A State of Misery

By Big12-Fans Writer Jason Brooks


The Missouri Tigers have a job that no one in their right mind should take. Who wants to take over that mess? On the outside the Head Coach position for the Missouri Tigers looks very attractive, but it doesn’t take much to realize that this gig isn’t all it has cracked up to be. Just scratch below the surface and look at what is going on the inside of this program. You will find that that the Missouri Tigers Basketball Program is in a state of misery.

The Tigers are in the need of a major makeover TV special. Unfortunately Ty Pennington isn’t going to be able to take this house and remodel it. While I have no doubt about his prowess with an actual house, this metaphorical house needs some TLC that not even he can offer. While I was never much of a Stormin' Norm Stewart fan, he did run a pretty clean program. Quin Snyder’s tenure has tarnished this once great program, and called many things into question.

The Missouri program is in year two of a three-year probationary period, stemming from NCAA recruiting rules violations. Not just one, but many violations. While Missouri did voluntarily put itself on a two-year probation that wasn’t good enough for the NCAA. From 1999 till 2003 the Tigers made many bad decisions regarding recruiting “gray” areas. In the case of Ricky Clemons, Snyder’s staff called too many times. In another case, Jason Conley was under scholarship at another school. Supposedly, Missouri Tiger Assistant Coaches paid Clemons, Arthur Johnson, and Rickey Paulding. While these charges could never be proven, it did cause one Missouri assistant to resign from his position. In the specific cases of Paulding and Johnson, their mothers accompanied them on a Missouri-chartered airplane during an official recruiting visit. This is yet another violation of NCAA rules. Both committed to Missouri on that trip, and both families had to reimburse the school for that same trip. While I could go on for another three paragraphs about violations that Quin Snyder’s staff encountered, I won’t. The fact of the matter is that Quin did tarnish the school’s reputation. Subsequently, the incoming coach will be short a grand total of three scholarships for this year, one from the 05-06 season and two for the upcoming 06-07 season.

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While I am speaking of Missouri basketball it would certainly make sense to talk about the afore mentioned Stormin' Norm Stewart. I would not want to take over this program simply because he has set a very high expectation in his 30 year tenure at Missouri. Taking over this program means getting compared to him on a daily basis. When someone like him steps down it’s almost impossible for the first two or three coaches to live up to the expectations that men like him have set. Don’t believe me? Want some examples? First off lets take a look at Hoosier land. Mike Davis took over the Hoosier program after Coach Bobby Knight left in controversial fashion. The Hoosiers won three National Championships under Knight, quite a feat for any coach. The only way that Mike Davis was going to step out of Knight’s shadow was to win three straight titles. Not impossible, just improbable. While Davis did lead Indiana to the championship game his second year at the helm, that wasn’t enough for the Indiana faithful, and now they have forced him to leave. Switching over to a football example let's look at the Nebraska Cornhuskers. We all know that Frank Solich took over the helm as Head Husker after Tom Osborne retired. While Frank did lead the Huskers to a National Championship game, he was never fully able to step out of Tom’s shadow. Frank was fired as Head Husker, not because he was doing a bad job, but because of the high standard that Tom Osborne created at Nebraska.

All right time for some name-dropping. While writing this article I have came across some names that people have been throwing out to take over the Missouri basketball program. Here’s a short list of the names that I have come heard in the rumor mill.

Rick Majerus - While the Maj has had health issues in the recent past I like him as the new big man on campus. Rick knows how to recruit and how to inspire his players. Not to mention he is one hell of a coach. While his recent health issues have been a concern, the thing that makes Rick the most attractive is that he is available immediately. He would be able to get one heck of a head jump on the next recruiting class. If he can convince himself, and Mike Alden that his health issues are a thing of the past, I look for the big man to be on Mizzou’s campus next fall.

John Beilein, West Virginia - While he has been doing a great job at WVU it will take a lot of money to lure him away from Morgantown. I can’t see Missouri throwing money around like that, especially after shelling out almost $900,000 to Quin Snyder for buying out his contract. The thing that makes Beilein the most attractive here is that he is an intelligent recruiter. He can win without having a lot of McDonald’s All-Americans on his team. His brother lives in Clayton, Missouri, and he has even been on record as saying that St. Louis is his favorite city. He is a die-hard Cardinals fan and idolizes Lou Brock. If he is to come to Missouri will he be willing to take a pay cut? I hate to say it, but I think that John Beilein stays put in West Virginia.

Tom Crean, Marquette - While he’s friends with Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, and like Beilein he is fond of St. Louis, Crean is making too much money with Marquette (nearly $1,000,000 per year). Missouri can’t afford him.

Dana Altman, Creighton - The only job I could see Dana leaving Creighton for would be Nebraska’s head coaching job when it opens up. His father lives in Wilbur, Nebraska, a mere 100 miles from Omaha. He has very strong family ties, and many of his closest friends still live in Wilbur. The only reason he comes to Lincoln is that Wilbur is only 30 miles from Lincoln. Moving to Columbia would only put him farther away. Why would he want to leave his happy little corner of the world?

Greg McDermott, Northern Iowa - At the beginning of the season I would have said that this Missouri Valley coach would be one of the top candidates to replace Snyder. But with the subsequent stepping down at the end of the season for Mike Davis, it has sent another ball rolling. Steve Alford is likely going to replace Mike Davis at Indiana, leaving the Iowa Hawkeye’s position open. Greg is the best candidate to replace Steve in Des Moines.

Lon Kruger, UNLV - Lon is a proven winner. He’s won at Kansas State, and Illinois and he did lead Florida to the Final Four. He has midwestern roots, and if he should chose to get back to them the Missouri gig would be the way to go.

Mark Fox, Nevada - He’s a sleeper on the list. He is a Kansas native, and was an assistant coach at Kansas State from 1994-2000. According to the many articles I have read, his recruiting prowess is underestimated. His record at Nevada is an impressive 43-12.

Regardless of whom Mike Alden chooses he needs to be careful. His last choice wasn’t a very smart one. This next coach is going to have to win over the fans. The Missouri faithful are going to have to be patient with this next coach. After all, this next coach is taking over a program that is in a State of Misery.

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