MU releases list of targets
by MizzMatt - 3/31/11 on Twitter @mizzou_matt
Columbia, MO- Matt Painter stays at Purdue. Mizzou fans wonder if we just got played again. Apparently, after a "team meeting", Painter changed his mind, while according to PU's press release, Painter was still on vacation in Florida. Skype must be pretty powerful.
The University of Missouri released it's list of target coaches today. Shaka Smart of Virginia Commonwealth, Anthony Grant of Alabama, Gregg Marshall of Wichita State, Kevin Stallings of Vanderbilt and John Beilein of Michigan. "What? We're not targeting Brad Stevens?" Stevens has led Butler to two Final Fours in two years, and he is the youngest coach to do so. For Butler to let Stevens go now would really shock the NCAA mens basketball world.
Shaka "Flaka" Smart has taken his VCU Rams to their first Final Four in school history, in just his second year. He may wind up to be the next Bill Self, or he may be a one-trick pony. Only time will tell.
Anthony Grant has taken the Alabama Crimson Tide to a chance to play for the NIT championship. If they win that game, he can say he's ranked 69th in the nation.
Gregg Marshall of Wichita State. Who? Another lower-tier coach being targeted by Mizzou? Wonderful. We go from targeting a high-profile coach in Painter to targeting someone hardly anybody has heard of.
Kevin Stallings of Vanderbilt. This would be a pretty good catch. Vanderbilt is a Big 6 (Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Pac10, Big East) school, and has been a perennial powerhouse in the basketball world....despite them losing to Richmond in their opening game of the tournament.
John Beilein of Michigan. At one point, many believed that Michigan had set up a coaching pipeline through West Virginia, getting John Beilein, then eventually Rich Rodriguez for football. We all see how RichRod worked out for them, but Beilein has turned the program around in Ann Arbor. A school that was once a national powerhouse that was stripped of their accolades because of Chris Webber is starting to get back into the national spotlight. The Wolverines did make it farther than Mizzou did in the tourney, but with no seniors on the team, and six freshmen, including Tim Hardaway Jr, MU would have to dish out some serious cash to lure him away from what could be a national championship team in the next year or two.
Who should we target? How about Anthony Peeler? Peeler is a former Mizzou player under Norm Stewart who has expressed an interest that he would like to be a part of the MU basketball staff. If not Peeler, who else should we consider? Anybody BUT Bruce Pearl.
