There’s a reason that entertainment headliners go last at a concert. Can you imagine the letdown of watching Ray-J onstage following Michael Jackson, Future following Stevie Wonder or Soulja Boy coming on after Kendrick Lamar? In sports however, there’s no end to the show. There’s an end to the half, end to the game and end to the season. However in college sports, there’s always the next game, season or recruit to win. As they say in the entertainment business – the show must go on!
The challenge that lies ahead for Mizzou’s new football coach, Barry Odom, is that he’s following Mr. Mizzou Football. Gary Pinkel is the man who put Mizzou football on the map. Besides Dan Devine and Don Faurot (his first stint at least), the University of Missouri was a cesspool of bad football and awful coaching. Pinkel almost single-handed dragged the downtrodden program from the doldrums and transformed it into a perennial Top 25 squad. Not only did he vault the Tigers into the top tier of the Big 12, he also made them contenders in the big, bad SEC. In plain terms, football at Mizzou should be known as B.P. (Before Pinkel) and A.P. (After Pinkel).
Now that A.P. time has begun, Odom has his job cut out for him. There’s no doubt that his choice of an offensive coordinator will be his most important move in the offseason. The 39-year-old first-time head coach inherits a young team, with an abysmal offense. Crippled by a Pinkel’s battle with cancer, the massive loss of talented upperclassmen, and a starting QB that was booted off the team for Shaqtin’ A Fool, the Mizzou offense was dreadful. Missouri’s offense ranked just 125th out of 128 Division I schools in 2015. It was a complete train wreck. Fortunately for the Tigers, then-defensive coordinator Odom led a stout defense that ranked as #6 in the nation. Odom’s defense is the main reason the Tigers were able to rack up five wins.
If Pinkel and his OC can help true-freshman Drew Lock develop into a competent quarterback in his sophomore season, or find an upgrade, the Tigers can get back on track rather quickly. If the defense alone can account for five wins, a competent offense can be expected to account for three or four more. That would put Mizzou right back into the mix of the SEC East.
The question remains whether Odom is up for the job. His time as a coordinator suggests that he is ready. In three seasons at Memphis, Odom helped improve a defense ranked 117th in 2011 to 22nd in the nation by 2014. Back in Columbia, he helped improved an already great defense despite the complete lack of production on the other side of the football. He also has experience managing on the operations side, handling budget, travel and recruiting in Columbia from 2006-08. According to PowerMizzou’s Pete Scantlebury, Odom is expected to be a fearless recruiter who will be less hesitant to go after high-profile four-and five-star recruits than his predecessor.
Speaking of Pinkel, his wise and laudable decision to support his African-American players during the boycott of former UM System President Tim Wolfe helped bring his team together. Hopefully it did not anger the ruralites so much to deny him the statue he deserves in Columbia. On the field, once he hit his strike at Mizzou, Pinkel made very few bad decisions. That leads me to believe that Odom will succeed. He’s not a big-name, splashy pick. However, it seems he has the chops to keep D-Line U going for years.
Clutch or Nah?
Clutch: Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors just keep on chugging along. The reigning NBA Champions sit at 23-0 and don’t show any signs of slowing down. Though any thoughts of an undefeated season are farcical, the Warriors definitely look like they could break the Bulls all-time record of 72-10.
Nah: Blake Griffin assuming the “Please dunk on me” position under the basket as Kevin Garnett turned the most-vicious rim predator in the league into prey. Griffin must have thought the 39-year-old’s bounce was gone as he stood there with his hands up. But remember, KG is still 6’11”. Merry Christmas to OG KG. Griffin gifted him with a nasty highlight dunk that will play for years to come.
Clutch: Though they are not receiving the same fanfare as Curry and the Warriors, the women’s basketball team at Mizzou is off to an undefeated 9-0 start on the hot hands of freshman Sophie Cunningham. Cunningham is in Columbia getting buckets by the pound. She dropped 40 points on Wake Forest and set the school-record. The former high school All-American is set to take Mizzou to heights unseen.
Nah: Wladimir Klitschko lost his spot as the linear, unified heavyweight champion with a terrible loss to Tyson Fury. Klitschko hadn’t lost a fight since 2004 and long dominated the division with his boring jab and grab style. The fight was ugly as can be, but my long-held theory that a taller fighter (Fury is 6’9”, Klitschko is 6’6”) would give Klitschko problems held true. Fury jabbed and moved on the outside. Klitschko lunged and held. Hopefully Fury will win the contract-mandated rematch and the heavyweight division will finally get some life.
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