Not going to sugar coat it, Monday wasn’t great!

Monday was shaping up to be a big day in the world of Missouri basketball recruiting. Prized grad transfer Justin Turner was set to announce his decision, along with 5-star 2020 guard Josh Christopher. The Tigers didn’t seem to have much of a shot at the latter, but the former seemed like a strong possibility after Cuonzo Martin and his staff made the Bowling Green guard their number one priority in the late cycle.

Of course, as the day unfolded, Turner’s decision — to ultimately stay put in Bowling Green — would be one of many hits to the 2020 class.

This was obviously the biggest blow of the day. As early as yesterday morning, the momentum seemed to be completely in Missouri’s favor. But it wasn’t enough to lure Turner away from his familiar Ohio confines.

I understand there’s a temptation to wonder why Turner would choose to return to BGSU after loudly going through the transfer process. While the COVID-19 pandemic may have certainly messed with his initial plans, there could be some method to his madness. How many of you casual basketball fans knew who Justin Turner was before his recruitment? How many of you know who he is (and where he plays) now?

Exactly. Drumming up excitement is hard to do in a sea of talented basketball players. Turner, who undoubtedly has his sights set on the NBA, will now enjoy an increased (if only ever so slightly) level of attention in his senior year.

Later in the evening, the hits kept coming for the Tigers. RayQuawndis Mitchell, a sharp-shooting JUCO guard who listed Missouri as his only Power Five finalist, committed to Illinois-Chicago.

Remember Missouri’s other connection to UIC in the Cuonzo Martin era? Man, the KJ Santos year was fun, huh?

Finally, Josh Christopher ended his recruitment in the most Josh Christopher way imaginable. While the Tigers weren’t thought to be in the running anyway, the blue-chip guard turned the tables on everyone, refuting a previous report from earlier in the day by committing to Arizona State over Michigan.

I won’t take time to analyze how big of a bummer Monday was — we’ll have more of that in the coming days.

But yeah. It certainly was a Monday.

More Mizzou Links

• Mizzou will have one more shot at a transfer, albeit a traditional one, as David DeJulius announces his destination on Wednesday.

• Dave Matter continues his Best of Mizzou series by moving onto one of the most dominant pitchers to ever don the black and gold... and we’re not talking about baseball!
• PowerMizzou focused on 2021 cornerbacks in its subscriber-only position post from Sean Williams.
• Eli Drinkwitz sent out an offer to 4-star Texas WR Armani Winfield just one day after he quote-tweeted the viral video of Drink from the Ennis Rakestraw commitment.

• Something to keep an eye on... a former App State defensive lineman entered the transfer portal yesterday.

• Missouri’s women’s tennis coach resigned effective immediately yesterday, “to pursue other opportunities.” Strange timing, but hey, go live your dream.

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Breaking: Missouri misses out on Justin Turner
• Josh Christopher picks Arizona State

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More Links:

Generally this is where we deposit the Missouri-related links that don’t fit with the bigger theme. HOWEVER, there are only so many of those to go around these days.

So as long as I’m doing links (Mondays and Tuesdays!) I’ll be posting stuff that’s getting me through this craziness.

• ESPN posted a compilation of the best dunks from the 2019-2020 season, because if you sap their content well long enough, they basically turn into Ball Is Life.

• Speaking of the NBA, SB Nation will be running a, “Titleless,” bracket on the best NBA teams to never win a championship. Finally, the Sacramento Kings will have their day!
• I’ve always been a sucker for Fred Armisen’s accent pageantry, and he really goes all out in this clip.

Of course, he doesn’t quite hit Missouri, but Southern Illinois is pretty close to some eastern Missouri accents I’ve heard.

• Music lovers rejoice: New Arcade Fire is on the way!
• If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now! (** RockMNation has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though RockMNation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.**)