Random Sunday Mizzou Things: Top Four!

Everyone loves a recruiting story, right?

Well, in a mostly barren landscape for Mizzou Basketball recruiting news, former Bishop Miege (Overland Park, kansas) product Mark Mitchell released his top four schools and there were exactly zero surprises. There were several variations on what a “top schools” might look like from Mitchell... if he were to include any professional opportunities, and how many schools would be included in the “top” part. But the four schools in contention have nearly always been...

Duke, UCLA, kansas, and your Missouri Tigers. Those four schools have long been thought of as the leaders of the pack. Mitchell spoke to whiskey aficionado and 247sports.com recruiting expert Eric Bossi about his favorites and here’s what he said about Mizzou:

“That staff is almost like family. I think me going to Mizzou could almost create something new. They’ll have some young guys, some transfers and I think maybe me going there could start something new almost like what Michael Porter did.”

And what he is looking for in his final decision:

“I think the main thing I’m looking for is how I can fit in the system next year,” said Mitchell. “Also, who is going to be there? Availability. Who is looking like they are going to go to the Draft and who might stick around a couple of years because that is just the realness of what is going on so those are the two things I’m looking for the most.”

That seems really nice and all, but if you’ve been reading the tea leaves on Mitchell, we’ll just say that if he’d have released a top 2 — and he probably could have — that in all likelihood the Tigers would have been left off. The two main contenders here appear to be UCLA and Duke, with the Blue Devils inched out slightly ahead of the Bruins at this point. At least according to all intel.

Now Mitchell is planning on a commitment at some point during the season, which if anything could help sway him away from Duke or UCLA if anything. I wouldn’t put the odds as remotely high that Mizzou is truly in the real picture here. But I guess they have a shot, and they made the graphic, so we tweeted dancing gifs yesterday.

As for the recruiting class, it looks like Chandler Jackson making a quick decision is becoming less and less likely. The twitter account for 336 Edits said Jackson would be announcing a top 10 on August 31st. With it being a top 10, I’d expect Mizzou to be on the list but it does make it seem like Jackson is letting things play out over a longer timeline. Which isn’t something you want if you’re the Tigers.

Meanwhile, Aidan Shaw continues to remain the sole weight carrier in the 2022 class as he’s becoming the most likely recruit to choose the Tigers out of the top options. Shaw spoke with the aforementioned Eric Bossi about his options. Like Mitchell, Shaw released a “top schools” list which was six schools, but in reality it appears to be just two. Our intel is Mizzou is the leader, and Aidan deciding to return to his high school and keeping everything quiet just solidifies my opinion that he’s a Cuonzo Martin kind of kid.

Mizzou in the Pros!

Larry Borom appears to be making a bit of a name for himself with the Bears, While Kendall Blanton was scoring touchdowns for the Rams (ick).

Meanwhile, it was a big night for the fan fest or whatever it might be called

Our beat writers had other obligations as the practice plans had been altered a bit so it seems Dave Matter (shocking that Matter was on the spot) was in attendance, and has a full recap on the scrimmage including some lineup notes.

The starters are becoming clear. Inside linebackers Devin Nicholson and Blaze Alldredge were on the field together for just about every snap with the No. 1 unit. They’re clearly the No. 1 tandem. The safeties seem set, too, with Martez Manuel at strong safety and J.C. Carlies at free safety. The Tigers appear to be set with a rotation of three defensive ends and three tackles for the No. 1 line, going with ends Trajan Jeffcoat, Isaiah McGuire and Chris Turner and tackles Akial Byers, Darius Robinson and Kobie Whiteside. The three cornerback spots seem more in flux with six candidates at play: At the outside positions, Allie Green IV got a lot of first-team work, as did Ish Burdine. They rotated fairly evenly with Ennis Rakestraw and Akayleb Evans. No matter who starts, those four appear to be the top options on the outside. At the slot corner/nickelback position, it’s a race between Chris Shearin and Kris Abrams-Draine.

Interesting. We’re still a couple weeks from games but the lineups are seemingly getting close to being locked down.

Tez is that guy, man.