I watched Frank Haith's news conference thanks to Metro Sports.  It's always interesting to be able to view the entire broadcast rather than sound bits you might receive on broadcast channels.  A shout out to Metro Sports and Sports Radio 810 for their coverage.  A coup for Kevin Keitzman as he was able to roundup Frank Haith for a 12 minute podcast on Tuesday.  In addition Keitzman asked questions fans would want to know.  The ultimate judgment if hiring Frank Haith is sound will depend on how Mizzou performs on the court.  Allow yourself to view Frank Haith from my perspective.  The hire caught me off-guard and unsure of athletic director Mike Alden's choice, why had he gone there? 

 

Haith answered pointed questions in a succinct manner, he didn't duck or dodge any question.  First of all he graduates players, I know we make assumptions about the program how about the diploma?  He claims to have graduated 21 of 22 players at Miami.  When asked about recruiting he said, "we need a big man!"  He won me over with that statement, unlike the previous coach we will witness a changed offense immediately.  He acknowledged the lack of recruiting in Metro St. Louis and indicated his intent to make changes.  In addition several key players (with the exception of the Pressey brothers) were interviewed, all indicated they were pleased with the school hiring Haith.  Although Kim English has submitted his name for the NBA draft he spoke highly of Heath indicating he just might remain in school. Haith indicates recruiting begins this week, Mizzou has three scholarships available and can begin signing players immediately.  

 

There are unconfirmed reports several players committed to Miami will follow Haith to Columbia.  At this point we can only speculate as to who and how many.  Now for the negative side of this hire.  Coach has a +.500 record however Miami's record in the ACC was less than sterling.  Haith pointed out there was no basketball at

University of Miami from 1971 through 1985.  Folks remember Rick Barry in the 60s but not much else about Hurricane basketball.  Football was to become king and overshadowed the basketball program.  Although under Heath the Canes had winning records most seasons Hurricane teams drew less than 5,000 fans per contest.  How about the stories Mizzou saved Miami from firing Haith, we cannot fully address the rumors.  If Haith was so bad why didn't the university fire him around the time Jeff Capel at Oklahoma and Pat Knight at Texas Tech and other coaches were let go? 

 

Finally the crew at 810 provided me additional food for thought, surprise surprise.  Maybe those of us who follow Mizzou basketball sometimes fail to see the big picture.  Mizzou's is not mentioned in the same conversation with Duke, KU, North Carolina, Kentucky and UCLA.  The aforementioned schools have a national reputation something Mizzou has never held.  There are immediate problems with that type of thinking, Mizzou has no pedigree compared to the others.  Oh sure Mizzou ruled the old Big 8 Conference under Norm Stewart but never had much success in a smaller NCAA tournament.  Later the coach would become a liability as he was unable to recruit in the two urban cores St. Louis and Kansas City, a change had to occur.  Both Quin Snyder and Mike Anderson were unsuccessful in their battle against KU a far cry from the Norm Stewart days.  Mizzou fans Norm Stewart is not walking back in the door the torch has been passed to Frank Haith, let's see what he can do. 

 

 

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