Mizzou welcomes 2021 commit, Anton Brookshire, and JuCo transfer Ed Chang signs on the dotted line!

Yay! We’ve got our first 2021 commit, y’all! Rejoice! I know some of you aren’t that excited— I saw some less than enthused comments when I waded into Thursday’s links post— but this looks to be a good one.

Our basketball overlords at Rock M, as well as some others, were really pumped, despite that lowly “3-star” ranking.

Witness.

Matt’s comments on the Twitter from Tuesday after he was offered:

From Fearless Leader Sam:

Our own graphics guy, Levi Hutmacher, got in on the fun, too, sharing some clips of AB’s 33-point performance against No. 3 Oak Hill Academy. As did Barstool Mizzou.

The Mizzou Media was all over the commitment, of course. Check out the coverage from everyone here: Stu Durando (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Mitchell Forde (PowerMizzou). Adam Reckamp (Columbia Missourian). Souichi Terada (KC Star). Eric Blum (Columbia Tribune).

In other hoops news, Ed Chang became officially-official with submitting his paperwork. By the way, BIG fan of the excessive g’s in his twitter handle.

Read more about him at MUTigers.com!

Onto the links we go! Happy Friday!

---

Yesterday at Rock M

• Resident hoops savant Matthew J Harris covered the 2021 commitment of Springfield Kickapoo’s Anton Brookshire. (by the way, Rock M was the first to report the news, it’s TRUE)
• Your dynamic football duo, Nate the Great and the (now) StL celebrity, Brandon Kiley, were back with a new episode of the Before the Box Score. In this episode? Recruiting. And more recruiting. (written recap here)

---

More Links:

Football

• KC Star: Souichi talked to Sr. Strategic Communications Coordinator, Kyle Morris, who does a lot of the awesome graphics for Mizzou Football! Worth a read for sure!
• PowerMizzou: Gabe’s new Meet the Staff focused on DJ Smith.
• Columbia Missourian: Max Baker broke down TE commit Ryan Hoerstkamp’s decision to stay home.
• The Athletic ($$): In a cool series of pieces called Who Coached Your Coach?, Peter covered the Arkansas coaching giant, Frankie Vines , who inspired Coach Drinkwitz. **Reminder: You can still get a 90-DAY free trial of the site by clicking this here link.
• Columbia Tribune: Eric Blum covered He also relived the Tigers’ 2007 Border War victory and rise to No. 1.
• In last week’s TSF #MIZZOOM event, Ben Arnett sat down with Eli Drinkwitz, AD Jim Sterk, and country music star, David Nail.
• Nice.

• This is cool! Mark Pattinson, former NFL player and kickass summit climber, interviewed Gary Pinkel on Periscope. Check it out!

Hoops

• Mizzou target, 4-star Kansas combo guard, Tamar Bates, broke down his commitment to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers. Looks like Mizzou is firmly in the mix, as they got in early with him.
• In case you didn’t check out the newest episode of Zoom with Zo, he talked with Mizzou legend Marcus Denmon and special guest, Mitchell Smith! They relived the last couple minutes of the Mizzou-kU game at Mizzou Arena, and it was sooo cool. My favorite part? “Man, Phil, get out of my way. I’m not passing this ball!” (this came out May 1, but I don’t think it was shared in the links)
• Mizzou Athletics’ Lauren Holman touched based with women’s hooper, Hayley Frank via Zoom.
• Micah Linthacum shared her #SHOWMEwhyMizzou story:

• Throwback Thursday post from women’s hoops:

Assorted Mizzou Sports News

• Mitchell and Gabe of PowerMizzou were back with new hot taeks on their Blowin’ Smoke, Presented by Weston Tobacco series (free). They predict their confidence level of whole whole slew of topics, so check it out!
• The Maneater: Jack Soble wrote about #Tigerstyle’s Jake Bohlken, who has decided to forgo his final year of eligibility in order to attend medical school.
• In more #Tigerstyle news, Brian Smith added Rogersville, MO native and 3-time state champion, Jay Strausbaugh to the 2020-21 roster (MUTigers.com)
• Mizzou Athletics launched the Truman’s Tales initiative, a reading program geared towards elementary-aged kids. According to the release at MUTigers.com:

Readers that complete the program will receive two (2) complimentary ticket vouchers to each of MU’s ticketed sports throughout the 2020-2021 Mizzou Athletics year, including the Tigers’ Sept. 5 football season opener against Central Arkansas

Mizzou in the Pros News /Denver Broncos Corner

• Saturday Down South: Adam Spencer looked at Drew Lock’s thoughts on the Broncos’ draft.
• KC Star: Sam McDowell wrote how Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid drew Yasir Durant to KC... without even knowing it.
• Sports Illustrated: Chad Jensen of Mile High Huddle wrote, Lock Previews for Broncos Fans What Makes TE Albert Okwuegbunam Special, while Keith Cummings wrote, NBC Pundit & ex-NFL QB Chris Simms Says Drew Lock’s Talent ‘Is for Real.’
• SB Nation Mile High Report: site user/fan Just_JoRo wrote about how Okwuegbunam is an Elway bet on ‘upside.’
• FanSided/Predominantly Orange: Sayre Bedinger said Drew Lock is lightyears ahead (see what he did there, haha) ahead of where he was last year.

Interesting/Non-Mizzou News

These are a few of the best sports stories & tidbits I found regarding some goings-on in sports and the world— Enjoy!

• In BIZARRE news, Peter Baugh of The Athletic wrote about Patrick “Speedy” Flowers, the 5-star prospect out of Joplin, MO who created a very real recruiting stir. Described as “one part Lamar Jackson,” he chose Michigan State over such national powerhouses as Alabama and Clemson. What? Who is this guy? Well, friends, he doesn’t exist. He’s a video game character born out of an apartment in East Lansing, MI. It’s a crazy story, and I highly suggest reading it... if you’re a subscriber ;)
• I do not claim to really care about the NFL as a whole, though I do try and make an effort to see check on how the Mizzou guys are faring on their respective teams, and I try to watch the Broncos (Drew Lock— duh), and the Chiefs when I have time (or remember), but this is awesome. The Jacksonville Jaguars shared their NFL schedule, complete with hilarious cat videos. BRAVO. BRAVO.

• The NCAA fired back at kU, according to the KC Star’s Jesse Newell, alleging that they commited egregious and severe violations in Bill Self’s program. You really (cough-cough) HATE to see it??? (giggles uncontrollably)
• According to Missourian reports, the Special Olympics Missouri State games will be held virtually this year.
• And I’ll leave you with this.

• 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.**)