I didn't even watch the game last night. I actually forgot about it. It was quite liberating.

From this article - http://www.kansascity.com/2011/03/01...ommitment.html

ZERO second-chance points...ZERO. Our first free throw came with 4:40 left IN THE GAME.

There's no two ways about it. This team is extremely soft. I used to think that the free throw disparities we saw were because of our style and/or officiating. Now I realize it's because the team is a bunch of panzies.

Take that shotgun out of your mouth.

Boo, Mizzou. Boo.

Yup. They're soft and they're just not very smart.

Losing Taylor and Tiller's toughness hurt a lot more than I thought it would. These guys simply don't play with the edge that they have to have to run this defensive system. Then they don't have the mental toughness to fight through shooting slumps to get their points elsewhere.

I said it a month or so ago (somewhere in this thread) - this may be the least intelligent basketball team I've ever seen. Combined with their lack of toughness and their lack of size, they just don't have a very high ceiling.

The funny thing is that this team is absolutely capable of beating anyone. It can win against KU, no doubt in my mind. At the same time, they could lose to anybody. Hamas cited the Snyder teams, but they were no different than this one, IMO. They were stupid, often undersized and capable of stomping an opponent when the jumpshots were falling. However, when things got tough, they fell apart.

Marcus Denmon needs to make this his team, IMO. The squad is a reflection of its 'leader' right now and English just isn't cutting it. Denmon needs to take control of the ballclub and see what he can do to get them to play in his image. He's tough, he's generally composed and, relatively speaking, he's a smart player (granted, he's still kinda dumb, but the bar's not set too terribly high here...)

I was about to post something similar. Basically, admitting that I underestimated their loss. I focused too much on their offensive limitations and took their defensive contributions for granted. I thought "the system" would make up for their defense.

I was dead wrong, and that has been probably the biggest weakness on this team. MU's press has sucked this year, and they do a terrible job defending the perimeter -- guards have been driving on us in the lane all year and either scoring or getting fouled. Or they pass it out for open 3s. That poor defense in turn hampers our offense.

There are other problems, but I think it all starts with lacking that tough D that Tiller and Taylor (and Ramsey) provided.

Exactly.

It's why I'm reluctant to slam Anderson right now. Look, Anderson knows this team better than I do. I blistered his ass last season for sticking with Tiller because I thought Tiller was holding us back. I thought Ramsey was making us play 4 on 5. I was pretty damn sure I knew how to run the team better than Anderson was.

Well, looks like Tiller and Ramsey did a hell of a lot more than I gave them credit for. And Anderson knew that. So I refuse to believe that he doesn't see the failings on this team and isn't busting his ass to fix them. At the same time, sometimes you just can't get through to guys. Hell, they're 20 year olds; sometimes they're just going to do their own thing.

And here's the blessing/curse thing: Everyone except Safford is back next year.

So Anderson damn well better find a way to get through to them, or else hope that Kadeem Green is a big difference maker, or Otto Porter comes here and flips some switches. Hopefully Kimmie won't hang out with NBA stars this offseason working on his "pro moves" and completely ****ing up his game and his head.

I'm out on English. I don't give a large rats ass what he does to be honest. He was asked to lead and he absolutely cratered. I can't recall any player in any sport ever truly coming back from that.

Denmon will need to be a leader and Pressey will need to take a step forward. Ratliff could provide a physical component and emotional leader underneath like Carrol did.

But you're right, there's not a lot of room for changes. They'll have to resolve it from within and I'm not sure there's enough heart in that locker room for it to get done.

English is god awful, not sure wtf happend to him but he's dead as a Div 1 player. He hurts mizzou a ton being out there. Not sure why MA keeps letting him play

He might not be all that far off though. I read an article I believe they spend the least on basketball out of any program in the Big 12 and would be next to last in the Big 10 (only Northwestern spends less). By 2013 they'll have state of the art facilities and I think a league that better fits their style of play. I'd be willing to bet they'll make a tournament appearance sometime in the next 3 years. That still doesn't mean Sadler is a good coach though.

Anyone think we have a shot today? I say we go ahead and play the game just in case.

:D

Should be a good game... MU plays its best at home... They will have to really work at playing big in the paint and control the boards...

Denmon will have to score 30+ to ensure the game is close in the end...

Are MU fans happy with Mike Anderson?

Over all, yes. But I'm a little torn. I love the consistent overall success, but I don't know if his plan could ever get us to the ultimate goal.