*** Official 2015-16 Mizzou Basketball Repository

[duncan_idaho]

Let's track all the shit that is and will be Kermit Anderson's second season at the helm of Mizzou's basketball program.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by theelusiveeightrop

Maybe a worse decision than hiring Anderson. Unreal.

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[siberian khatru]

IU fires Crean

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

IU fires Crean

@ZachOsterman: BREAKING: Tom Crean is out after nine years at Indiana. #iubb

[Codered]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

@ZachOsterman: BREAKING: Tom Crean is out after nine years at Indiana. #iubb

Looks like IU was hoping MU would hire him so they didn't have to pay him.

[Mizzou_8541]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

@Schultz_Report: Sources: UW planned to keep Romar, learned asst Michael Porter Sr (and his #1 recruit son) was planning to follow Cuonzo Martin to Missouri.

@Schultz_Report: Sources: Huskies then decided to fire Romar instead. Expect Porter to end up at Missouri, along with his dad as assistant coach.

[CasselGotPeedOn]

That's how big of a loser Romar is. His entire future was tied to an 18 year old.

[nychief]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

@ZachOsterman: BREAKING: Tom Crean is out after nine years at Indiana. #iubb

Greg Marshall will end up at IU.

[Titty Meat]

Would you take Marshall over Mark Few?

[DanBecky]

Originally Posted by BigMeatballBillay

Would you take Marshall over Mark Few?

I would say they are about even, wouldn't you? Marshall has more years in him so that would tip the scale.

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by Mizzou_8541

@CsH_UW: This is 100% inaccurate. https://twitter.com/Schultz_Report/s...98451258277889

[KChiefs1]

BenFred: Examining criticisms of Cuonzo — real and ridiculous

Cuonzo Martin's return to the SEC seemed to be received quite well by most Missouri basketball fans — especially once word got out that 'Zo might bring the Porter prodigies to the Zou.

But not everyone is thrilled, and that's OK.

Some fans will always wonder what-if with Tom Crean. Others hoped to bet on the Butler effect (Chris Holtmann) or snag an up-and-coming potential star (Kevin Keatts). Or maybe Gregg Marshall would have finally left Wichita State if the Tigers had offered him $6 million per year and replaced the columns with six golden statues of Marshall in various stages of sideline rage.

Let me be clear. I think Mizzou athletics director Jim Sterk knocked it out of the park with Martin. But you probably know that by now. I won't rehash the reasons I think the East St. Louis native is a perfect fit in CoMo. Instead I want to address Martin's weaknesses. Real and perceived. Because the former and the latter often seem to become intertwined.

From the time Martin's name became tied to Sterk's search until the official announcement Wednesday, I've watched the same tired criticisms of Martin resurface.

Often, the complaints come from a certain sect of Tennessee fans, the ones who are so happy Martin left, yet seem to have such a hard time letting him go.

I fully believe there are some Tennessee fans who would rather see Martin fail than the Vols succeed. The messy breakup after the 2014 sesaon was the result of many factors — the main one being the fact that Martin was not Bruce Pearl, the beloved NCAA rule-breaker who brought unparalleled excitement and success to Knoxville before a show cause sent him packing and left the program with two years of NCAA probation. (This is why Tennessee-Missouri is now the Tigers' most fascinating conference game moving forward. Missouri-Auburn will be fun, too.)

But criticisms of Martin are not limited to the Volunteer State. Some Cal fans were not impressed. Some Mizzou supporters think Sterk settled.

It's fine to be a dissenter.

Just find a decent reason.

Because some of the Cuonzo complaints you hear most often do not hold up under examination.

Let's examine ...

He's a 20-win guy. The depths to which recent Missouri teams have submerged make it hard to view this as a negative, but it is. It implies Martin's teams have a hard ceiling. Good, never better. It's false. Martin has won more than 20 games in five of his nine seasons as a head coach. He's averaged almost 22 wins per season the past eight seasons, and won 23 or more games four times during that stretch. Martin's three lowest win totals (11, 19, 18) all occurred during his first season on the job at Missouri State, Tennessee and Cal. After setting his foundation at each school, he averaged 23 wins in years two and three.

His Sweet 16 appearance was a fluke. This one is my favorite. It plays out like this: The best Martin can do is land a team on the NCAA tournament bubble, a critic says. To which a sensible response is, well, his Sweet 16 appearance at Tennessee in 2014 suggests otherwise. Then, as if it never happened, the critic argues that doesn't count. Why? Because that run started at the First Four in Dayton, or because the opponents that team faced were over-seeded and overrated, or because that team should have never been on the bubble in the first place. The critic will spend a lot of time reminding you how the tournament winning streak included a blowout victory against a pretty lame UMass team. The critic will fail to mention other facts: The Iowa team Tennessee beat in the First Four had knocked off two top-10 opponents that season. The Mercer team Tennessee beat had just dismissed No. 3 seed Duke. And if it wasn't for a very questionable charge call in that Sweet 16 game against No. 2 seed Michigan, the Vols very well could have been in the Elite Eight for just the second time in school history. Martin's 2014 team can be criticized for underachieving early that season, but it played its best when it mattered most. You would think a team would be remembered for where it wound up, not where it started, but that would mean admitting Martin is a Sweet-16 caliber coach, not a bubble dweller who got lucky.

He won thanks to other coaches' players. Oh, please. Let's take a look at NBA draft picks. They tend to be the best college players, right? First, Tennessee. Bruce Pearl started the recruitment of five-star prospect Jarnell Stokes (drafted 35th overall in 2014), but the forward tuned out UT after Pearl was fired — until Martin won him back. Pearl signee Jordan McRae (drafted 58th overall in 2014) credits Martin and his staff for developing him from erratic freshman into a pro-caliber shooting guard. And it was Martin who brought in Josh Richardson (drafted 40th overall in 2015) as an overlooked three-star prospect who developed into a first-team All-SEC guard and a defensive All-American by the time he graduated. At Cal, Martin did not sign Tyrone Wallace (drafted 60th overall in 2016) but the point guard played his best basketball after Martin inherited him. Martin did sign one-and-done small forward Jaylen Brown (drafted third overall in 2016). More Martin-signed players could be bound for the NBA soon, if former five-star Ivan Rabb enters the draft.

If you are not a fan of Missouri's hiring of Martin, ask if his Tigers will play their best before they are backed into a corner. Wonder if his defense-first mentality and motion offense will be the right combination to take Mizzou to its first-ever Final Four. Question if Cuonzo will make CoMo his long-term home, because he has not yet coached a fourth year at the same school. Ponder if he is enough of a public spokesman to lead the campaign to fill empty Mizzou Arena seats.

Pick one of these. Find another. But please, do not latch onto a false narrative.

No new coach deserves that.


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[KChiefs1]

Dave Matter:
COLUMBIA, MO. • Missouri's decision to hire Cuonzo Martin to lead its basketball program wasn't the only coaching move that will impact the Tigers' program. Washington has fired longtime coach Lorenzo Romar. That means prized recruit Michael Porter Jr., the No. 1 ranked high school player in the country for the 2017 class, will be allowed to ask out of his national letter of intent.

Michael Porter Sr., the player’s father, has been an assistant coach at Washington under Romar. A source close to the situation told the Post-Dispatch that Martin will likely hire Porter Sr. as an assistant coach at Mizzou and bring Porter Jr. along with him back to Columbia. The Porters lived in Columbia from 2010-2016 when Porter Sr. worked on the Mizzou women’s basketball staff under coach Robin Pingeton, his sister-in-law. Porter Sr. was unavailable for comment.

Mizzou was among Porter Jr.’s final five college choices when he committed to Washington last year, along with Indiana, Virginia and Oklahoma. On Thursday, Porter Jr. reacted to the news at Washington on Twitter.

Porter Jr. led Tolton Catholic High School to a Class 3 MSHSAA championship last year. The 6-10 small forward now plays for Nathan Hale High School in Seattle.

Former Mizzou men’s coach Kim Anderson offered Porter Sr. a job on his staff last year, but he instead moved to Seattle to join Washington’s staff. Romar is Porter Jr.'s godfather and a longtime family friend. The Porters’ younger son, Jontay Porter, a four-star recruit for the 2018 class, committed to Washington in 2015. He also tweeted reaction to the UW news Thursday, though more subtle than his brother.

Porter Jr. has always bend fond of Mizzou's program. He spent countless hours at Mizzou Arena when his dad coached the women's team.

"He was 11, 12 when we first moved here," Porter Sr. said last year, "and when we first got here, I lie to you not, he was so enamored with these facilities and access that he had, I’m telling you that first month we were here he spent three hours a day here just shooting and playing."

Asked about the prospect of his son playing at Mizzou, Porter Sr. said last year, "We’ll see. You know kids, they get enamored with the cute chick at the moment in terms of programs. Some programs that are really making noise right now have his attention."


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[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Asked about the prospect of his son playing at Mizzou, Porter Sr. said last year, "We’ll see. You know kids, they get enamored with the cute chick at the moment in terms of programs. Some programs that are really making noise right now have his attention."


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Mizzou at the time Kim Anderson was recruiting him:

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Mizzou at the time Kim Anderson was recruiting him:

It's pretty telling when the kid grew up in that arena but the coach couldn't get him to commit.

Porter Jr. has always bend fond of Mizzou's program. He spent countless hours at Mizzou Arena when his dad coached the women's team.

"He was 11, 12 when we first moved here," Porter Sr. said last year, "and when we first got here, I lie to you not, he was so enamored with these facilities and access that he had, I’m telling you that first month we were here he spent three hours a day here just shooting and playing."

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[Sure-Oz]

@cdotharrison: A source close to the situation: Michael Porter Sr. is currently in California meeting with new Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin. @610SportsKC