So, what’d I miss?
Long story short, I was out for the last week on a mandatory furlough. That was overshadowed by a wonderful holiday week. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday too.
But, that mandatory leave meant I could not write about Missouri sports. I really, really wanted to given the week that was.
Here are 10 things I wanted to write about last week in a week of Missouri Tigers athletics with exciting highs and difficult lows.
1. Dennis Gates was knocked for struggling against Power 5 competition during his tenure at Cleveland State. Against Illinois, he had Missouri looking like a bonafide tournament team. I credit that entire staff for moving on from a bad Kansas loss and having the Tigers ready for a team that’s just as talented with a veteran coaching staff. Brad Underwood had no answers for the Tigers, who shot the roof off the Enterprise Center. I often thought Missouri needed to beat UCF and one of Kansas, Illinois or Kentucky to enter 2023 in a position to stack a NCAA Tournament resume. Two out of three to start isn’t bad. Kentucky is next.
2. There was a time I was convinced a player like Sean East was going to be the best point guard on MU’s roster this year. Nick Honor is clearly that point guard. Honor hit from 3-point range, made stud freshman Skyy Clark look like a freshman all game and led the Tigers’ guard rotation. All due respect for Kobe Brown and his career game, as he showed he can dominate a court and level no doubt doing so. Still, Honor never looked better for a team that we all remember desperately needed a point guard.
3. Missouri basketball looked like a tourney team against Illinois. I’ll believe the Tigers will hear their name called in March if they keep that same energy through the beginning of 2023, which includes Arkansas, Alabama and more to open SEC play. Obviously, so much more can be decided in February and early March, but MU’s bubble will be harder to burst by winning games it needs to at home.
4. The number of the year for Missouri football was 17. That’s 17 points, which was a number the Tigers had to clear for success. MU was 1-5 in games is scored 17 points or less this season; conversely, the Tigers were 5-2 when scoring over 17 points in a game. The Tigers scored 17 against Wake Forest in the Gasparilla Bowl. The math checks out.
5. With Bush Hamdan having a hand in MU’s offensive play calling, Missouri scored 24, 45 and 29 points to close the regular season with a bowl berth. The Tigers’ struggles re-emerged after Hamdan departed, in December taking the offensive coordinator job at Boise State. Maybe he should have just been offered the same title in Columbia?
6. Of course, Missouri only made national headlines for a 10-second spat between Ennis Rakestraw and Chad Bailey in the second quarter. Those same national aggregators probably didn’t note the public apology they each gave each other after the game on social media. The two didn’t deserve to be framed like that by those who watched a sliver of MU football.
7. I give all the credit to Eli Drinkwitz for not losing four-star quarterback Gabarri Johnson on what was a wild, wild national signing day. Hamdan was his main recruiter, and you have to know the likes of Washington and other west coast schools were on his recruiting trail on a day when four- and five-star players flipped like gymnasts.
8. Speaking of flipping, former Tigers receiver Dominic Lovett committed to Georgia, flipping to a rival SEC East school. I can’t blame him. The Bulldogs will make him earn playing time, but his ability to adjust to deep passes and secure a football in the slot is a rare asset to have. Whatever swayed him, NIL, playing time, championship promises or whatever, he’ll see the Tigers next season.
9. Hayley Frank is coming back for another year, and she’ll immediately be a key, and eldest, player on a team that’s going to be much younger. Ashton Judd, Hannah Linthacum, Abbey Schreacke, Averi Kroenke, Skylar Jones and Grace Slaughter are the future of this team. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of role Frank takes on with the future in front of her and Robin Pingeton.
10. That’s next year for Missouri women’s basketball, though. This year, the Tigers need to prove they’re as special as Pingeton consistently says they are. Have a winning record in SEC play, and that should prove they’re special. Easier said than done considering the talented opposition that lies ahead, and how a young Illinois team showed MU it has some work to do.