Don’t Worry About a Thing...

Cuz every little thing, gonna be alright. Y’all, this has been exhausting. The disappointing end to the season. The loss of the seniors. The transfers from players I love to death (well, most of ‘em anyway— Ed Chang, we barely knew ye), the anxiety that comes with not knowing what’s coming next, the negativity, the super-sized transfer portal which grows everyday, the coaching carousel which seems to be in full swing and could create more moves, the negativity (oh wait, I said that already). It’s just a lot. A LOT.

We here at Rock M have talked ad nauseam amongst ourselves, with others (sorry, not sorry to my coworkers & dad), in standalone posts, and in the comment thread about our thoughts on all matters concerning the team and its direction moving forward. We’ve tried to remain positive and look at things from a different lens while providing factual details that paint a picture of what’s going on. Y’all, this is college basketball this year. The new normal... While it’s anything BUT normal to see 1000+ names in the portal, it is what it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . Missouri appears to be no different than many other schools at this point, and some good programs are losing legit good players.

But maybe, just maybe, Coach has a plan. Maybe the transfers weren’t a surprise. Maybe this is what’s needed. A hard reset that will take us to new heights. Maybe, as the song says, every little thing IS gonna be alright.

So, before we claim this the end of the Tigers as we know it, let’s just wait and see what happens. First up, it looks like we will find out today where Mizzou target, UMKC transfer Brandon McKissic, will be lacing up his Kobes next season. We don’t appear to know the time or place said announcement will occur, so stay tuned, I guess?

Brandon McKissic instagram

Moving on, guess who also is gonna to be alright? Mizzou [insert expletive] Softball. They are more than alright. After being down 4-0 after two, the Tiger bats came alive and damn..... they did some work. 0-4 turned into 5-4 in the third. Then 8-4 in the fourth. To 11-4 in the fifth, and to put the nail in the Gamecock coffin, 13-4 in the sixth. And just like that, the game was over. The Tigers run-ruled South Carolina. You just LOVE to see it. This Tigers team is GOOOOOOOOOD, y’all.

OOOOOOOOH.. check out those HIGHLIGHTS.

If you want to go negative here, it is safe to wonder if Mizzou Baseball is gonna be alright. BIG YIKES. At my last check during the 6th inning, the Tigers were down (gulp) 15-0 to the Aggies. Steve Bieser’s squad is having a tough, tough season. The SEC is not an ideal place for a team like Missouri. You can read the recap at MUTigers.com and other coverage from Reid Glenn of the Columbia Missourian here, if you dare.

Anyway, on to the Links! Hope everyone has a lovely Easter weekend, enjoys watching the Zags wipe the floor with the Bruins, sees a solid matchup between Baylor and Houston, and that we have some good news coming Mizzou Hoops’ way.

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Kortay previewed the A&M weekend series for the diamond Tigers.
• Nate and BK were back with a new BTBS pod, talking ‘crootin, Mizzou Pro Day hits and misses, and the NFL Draft.
• Aaron started looking at some of the best Missouri duos, this time focusing on some NFL tackles named Mitch Morse and Justin Britt.
• COMING UP: Sam has a really nice piece coming early this morning about the portal’s wildness and the opportunities it creates. Must read. Then, the “transfer week” player reviews continue! Next up, Mark Smith.
• IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Do check out the Dive Cuts pod this week, where Sam and Matt discussed the scalding hot and bottomless transfer portal.

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More Links:

Football/Hoops

• According to MUTigers.com, Mizzou Athletics received a $1M gift “from an anonymous Columbia family who are life-long Tiger fans with a storied history of supporting the entire athletics program,” according to AD Jim Sterk. Half of the gift will go towards TSF, while the other half will go towards the new Football Indoor Practice Facility and the Basketball program.

Track/Cross Country

• According to MUTigers.com, Men’s & Women’s Cross Country has received USTFCCCA All-Academic Team distinctions, while senior Sarah Chapman and RS senior Kleran Wood earned All-Academic individual distinctions. As for how one receives this honor, here’s some details:

In order to qualify for the All-Academic team honor, a team must have a combined cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. As a team, the Mizzou women earned a cumulative GPA of 3.565, while the men earned a 3.029 GPA. To qualify for the All-Academic individual honor, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale and have either qualified for the national championship meet or finished top-5 at their respective conference championship.

Gymnastics

• Eric Blum of the Columbia Tribune wrote about Mizzou Gymnastics’ journey to regionals, where they are led by new leader Sienna Schreiber, who now anchors the rotation after Helen Hu’s season-ending injury. According to the article, the Tigers are in a good spot to qualify for Saturday’s regional final after No. 15 Auburn is out of the postseason due to COVID concerns. This means MU has to beat either No. 1 Oklahoma or the play-in winner to advance. This is a good story on a sport we don’t talk about enough!

Soccer

• Head coach Bryan Blitz announced the signing of German U19 National Team member, Milena Fischer, who chose Mizzou over Harvard and Colorado. Fischer played for the U16, U17, U18 and U19 German National Teams, and won gold at the U17 European Championships in 2019. From Coach Blitz, according to MUTigers.com:

“Milena joins an already exciting freshman class for the fall of 2021. We look forward to adding an athlete with her international experience to our roster. She is an incredibly versatile player, and we believe she will have an impact on our program for years to come.”

Tennis

• According to MUTigers.com, Tennis goes on the road to face No. 3 Georgia on Friday & No. 22 Tennessee on Sunday.

Mizzou in the NBA

• Michael Porter, Jr. was active in the Nuggets’ win over the Clippers, 101-94. In his 32 minutes, Mike was 7-11 (1-2 for three) with four rebounds, two blocks, and one assist. Denver has now won four in a row and 12 of their last 15.
• JC got his shooting touch back in the Jazz’s 111-107 win over the Grizzlies on Wednesday. In Jordan’s 26 minutes, he scored 24 points on 8-22 shooting (4-15 from three) with seven rebounds. Jontay Porter, on the Grizzlies’ side, unfortunately did not play again.
• Another day, another great quote about MPJ from Nuggets Head Coach, Michael Malone:

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