Mizzou Basketball

[Al Agnew]

Guys, I don't know how Mizzou will end up, but this year is really something special. Here is a vastly undersized team, only plays seven players, only two big men and they are only 6'8" and play below the rim, a 6'6" slender "power forward", two scoring guards with what are really ugly looking shots, and two integral players on the team that are both under 6 feet. I mean, lots of high school teams are bigger than Mizzou. And at the end of last year, only one of these guys was even playing close to his potential (Denmon). They lose the coach that recruited them, and his replacement is ridiculed by half the Mizzou fans. They lose one of their best players before the season starts. Is there anybody in America that figured them to be any better than a middle of the pack Big 12 team?

Every time they'd beat somebody that was rated well, everybody said the team they beat was overrated. Notre Dame? Well, they just beat the number one team in the nation without Notre Dame's best player, who played against MIzzou, so they aren't so bad after all. Cal? At the top of the Pac-12 now. Illinois? At the top of the Big 10. And then there's Baylor. Now some people are saying Baylor was overrated. Maybe the only reason people are saying that is that this small, thin team beat them.

But what makes this team so much fun to watch is the way they play. With joy, with heart, with maximum effort, and usually with intelligence. And most importantly of all, with consummate unselfishness. This is the way college basketball should be played, and so seldom is. This team is greater than the sum of its parts, because they play as a team. You never know from one game to the next who is going to be the leading scorer, and it could be almost any one of the seven who play.

Who knows whether it was Haith who got them playing this way, or the experience and leadership of the five seniors, or a combination of both? All I know is that, no matter what happens the rest of the season, this has already been the most enjoyable year I've ever had watching college basketball.

[joeD]

I agree with Al 100%. I would like to amplify, if I may be so bold, what I think is the most important part of Al's post, which is the pure ENJOYMENT of watching Mizzou play. Yes, winning games is fun, and ultimately and obviously the goal. But watching Mizzou is, for me (and my wife), almost thrilling, bringing an, I don't know, "intangible" aspect to college hoops viewing that seemed to be missing for the past few years.

Let me clarify. In watching Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas (for example), one cannot help but be amazed at the skill and athletic prowess of these elite players. Their coaches are the best in the business. The records of these programs speak for themselves. They play the game the right way, and are formidable to opposing teams.

Yet.

For all their skill and sterling won-loss records, I don't get the same jolt of excitement in watching them play (I'm a college hoops fan, regardless of Mizzou) as I do the Tigers, for all of Al's reasons. Also, and more importantly to me, and the point I'm trying to get to, is that, to me, there seems to be a grim determinism, a singular, machine-like, business-like NEED for these schools to ACHIEVE GREATNESS, and anything less is a failure. And that pressure to succeed (you have a multitude of All-Americans at your disposal dontcha know) creates skilled, athletic, winning basketball, but with no personality or joy. (Next time you watch Duke, count the smiles on the players during the game. You'll need just one hand).

The national media sees Mizzou as a novelty act, the warm-up band to the headliner. Maybe so. Who cares? I think what they do on the court is wonderful. It gives me hope.

[stlfisher]

Joe D and Al I couldn't agree more. I love watching them play!

[ozark trout fisher]

GO JAYHAWKS

Mic, I haven't had any trouble with you in the past, but I still think you ought to be banned for this offensive and profanity-laden post:)

And if you so much as mention Oklahoma State, I will report you to the authorities...