SB Nation User Blog: chitowntiger

Hiring coaches with character pays off

chitowntiger — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:41:37 -0000

In a fanpost that I wrote a while ago -- that I can't seem to find anywhere -- I lauded Mike Alden for hiring coaches with character. At the time, Anderson had just kicked some players off the team who had been trouble, and the team was not doing well. But I remembered when both Gary Pinkel and Brian Smith had gone through tough times, but because Mizzou had stuck by them, we were rewarded with some great teams. I had hoped that we would do the same with Mike Anderson and basketball, because in the long run, it doesn't matter if a coach has the best record in the world if the program has no character.

I bring this up today because the payoff has started to come our way. In just a few seasons as coach, Anderson has turned the team into the playing machine he envisioned. It took some bumps, and shedding some players along the way, but now, we are Big 12 Champs. Not only that, our players graduate from college, and have good grades. They are, by all accounts, good kids.

I'd like to see Mizzou win it all. I'd like to see us win a national championship, and I'd like to dance in the streets of Chicago if it happens, laughing at all the Big Ten apologizers. But if it doesn't, I will still be proud and wear my Mizzou gear. Why? Because our coaches and athletes have character, and that, more than any other reason, is why it's a great time to be a Tiger.

A WRESTLING TIGER OLYMPIAN!

chitowntiger — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:38:21 -0000

In Vegas this past weekend, one of our very own became an Olympian. Ben Askren, sporting corn rows, beat Tyrone Lewis in two matches, giving up only one period on the way to becoming the first Tiger wrestling Olympian, ever. As the seconds ticked down in the final match, my eyes welled up with tears. Everyone knows how far the wrestling program has come, but having an Olympian launches us into elite company. Just to give you an idea of the elite company that we are in: the rest of the freestyle team has two Iowa Hawkeyes, two Oklahoma State Cowboys, and a Michigan Wolverine. Ben Askren has brought us to a whole new level, and I can't wait to see what he does in Beijing!

My thoughts on the Tigers at NCAAs

chitowntiger — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:19:21 -0000

The last time NCAAs were in St. Louis, Missouri wrestling was starting to experience an upswing, led by some sophomore from Wisconsin by the name of Ben Askren. This year, when we return to the Lou, the Tigers are looking to repeat their third place finish. They are coming off a season filled with adversity, but they managed to qualify seven wrestlers for the NCAA Championship. Tyler McCormick, Josh Wagner, Michael Chandler, Nick Marable, Ray Jordan, Max Askren and Mark Ellis will lead the Tigers into the Scottrade Center, hoping to improve on last year's third place finish.

The good news is that with the the exception of Marable, every Tiger has been at NCAAs before. The bad news is that we don't have a dominant guy who brings in bonus points with pins, technical falls, and major decisions, as we did last year with Pell and Askren. Team-wise, I expect the Tigers can make top ten, but we are capable of making top 5.

133 - Tyler McCormick
Mizzou's only returning All-American got off to a rough start at the beginning of the season. Early losses and injuries plagued him, but he has come on strong at the end of the season. McCormick is not seeded, and slated to face an early challenge against two seed Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois. If Tyler can beat Jimmy, he should AA.

149 - Josh Wagner
Wagner's weight class might be the toughest of them all. Minnesota, Iowa, NC State, Harvard, Michigan and Nebraska all will be sending fantastic wrestlers to represent at 149. Iowa's wrestler, Brent Metcalf, was named the Big Ten's Wrestler of the Year. Why do I mention this? It will take a Pell-like run for Wagner to win. He is a great wrestler, but the competition might be too tough for Josh.

157 - Michael Chandler
Chandler has a ten seed, and is slated to meet up with familiar foe Cyler Sanderson in the second round. Much like Tyler, Michael needs to win this match-up to have a fighting chance to AA. With Poeta (Illinois), returning champion Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) and many other top wrestlers, Chandler has his work cut out for him. Chandler has beat Sanderson, and Brandon Becker from Indiana, who is seeded above him, so he is capable of becoming an All-American.

165 - Nick Marable
This year's delicious surprise has clearly been Nick Marable. As a Big 12 champion and third seed, Marable will have high expectations that he can definitely meet. His toughest competition will be the two guys who have already beat him, future med student Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan) and Mark Perry (Iowa.) Marable is out for blood and will have an early challenge in Iowa State's John Reader. I like Marable to become a finalist and avenge his loss to Tannenbaum.

184 - Raymond Jordan
As the Beef has mentioned, Ray Jordan did not look like himself at Big 12's. Something was just not right. Hopefully, that has been kicked out of his system. He pulled a six seed, but that hardly makes the road to All-American easy, as he will have to get through UVA's Rocco Caponi and Michgan's Tyrel Todd to make it to the semifinals. If it's the Ray from most of the season, then he will make it. If it's Ray from the Big 12's, I'm afraid to see what will happen.

197 - Max Askren
I don't think that there is a Missouri fan whose heart didn't ache for Max last year. He dominated through the regular season, earned a 1 seed, and then lost his first two matches. We knew that his experience would serve him well this year. Max flew under the radar this year, earning a 5 seed for NCAAs though he deserves much better than that. Max is in a very difficult weight class, with returning champion Josh Glenn (American) as the top seed, and other top veteran wrestlers, Mike Tamillow (Northwestern), Phil Davis (Penn State), Wynn Michalak (Central Michigan), all above Max. Max has already beaten Tamillow, and can make it to the finals.

285 - Mark Ellis
In the words of a wrestling fan who posts on another Web site: "Mark Ellis? MARK ELLIS????" That's right, Mark Ellis. He put together an impressive campaign at the Big 12s and earned a 12 seed. No one besides Dustin Fox (Northwestern) has been dominant at heavyweight, so truly anyone can win it. Ellis has improved on his size, and is peaking at the right time. He can make it to the medal stand.

Seeds are announced for NCAAs

chitowntiger — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:11:51 -0000

The NCAA wrestling committee announced the seeds for this weekend's NCAA championship, to be held later this week in St. Louis. Not to take anything away from Beef, but here are the seeds...

Josh Wagner and Tyler McCormick did not receive seeds, to the shock of no one. Wagner made it into NCAAs by the skin of his wildcard teeth, and Tyler is in an incredibly difficult weight class. Michael Chandler received a ten seed at 157, and if he makes it past first round opponent David Nakasone (Lehigh), he will face Cyler Sanderson from Iowa State. Again. Nick Marable received the third seed at 165, behind two guys that he has lost to, Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan) and Mark Perry (Iowa). Ray Jordan received the sixth seed, and in the ridiculously stacked 197 weight class, Max Askren picked up the five seed. Mark Ellis received the 12 seed and will face Jon Wise from Illinois in the first round.

Hiring Coaches with Character

chitowntiger — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 03:03:48 -0000

Over the past few weeks, Missouri fans have been rightfully unhappy about the actions of some of the basketball players. One thing that most Tigers are happy about is that Coach Anderson handled it well, and showed that winning a game is not more important than teaching young men. The great thing about this is that Anderson is following the same script as two other men who have turned their programs into national players: Brian Smith and Gary Pinkel. Smith took over the cellar dweller wrestling program, cleaned the house of athletes who were constantly getting in trouble, suffered through some really tough years, and this past year, celebrated MU's best placing ever at NCAA's. Pinkel helped his team through the unimaginable tragedy of losing a teammate, faced his own doubters, and, well, we all know how this season turned out. In both cases, the men showed unbelievable character, and understood their role as shaping the young men they coached. Seeing Anderson follow in those footsteps makes me proud to be a Tiger, and excited to see the future of Missouri men's basketball.