Tiller makes defense cool

Note: I don’t know if anyone still reads this, but I figured I should mention it. This will be the last post I make on this blog, but you can continue to find my thoughts on my page at Bleacher Report. I suppose it’s possible that the next Missourian basketball writers will continue to post on this blog, but I really don’t know.

Like so many other kids, I spent countless hours of my childhood dribbling and shooting a basketball on my own or with a neighbor in my family’s driveway just beyond the backyard.

Every once in a while, I would decide I needed to work on my quickness with a few defensive shuffles and other exercises. But that never lasted very long, because I had a tendency to get self-conscious when cars drove by and saw me shuffling back and forth across the “lane” created by three cracks around the basket. Plus, it’s a lot more fun to see what I believed to be a three-pointer swish through the bottom of the net, even if it required poor form to get it there.

Sometimes, I wonder if I would have felt differently had I paid more attention to guys like J.T. Tiller growing up.

Lawrence finds good fit in Europe

After Matt Lawrence hit his first six three-pointers in last season’s blowout victory, a visiting reporter from China was so impressed that he asked the senior from St. Louis about his NBA prospects.

“Me?,” said Lawrence, humbled and shocked as if he’d been asked when he was going to cure cancer. “Oh, man.”

Lawrence loves basketball, but he’s also aware that he just doesn’t have the rare athleticism and natural talent it takes to play in the top professional league in the world. But that doesn’t mean he can’t still go pro.

Keith Dewitt fails to gain entrance to Mizzou

After months of waiting, it’s finally become official.

In a press release that didn’t really surprise anyone who has been following the situation, it was determined that Keith Dewitt’s academic record wasn’t good enough for the NCAA.

The six-foot-ten forward, who could have made an immediate impact for the Tigers, was not cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center and will likely be headed to junior college. It seems that Dewitt never got a qualifying test score and also had some questionable credit from Charis Prep in North Carolina, which was put on probationary status last year by the NCAA.

Dewitt’s situation reminds me of Keith Ramsey, who spent two years at a community college in Florida because he couldn’t get the required score on his ACT. Ramsey might not have been the brightest in the classroom or in media interviews, but Anderson was able to use him as an effective weapon in the post, especially on defense.

I don’t want to get on too much of a soapbox here, but I think this is great news for Missouri basketball. The program still hasn’t completely recovered from the mess that was the Quin Snyder era, and even though Anderson does a great job handling kids like Dewitt and Ramsey, his job will always be easier without them.

After all, if a guy can’t meet the incredibly low requirements to get into a public university, how is he actually going to function as a student at that school? Of course, everyone but Myles Brand knows that most big-time college basketball and football programs make a mockery of the term “student-athlete”, but at least they have been trying to raise the standards a little lately.

Hopefully, we’ll see Keith Dewitt put some effort into his studies at a juco somewhere and become a better basketball player along the way. Then, in a couple of years, if Missouri still has a desperate need for quality post players (and make no mistake, it does this season), Anderson and his staff can offer him a scholarship.

If Dewitt really does have the talent to be a Big 12 player, then he deserves the chance to earn a spot. But first, he needs to understand that means taking care of things off the court as well.

Again, this is what the Tigers were expecting, so it really doesn’t add any weight to the shoulders of Justin Safford, Laurence Bowers and Keith Ramsey, who all showed flashes of brilliance last season. But they’ve still got plenty of work to do to come close to replacing the production of the Tigers’ two draft picks, DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons.

Mizzou nonconference schedule looks familiar

The defending Big 12 tournament champions released their nonconference schedule today, and it bears a lot of similarities with the one that helped the Tigers start last season 13-2.

10 Reasons I’m more excited about Missouri basketball than Missouri football

Before you make too many assumptions based off of the headline of this article, let me just point out that I will be following Missouri football and watching as many games as I can. I might even head to Columbia for a game or two. I’m just as big a fan of the football team as the next Mizzou alum, and if things fall right, I think they could certainly win another Big 12 title. I believe Blaine Gabbert will be at least a decent quarterback, and Derrick Washington may be the most underrated running back in the Big 12.**

**One of the previous statements is not true. Those who actually know me would immediately be able to spot it. Incidentally, I don’t think anyone of that ilk actually reads this. But I digress…

However, I’m much more excited about November, when the Tigers basketball team begins their follow-up to their second-best season in school history. It should be noted that as much as I like watching football, I have always liked playing/watching basketball a little bit more, especially Division I college basketball. Obviously, that and the fact that I covered the team that season makes me fairly biased. I won’t be mad if you disagree.

Without further rambling, here are my top ten reasons why Missouri’s men’s basketball team should be more exciting than the football team this school year:

Tigers gaining national traction

The Big 12 released its 2010 conference basketball schedule today, and Mike Anderson’s Tigers will be reaping the benefits of last year’s successful season.

Carroll has solid Summer League showing

DeMarre Carroll showed the Memphis Grizzlies that his offensive skills could translate to the professional level, averaging 12.2 points in 5 games. It simply can’t be said enough how far Carroll has come since he transferred to Missouri.

A long overdue DeMarre draft post

Just in case anyone reads this blog regularly and was disappointed, I apologize for not writing anything about this earlier. I’ve been busy with other things, and honestly, wasn’t sure I had any great insight.

NBA Draft Update

So what’s the best part of the incredibly long and dull Major League Baseball Draft? No, it’s not getting the chance to hear Bud Selig say Notre Dame University is in Notre Dame, Indiana, although that’s close. It’s not even the incredible Shelby Miller interview in which the 18-year-old 19th pick in the draft blew any chance at leverage in negotiations and ever being referred to as humble in one fell swoop. No, the best news is that it means the much more interesting (Take note of the impact of trades, Mr. Selig) and shorter NBA Draft is only two weeks away.

Everyone knows Blake Griffin is going #1, and everyone else is talking about who the other lottery picks are going to be. But that’s not what this blog is for. It’s time to take another look at two of the best Missouri prospects since Linas Kleiza (yeah, that’s a knock on you, Thomas Gardner), Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll.

Anderson to share expertise at USA team trials

The honors and recognition continue to roll in for Missouri’s Mike Anderson. This time, it’s USA basketball that has come calling, giving the coach a chance to be a court coach at trials for the 2009 USA U19 World Championship and 2009 USA World University Games teams. The trials will occur June 16-18 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Full rosters of the teams in the trials are listed below, and will include some familiar names.

A day with Mike Anderson

Last Friday in St. Louis, I was fortunate enough to spend a good part of my “Mike Anderson Day” with the man of the hour as he was recognized by several different groups in the Gateway City. It was a fun experience that allowed me to see a side of the Coach I had rarely seen and also enabled me to have some candid conversations with some other members of the Mizzou staff and the Anderson family. The Mizzou athletic department was kind enough to grant me some excellent, exclusive access, and for that I am very grateful.

Anderson to get key to St. Louis

Mike Anderson, the 2009 NABC coach of the year who led Missouri to a Big 12 tournament championship, the Elite 8 and a school-record 31 wins, is being rewarded again this Friday. St. Louis, a town rich with current, former, and surely future Mizzou students, will be welcoming Anderson with open arms this Friday.

Missouri to face Oregon in Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series

Missouri may have caught a break in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, as the Tigers are slated to play Oregon for the next two years, starting with a game at Mizzou Arena on December 5 next season. The Ducks — who beat Kansas State the last two years in the series (don’t call it a challenge, the conferences will get angry) — return their top nine scorers. But that may not be a good thing for a team that finished in last place in the Pac-10 by four games this year.

Jarrid Famous turns down Missouri

(must….resist…..making…..bad…..pun…..) Westchester Community College star Jarrid Famous has decided where he’ll be playing basketball next season. Though speculation had been made the 6-foot-11 forward who averaged 25.2 points and 13.7 rebounds per game last season  would either go to Missouri or tradition-rich Arizona, he decided he would rather go to South Florida, who finished 14 out of 16 teams in the Big East last season.

The Best Tigers Ever?

With Mike Anderson’s contract finalized and all of the team awards handed out, it’s a good time to take one final look back at Missouri’s incredible and – no matter what Kim English says — improbable season that ended one game short of Detroit with a school-record 31 wins.