With the completion of March Madness and spring football practice, primetime Mizzou athletics is ready to make the jump from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC. Of course the Tigers didn’t want to enter a brand new conference wearing Big 12 hand me downs, so the program worked with Nike to upgrade its look. In the meantime, Gary Pinkel and Frank Haith are working hard to upgrade their respective recruiting to ensure Mizzou can hang with the big boys down south.
First of all, the new football jerseys are bananas! I’m sure some traditionalists are scoffing at the bold stylings and the removal of the block “M” from the helmet. Though last season’s jerseys represented a nice, clean look, it seems that after being pushed around for so many years by Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12, the Tigers wanted their threads to pack a bit of attitude.
Gone are the friendly fonts and the thirty-seven shades of gold, and in their place are modern, sleek and edgy uniforms designed to appeal to the younger Tiger audience. The look may prove too exotic for some of the older, conservative boosters but as long as Pinkel and his staff keep racking up the wins and bowl bids, the dollars will keep flowing.
Speaking of Pinkel, you have to imagine he’d approve of his team playing in pajamas and black Chucks if he thought it would help reel in more recruits at the caliber of Dorial Green-Beckham. The player ranked No. 1 overall by countless recruiting organizations will be suiting up for the black and gold at wideout in 2012. Tiger faithful are hopeful he will make a major impact like former Tigers Jeremy Maclin and Danario Alexander, who are both catching passes in the NFL these days. Pinkel also signed the No. 2 rated offensive lineman, Evan Boehm and the team will move into the SEC with the 20th ranked recruiting class according to ESPNU. If QB James Franklin can successfully recover from off-season shoulder surgery and continue his development, the stylish newbies could surprise a few favored teams in its first year in the SEC.
Haith snags another top transfer
Moving on to the hardwood, reigning NCAA Coach of the Year Frank Haith will have to dust off his team after a tremendous regular season was spoiled by a shocking opening-round loss in the ‘Big Dance.’ While the basketball team will also be sporting a new look (not quite as snazzy as the gridiron threads) but many fans will have an easier time recognizing the jerseys than the players.
Gone are senior contributors Marcus Denmon, Kim English, Ricardo Ratliffe, Matt Pressey and Steve Moore. Considering Phil Pressey and Michael Dixon Jr. are the only returning contributors from the 2011-12 campaign, fans will see many unfamiliar faces.
Last week, Haith secured the services of UConn transfer Alex Oriakhi. The 6’9” forward/center, who averaged 7.2 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Huskies, decided to leave after Connecticut was banned from next season’s NCAA tournament due to poor academics. Oriakhi will join 5th year senior Laurence Bowers in what projects to be a formidable frontcourt. Prior to missing the entire 2011-12 season due to an ACL injury, Bowers was an All-Big 12 defender.
In addition to Oriakhi, Haith had already convinced several highly-touted transfers to choose Mizzou including Earnest Ross (Auburn), Keion Bell (Pepperdine) and Jabari Brown (Oregon). If the group is as good as advertised, the coach will have plenty of parts to tinker with in hopes of repeating the team’s regular-season success and making moves in next year’s tourney.
Visit www.stlamerican.com to view a photo gallery of the new Nike Tiger uniforms.
Follow In the Clutch on Twitter @intheclutchstl and online at www.stlamerican.com
