Mizzou Links for Wednesday, May 18

Head Coach Dennis Gates is making the podcast rounds and he went on the Field of 68 podcast network to talk with Mizzou alum Jim Root from @2ndChancePoints! They are talking with every new head coach this offseason… wow.

Some takeaways:

• This was recorded before the Jamarion Sharp WKU return decision came down, and before the support staff was announced. This was recorded the morning after the Chicago “Come Home” event.
• On the bat signal: credits Mizzou Hoops SID Courteney Day for coming up with it. He had been doing some intro pressers and in the moment, got super excited, and that photo was captured. It was completely authentic. I LOVE that. It’s a perfect rallying cry.
• He wants to find “five star people, five star young men.” He wants to win championships on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.
• When recruiting, he pays a lot of attention to a player’s AST:TO ratio and wants it to be positive. Sean East and Nick Honor really exemplify this. Honor doesn’t facilitate all that much (his assists are pretty low), but he also doesn’t really commit turnovers. East also hasn’t given the ball up much as his previous stops. (thank God). Coach calls Honor a key piece especially due to his NCAA experience at a big-time program like Clemson.
• On D’Moi Hodge and Tre Gomillion, who joined him from Cleveland State: They are great unselfish teammates who get better every single day.
• He paid a lot of attention to guards who can spread the floor and shoot from beyond the arc. He’s excited about Kobe Brown and his path.
• Gates says he plans to play a lot of guys, and says depth is important and having a rotation of guys is very important, especially in case of running into injury luck, Covid issues, etc. He’s not sticking to one style of play; he will adapt to what he’s got on the roster, just as “Coach Ham” does.
• When asked what success looks like this coming season: “Success is predicated on daily consistency.
• I love this man. Really.

Well, this is awesome. Charlton “CY” Young was named one of the most impactful high major assistant coaches in DI Men’s Basketball, according to Silver Waves media. To be considered by the panel of basketball professionals, they must be a current assistant at a high major program, have a noticeable impact on the coaching community, and be likely to be a head coach in the future.

CY was one of MANY listed, which includes SEC assistants: Bryan Hodgson (Alabama), Carlin Hartman and Korey McCray (Florida), Chin Coleman (Kentucky), Gus Argenal (Arkansas), Justin Gainey (Tennessee), and Steven Pearl (Auburn) and regional rivals: Chester Frazier (Illinois), Kurtis Townsend (Kansas), and Ulric Maliki (Kansas State).

From Silver Waves Media’s release on Coach Young:

Charlton Young is headed into his first season in Columbia as he was recently hired by new Head Coach, Dennis Gates. Young comes to Columbia with nearly three decades of experience. Most recently, Young served on Leonard Hamilton’s staff at Florida State for nine seasons. Young’s devotion to FSU helped the Seminoles reach the Sweet 16 three times and the program’s first Elite Eight in 25 years. Throughout his career, Young has contributed to the development of 13 NBA Draft picks. Young was the head coach at his alma mater, Georgia Southern, from 2009-13 and made previous stops at Georgia Tech, Chattanooga, Auburn, Northeastern, and Jacksonville. Named the No. 1 High-Major D1 Assistant Coach by Minority Coaches Association in 2021 and was a finalist for Ben Jobe Award (top D1 minority coach) in 2012. Coach Young is an incredible ally for other Division I coaches and goes out of his way to help other coaches across the country.

Welcome, Mr. Hodge! Another Tiger transfer, D’Moi Hodge (Tortola, BVI), officially signed on the dotted line on Tuesday. The Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year will spend his final season at Mizzou.

From Coach Gates, on the addition (I feel like he knows him? haha)

“We are excited to welcome D’Moi to Mizzou,” Whitten Family Head Coach Dennis Gates said. “He understands the culture we are establishing here and will contribute at a high level on the court. D’Moi is a terrific young man that will represent us well in the classroom, basketball court and the community. He received many individual accomplishments in Cleveland, but beyond that he is a winner and was an integral part in helping his team win two Horizon League Championships.”

On to the Links!

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Yesterday at Rock M

• BK’s new recruiting reset focuses on PWO QB, Jack Abraham.
• COMING UP: Nate previews the Georgia game, Matthew Smith previews the World Championship Trials. I’ll have a ton of softball coverage starting Thursday with a roundtable discussion with my pressbox crew.

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More Links:

Football

• In a new Eye on the Tigers podcast, BenFred and Matter discuss what new QB Jack Abraham does (and doesn’t) bring to Mizzou competition.
• PowerMizzou’s Sean Williams ($$) wrote, after a recent offer, JUCO DE target Jaden Jones is planning Mizzou visit, while Mitchell Forde said Abraham brings accuracy and experience to Mizzou’s QB competition.
• In a new Tiger Extra ($$, maybe?) the Columbia Tribune’s Chris Kwiecinski talked with new transfer QB Jack Abraham about the clarity he felt after visiting Missouri.
• Former Tiger CB Chris Shearin has found a new transfer home. After opting out of the 2020 season due to Covid concerns, he returned in 2021 to play in two games, recording two tackles. Best of luck at UConn, sir!

Diamond Sports

• Listen to Coach Anderson, Jenna Laird, Jordan Weber, and Brooke Wilmes on the new Inside Mizzou Athletics podcast. They re-live the Tigers’ tourney run, and preview this weekend. Fun convo!

• NCAA Softball shared KB’s crazy foul ball catch where she collided with an umpire as one of their Plays of the Week.

• Tickets are still available!

• From the USA Today Sports Network (via the Columbia Tribune): NCAA Softball Tournament regional and Women’s College World Series predictions:

Missouri: It’s hard to bet against Arizona, even if it isn’t hosting, but the Tigers grabbed some momentum in beating Alabama and Tennessee on the way to the SEC title game, where they lost to Arkansas. Kimberly Wert leads a tough Missouri lineup and helps put the Tigers back in a super regional. — Ryan Aber

Missouri: The Tigers might be the scariest No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history. Missouri has played excellent as of late and won’t slow down anytime soon. — Brett Greenberg

Missouri: The Tigers have put it together in time for postseason and won some gritty games in their run to the SEC Tournament final. Missouri’s defense can carry even if the offense isn’t on, and that will get the Tigers to a super regional. — Cora Hall

Missouri: The Tigers turned a lot of heads in the SEC Tournament. And while welcoming Arizona isn’t an easy task, Missouri has been playing with a lot of grit. — Ainslie Lee

Missouri: Arizona has the pedigree, but Missouri has the pitching, which dealt three shutouts in the last four games on the Tigers’ run to the SEC Tournament title game. — Scott Wright

• I thought I’d be reporting on some Mizzou Baseball, but Mother Nature had some other plans… The Tigers will travel to Georgia for the final SEC series of the season beginning Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. CT. All three games of the series will stream on SEC Network +

• Movin on up! (Though I distinctly recall when Mizzou swept Kentucky rather recently….) In terms of the other polls, Mizzou finds itself ranked no. 20 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, and no. 15 in the Softball America poll. D1 Softball has not updated theirs as of May 9.

Hoops

• The L Bo—Junkyard Dog charity game this summer is getting better by the minute. Here’s a few more notable invitees! Also, we’ll get to see Matt Pressey, Big Steeeeeve Moore, Jordan Geist, Jason Conley and Melvin Booker (a couple of these came in over the weekend and weren’t reported)!

Other Mizzou Sports/Local News

• Wow!

• YUMMMMMMM… seafood. Excited to try out Marcus Lucas’ new venture.

Mizzou in the Pros

• Sophie Cunningham and the Mercury (2-1) faced off against the Las Vegas Aces (3-1) in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday night and lost, 86-74. Soph played 19 minutes, and only scored two points (on free throws). She was 0-for-5 from the field (including 0-2 from 3PT). She did tally three rebounds and a steal to go with her 1 TO and 3 PF. She was -1 on the night.

Here’s her stats as of Monday:

ESPN

RECENT GAMES:
Sat 5/14 vs Storm (W 69-64): 19 min | 9 pts (3-5 FG / 2-4 3pt) | 2 REB | 1 AST | 4 PF | +5

Wed 5/11 vs Storm (W 97-77): 18 min | 7 pt (2-4 FG / 2-3 3pt) | 5 REB | 1 AST | 2 PF | +11

Fri 5/6 vs Aces (L 106-88): 22 min | 12 pts (4-7 FG / 2-4 3pt) | 2 REB | 1 AST | 3 PF | -16

• Yardbarker’s Anthony Amador wrote about Jordan Clarkson’s future with the Jazz: “It’s all that’s out of my control.”
• The Baltimore Sun’s Jonas Shaffer wrote, Ravens rookie RB Tyler Badie is back where he started.
• Yahoo!’s Jordy McElroy wrote, Vikings rookie CB Akayleb Evans says he has abilities ‘you can’t teach’
• Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski wrote, the Drew Lock experiment is worth the risk for the Seattle Seahawks.

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