Kim talks about Italy trip, Dildy hire, recruiting

Posted on: August 25, 2016 at 13:32:03 CT

on powermizzou podcast today...

-- Said first three teams were on the level of "good low to mid-major" competition. Said Kosovo was on the level of "mid to lower tier SEC team."

-- Said ball movement was excellent on this trip. Ball didn't "stick" like it has the last couple years. This teams looks for each other and passes up good shots to get great shots.

-- Very pleased with Willie Jackson's rebounding on the trip. Says he and Hughes will contribute right away. He also talked about how the two of them have an unspoken connection on the court; know where each other are and can anticipate each other.

-- Said Geist has been "banged up" and they didn't push him too hard on this trip, but he expects him to be a factor this season.

-- Mitchell Smith is a "really, really good player," but he "has to gain weight." Said he got pushed around a lot. Believes Smith will be a great player in the long run, but has to get stronger.

-- Says CVL has worked hard on quickening his release, is optimistic that he'll shoot a higher percentage this year. Said he was "really shooting the rock" on this trip.

-- Says Russell Woods is much improved. Said that, since he spent last summer finishing up in JUCO, he was behind from the beginning and "never really caught up." Said he believes Russell sees the writing on the wall, this is his senior season and his last chance to make a case for himself as a guy who can make a living playing overseas. Says he saw a much improved player on this trip. RW didn't make mistakes, rebounded well, and played within himself.

-- Took some more veiled shots at Tate while discussing the Dildy hire. Talked about how he wanted to hire someone who had a positive attitude and who wasn't afraid to do the work necessary to get things turned around. Said there had been too much "focus on the negative" and he thought Dildy brings much needed optimism. Says he's known Dildy for several years, and Dildy is excited to be at Mizzou. Kim thinks he can open a Chicago pipeline to Mizzou if things go well.

-- Says there's a possibility they could make a couple signings in the early period.

-- Says Sterk will be a great AD at Mizzou. Says Sterk "wants to be here," implied that the previous AD really didn't.

-- Kim says the season is a success if improvement is made, but says "we're still really young." Says if he can hang on to the core group here, he can build a winner within a couple years.