It happens all the time across the country. MU's failures
Posted on: February 19, 2020 at 07:37:01 CT
alwaysright MU
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in reaching the Sweet 16 in the past is about the failures of those specific coaches, not about some systemic issue at MU or that it can't be done in college basketball.
But let's look at Mizzou specifically. Had the tournament been at even perhaps 32 teams, Norm had a team capable of the sweet 16 in year 5 and we were infinitely worse when he took over.
Quin made an Elite 8 in year 3 after an era of pretty weak Norm teams.
Mike Anderson did the same in year 3 after rebuilding a hot mess from the end of Quin.
Next year, MU will have 2 talented senior guards one of which was very highly recruited and the other was probably better than people realized. Both will have 3 years in the program. He'll likely have a senior big man that is not a star, but can give solid minutes in a variety of ways. He'll have a budding star in a Jr point guard, another highly recruited Jr guard and a good Jr wing glue guy. Then you add in 2 highly recruited Soph forwards that should have learned the game this year.
That adds up to a team with 3 Sr's, 3, Jr's, and 2 highly regarded Sophs. Not many major programs can boast that kind of experience.
So yes, it was/is a fair expectation to say that Martin should have this team competing for a Sweet 16 next year. That should be the goal. No, I did not say it was do or die or guaranteed. They absolutely should be in the tournament and should be capable of winning a couple of games depending on the matchups and how the breaks go.