Point Guard , Combo Guard, Wing, and Post.

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More Links:

Football

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Matter wrote that Mizzou’s focus has switched to Vanderbilt after a schedule swap. BenFred and Matter also teamed up for a new Eye on the Tigers podcast, looking at the South Carolina game. Hochman detailed how, in an extremely 2020 twist, Mizzou gets a brand new opponent within 48 hours of their previous game. Late Tuesday night, Matter also published a new piece about Mizzou’s adjustments to the schedule scrambles, with quotes from multiple players.
• Columbia Missourian: Adam Cole combined coverage of the press conference and depth chart into a single piece for your viewing pleasure. Andy Kimball, in his SEC Roundup, wrote about how Alabama and Florida (ew) are inching closer together to a showdown for the conference title.
• You can read the Vanderbilt game preview over at MUTigers.com.
• KC Star: Souichi wrote that the Tigers are “ready to roll” again, even as plans change. He also previewed Saturday’s matchup.
• The Maneater: Jack Soble covered what would be super cool if it happened, no matter the likelihood or not. Vanderbilt women’s soccer goalkeeper, Sarah Fuller, is practicing with the men’s football team this week, and could suit up if needed due to special teams quarantine issues. WOW! This is cool as hell.
• PowerMizzou (free): Gabe put out a video of Drink’s newest press conference. The staff covered the release of the new depth chart. The 573 Report came out a day early, so check it out for football and basketball talk. For subscribers, Sean Williams profiled Austin Uke.
• From Vandy head coach Derek Mason:

• The NFL is stupid. Justin Smith was awesome.

Hoops News

• KC Star: Souichi Terada wrote about how Mizzou is set to open their season as the college basketball world is facing so much uncertainty.
• Columbia Tribune: Eric Blum said Mizzou is leaning on their experience in a season of unknowns.
• Men’s Hoops opens its 115th season on Wednesday. Check out the preview on MUTigers.com.
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dave Matter presented 5 keys to Mizzou’s season and examined the uncertainty of their schedule.
• PowerMizzou: Gabe DeArmond shared video of Cuonzo’s press conference.
• Hayley Frank, Mizzou Women’s Hoops twitter star, and vocal leader of the team

• USA Today’s Dan Wolken wrote about how basketball is tipping off on Wednesday, and while no one is sure that this is a good idea, the tournament is all that matters.

Other Mizzou Sports News

• Welcome, JuJu Stevens! Stevens signed his LOI on Tuesday to join Bieser’s baseball squad.

• If you’re a subscriber, you can read the Fall Report on Missouri from D1 Baseball. And if not, you can read about a paragraph. Rock M commenter/moderator Tripp says it’s good, so we’ll take his word for it.
• This is cool. According to MUTigers.com, Veterens United has teamed up with Mizzou Athletics to impact racial equity and impact diversity and inclusion for underserved youth.

Other Sports/News Updates/Random Things

• Taylor Rooks wrote the coolest story for GQ, “The Most Magical Place on Earth: Inside the great NBA bubble experiment”chronicling her time spent in the NBA bubble. It is PHENOMENAL. I highly recommend it.
• According to ESPN, a College Basketball Parents Association has been formed to advocate for players and educate parents. It is considering, among other things, the implications of COVID-19, mental health, and the name, image and likeness rules.
• Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, in a salute to Ken Boyer’s MVP season on November 24, 1964, unveiled a list of the top 10 MLB players to have come out of the Show-Me State. Peep # 7, Mizzou fans!
• In some STL Today regional hoops coverage that may (or may not) be of interest to you: The Illini are ready to begin their season with high hopes (from Joey Wagner in special to St. Louis Post-Dispatch), and Stu Durando gave 5 keys to SLU this season.
• And just for fun... this is SO impressive.

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