Graham Watson: Thanks for joining this week's chat. I'm going to start a little early this morning, so I can get some other work done. Again, thanks for stopping by.

John: With recuiting done for 2008 class who in the 2009 class do you see as the must get for the tigers in basketball and football?

Also how would you of handled the disciplin of the 5 players for the tigers differently if at all?

Also what part of following the tigers do you enjoy the most, least?

Vahe Gregorian: ** The first is a tough question for football because it's early and there are a lot of out of state kids I haven't seen. However, I think it's important for Missouri to lock up Blaine Dalton. I know he's already committed, but remember when Blaine Gabbert was committed to Nebraska? Also, Mizzou needs to get some wide receivers in its next class. The two from East St. Louis - Kraig Appleton and Terry Hawthorne - would be pretty huge gets. Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to grab Ronnie Wingo with Jimmy Jackson and Earl Goldsmith leaving.

For basketball, I'd like to see Mizzou score SG Michael Snaer from California. He's from an area near where I grew up, and the people I know who work for papers near there say he's the deal. He's being heavily recruited by California schools, but Anderson did a nice job of selling him while he was here for elite camp last summer. He and Fred Gulley, a little PG out of Arkansas would make this team pretty strong, but Mizzou would have to steal both from some pretty premier schools.

** I agree with the way Mike Anderson disciplined some of his guys, I don;t agree with the way other were disciplined. However, I don;t know the whole story from the horses mouth (so to speak), so I don;t feel comfortable dishing out punishments. I would say that I agree with removing Hannah from the team. That was a long time coming.

** I don't know what part I enjoy the most. There's a lot of fun parts of my job. I think I like learning about the guys off the field the most. Some of the athletes at Mizzou are pretty interesting.

The thing I dislike the most is calling the police station and checking the police blotter and calling the prosecuting attorney. If I wanted to do that type of stuff, I would have been a cops and courts reporter. As it stands, I've probably done as much of that stuff in my four years than just straight game coverage.

Alphaman: Hey G-Dub.

How would you characterize Jon Sunvold's relationship with Mike Anderson and the hoops program? I ask because it would seem to make sense for Sunvold to spend an hour with Matt Lawrence looking at film and shooting in the gym to help Matt out of his slump.

I think it is obvious that Matt spent the offseason working on a quicker release, but it has translated into him rushing his shot (there is a huge difference). I'd think Sunvold (as a former sharp shooter) would be able to help him identify the proper tweaks to make.

Also, you mentioned 6 potential major leaguers on the Mizzou Baseball team. How many of them are pitchers? At the end of the day it is usually the team with the best pitching that wins.

Vahe Gregorian: Sundvold is around the program a lot and he does the TV broadcasts. I'm sure he has a fine relationship with Anderson. However, I'm not sure he's going to ask Sundvold to help him out. I think that's a tricky, pride thing. I'm not sure and honestly, I've never thought about it.

***

According to Baseball America, Mizzou has one of the top staffs in the country. Aaron Crow could be the top pick in the draft and Rick Zagone was also strong for the team last year.

Todd Fechtman: Graham,
It looks like Mr. Anderson is diggin' a grave for himself, do you think he can ever recover?
It's all pretty comical really, Mike is clueless about these kids values and morals. These kids have been given everything since the 6th grade, it's always the same old story.
Do you think the Tennis team at Mizzou will have a successful season?

Vahe Gregorian: The best cure for off-court problems is winning. And while Missouri might not do enough of that this year to make a huge difference, it will win in the future. I really think it will rebound.

And I don't think it's fair to make a blanket statement that he's clueless about his kids' moral and values. I think he picked up a couple bad kids. It happens. It happens at Kansas. It happens at Iowa State. It happens at Michigan. It happens everywhere. It just hits a little close to home right now.

And tennis? Honestly, I don't follow tennis closely. I do get their results and see that they are doing OK. But I wouldn't be able to give you a good answer on tennis. Sorry.

t.j.: Graham,

How many more times do we have to hear Cusumano and Ramsey tell us that MU is not getting in-state recruits in basketball? I thought Marcus Denmon and Steve Moore were at/near the top of the list for 08?

Vahe Gregorian: Denmon and Moore are two of the top in-state players, though they're not rated by Rivals.com. You know, the talent Mizzou needs to run the real 40 Minutes of Whatever can be found anywhere. Yes, he missed out on a couple kids that went to KU, but I think he'll put together a fine team with the guys he's got.

Matt: Graham,

Thanks for all your hard work covering Mizzou. I had a question regarding the use of Justin Safford. I read that he played guard his entire high school career, so I was wondering why not play him as a small forward type, rather than using him as a power forward. I understand we need big men, but with more bigs coming next year, is it something Coach Anderson is thinking about?

Vahe Gregorian: The coaches want to use Safford as a big body in the middle who can create a mismatch on the offensive end. Like a Jason Klotz from Texas a couple years ago. Next year, Mizzou has Steve Moore, but that's it in terms of big men.

Safford still has some bulking up and learning to do. I think he'll evolve into a nice post player.

Richard Price: Returning football player question. When I have read on line discussions of the linebackers returning with playing experience or coming off redshirt years that may have an impact for next year I have not heard the name of Luke Lambert. I believe he was a true freshman this year and I know he saw some playing time on special teams and that he also participated n several plays in more than a couple of games this year during the season and in the bowl and Big 12 championship game. What does his future project? He is not from a large high school but to have earned any playing time as a true freshman he must have had something on the ball. Your thoughts.

Vahe Gregorian: Luke Lambert is the future of this linebacking corps, there's no doubt about that. He made some great plays last year, and when guys like Van Alexander and Brock Christopher leave, Luke will be one of the main guys to step up and join Sean Weatherspoon. He'll get more time this year, and in two years he should be a starter.

Brett Geeser: What 2008 basketball recruits will have a major impact on next years team?

Vahe Gregorian: Obviously, PG Miguel Paul, since Mizzou will lose two point guards (Hannah and Horton) and I think Mizzou needs to find a scorer out of Kimmie English of Marcus Denmon.

Steve Moore will have an impact, but it will be defensively. Moore isn't a guy that's going to score a lot of points, but he'll be a rebounder and a shot blocker.

Brian: Graham,

What are your thoughts on the WR rotation next year after the top four (Maclin, Coffman, Saunders and hopefully Alexander)? A little worried about who will be 5 and 6.

In addition, any initial reaction to the new parking policy for football games? I assume this doesn't impact you but is it consistent with the rate of other BigXII schools.

Thanks

Vahe Gregorian: You forgetting Jared Perry, he'll be in Will Franklin's spot and Alexander will likely still be backing up Maclin. After that, it's wide open. I think Wes Kemp has the size and skill to play as a true freshman. I don't know a whole lot about Gahn McGaffie, but he'll have his shot, too. Andrew Jones and Jon Gissinger will be duking it out for the second tight end spot unless a darkhorse like Andy Loyd emerges.

JeffB: Hi,

I was wondering if you had heard anything about the reasons surrounding the Missouri players refusing to shake the hands of the Kansas players before their game in Lawrence.

The Lawrence Journal story:

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/feb/05/border_snore/

Thanks.

Enjoy your coverage of and insights on Missouri sports.

Vahe Gregorian: I don't think it was as big a deal as people are making it out to be. Honestly, Missouri didn't shake hands with Nebraska before Wednesday's game either. I just don't think they shake hands before the game with anyone.

A lot of MU and KU guys play summer ball together and work out together in the offseason. Some of these guys are close friends. It's not nearly as sinister as people are trying to make it out to be.

And they shook hands after the game.

Alex: Which elite 2009 prospects from the St. Louis area such as Ronnie Wingo, the two WR's from East St. Louis, Montee Ball, and Devon King does Mizzou have a good sshot at landing? Thanks

Vahe Gregorian: It's a little too early to tell, but I'd like to say Wingo and the two WRs from ESL. I know Gabbert and Jones have been pitching those kids pretty hard. And really, if you're a receiver, why wouldn't you want to go to Mizzou? Especially when you have a couple of Blaine's that can wing the ball around? Montee Ball might be a get because he's local and he's not a big name, but Mizzou is already a little RB top heavy. I'd be surprised if they took more than two in this upcoming class, and Wingo is the favorite.

Snake: Graham, thanks again. Cloudson is planning a road trip to at least one away game during the 2008 football season. Last year, he went to Boulder and Manhattan. Where should Cloudson go this year?

Vahe Gregorian: Texas if for no other reason than to hang out on Sixth Street. But beware of UT football players on Sixth Street, some of them like to rob you.

Texas will be the best road trip because it will be Chase Daniel's only chance to face the team that shunned him so many years ago. Oh, the drama.

ms: Hi, Graham,

I hope you are having a good day. I am encouraged to see the men's basketball team win some away games. It gives me hope for the future. What do you think their chances are for post-season play? Thanks.

Vahe Gregorian: To me, Mizzou would have to finish something like 7-9 to make the NIT. That means gong 3-3 to finish the season, which is doable with games against Oklahoma State, Colorado and Iowa State at home. Those are all very winnable. Mizzou would also have to get out of the first round of the Big 12 tourney.

If the Tigers went 8-8 in Big 12, which would mean winning at Kansas State, Baylor or Oklahoma, then I would say the NIT would be a lock with a strong RPI and wins over Kansas State and Texas this season. But, it would still have to win it's first Big 12 tourney game. That is a must for the NIT.

rtknick: With Kelvin Sampson in trouble (again), our chances of landing DeMarcus Cousins have improved even more...

What can you tell your loyal readers about Cousins? Could he be MU's Beasley, that top level recruit no one would ever expect to see in Columbia?

Would a class of Cousins, Dixon, and Snaer get the haters off Coach Anderson's back?

Vahe Gregorian: If Anderson nabbed Cousins, Snaer and Dixon, it would be the greatest upset in Missouri history.

I didn't mention Cousins in my earlier post because I was trying to be realistic. However, Sampson's need to reach out and touch someone a little too often (see what I did there? That was a pun off an old AT&T slogan... OK, moving out of the parentheses) might land him on the coaching death penalty, which will open the door for Mizzou.

UAB might be a problem only because the kid seems like a home body, but there's enough southerness (is that a word?) on Mizzou's staff to make him feel right at home.

Cousins is a 6-9 PF from Mobile, Ala. I'm not sure he's Beasley or Durant status, but he's pretty darn good. Has all the tools that none of Missouri's current players have. He's one of those program-changing type of guys.

Alphaman: G-Dub,

One more question pertaining to the overall toughness of the team. I was disgusted with the way Leo Lyons allowed Maric to PUNK him throughout the 2nd half. Don't get me wrong, Maric is a load to handle and will score 20 and get 10+ rebounds every time out against MU. However, Leo was very LAZY in working to get position and forcing Maric to work to score. It was much to easy.

It's that same laziness that causes us to get outrebounded night in and night out. How does Coach Anderson practice this physical toughness and attempt to instill it in his team. Outside of Carroll's tenacity on the boards and Butterfield's ability to take a charge, I don't see any physical toughness in the paint.

Vahe Gregorian: The whole mental/physical toughness thing has been a knock on Leo since he got here. He brings it some nights, but most of the time he gets pushed around. He's a finesse player. He doesn't like to play inside. That's why he takes the mid-range so much.

Mizzou is trying to make Safford into a guy with Carroll's tenacity and Leo's ability. Safford's young, he listens, he wants to please his coaches. He could be the player Mizzou has been looking for. Next year, Moore will bring the rebounding and shot-blocking ability that fans have been craving. But, as I've said before, he's not a scorer and some people are going to be frustrated with that. But if you're looking for someone to be tough inside this year, it's not going to happen. At least not on a regular basis and not if Carroll continues to play with a bad ankle.

mark: Apparently Miles Smith, Coach Lovie Smith's son will walk on next year for MU football. I note that he was rated a bit higher by Scout than some players who received scholarships (and also had other offers) but no offers had been reported made to him. Do you have any info as to why he was not given a scholarship by anyone or why MU might expect him to contribute (or is this just a p/r thing to payback for some coaching advice MU has received from Lovie.

Vahe Gregorian: Yeah, I saw that on Scout. I'm not sure I have a good answer about this. He's a two-star according to Scout, and not even listed on the Rivals site. I'm not sure how good the young man is, but he's a walk-on, which means he'll have to work pretty hard to get a look regardless of his name.

I think he was being looked at by Iowa. Not sure if they offered or not. He might just be a diehard Mizzou fan. I don't know. Sorry.

Bill: Graham,
I've been hearing rumblings your boy Shawn Scott is no longer on the team! I was expecting the next coming of Bo Jackson running around back there. What's up with that? How true were the rumors of Mizzou and LSU trying to work a deal for a game? That would have been awesome to see (if you made it through the thrown bourbon bottles in Baton Rouge). Also, will you ever talk to Bernie again after he called you Gabe over and over (which I told gabe about at the QBC reception and he was flattered)?

Vahe Gregorian: I've been hearing the same rumblings and I'm crushed. I think I just put him on too high a pedestal. I was going to make some calls today. You know, I never got a chance to learn what his story was, what prompted him to change schools so many times, but I'm guessing there are some personal issues that might have come into play. Also, Mizzou running back depth is starting to get a little daunting for any walk-on. Maybe he wasn't up to the challenge. I'm not sure, but I hope to find out.

The Mizzou/LSU game was a rumor and I'll leave it at that. Another good rumor is MU/Notre Dame in like 2012, I think. That one might actually happen, though.

I told Bernie I was hurt and that I was never going to do his show again. No, it was all in good fun. Bernie felt bad, but I was OK with it. And I don't know if Gabe should be flattered or concerned that he sounds a little girlie on the radio...

Brad: Hi Graham, thanks for taking my question. I know the Tiger pitching staff is loaded with Crow, Zagone, Gibson, and Tepesch but do you think we have enough offense to make a College World Series run?

Vahe Gregorian: That's always the concern with Mizzou baseball, keeping the bats hot. This is probably the best overall pitching staff Mizzou has had in a long time, but the hitting needs to be way more consistent than it has been the last could years. Mizzou has a lot of really good offense in Ryan Lollis, Kyle Mach, and of course, Jacob Priday, but it's staying consistent throughout the season and not going into that funk they tend to hit in late March/early April, that will prove the difference this year.

I'm kinda excited to see what Tepesch can do. I've heard he's pretty awesome.

MUtgrs07: What do you think is the biggest lessoned learned from the Stefhon Hannah fiasco?

Vahe Gregorian: Um... I have a couple...

* Pay for your food when you eat out.
* Don't get into fights with the wait staff
* Be cool, stay in school

Oh, and don't lie to your coach and ask your teammates to cover for you.

Did I get everything?

Mark: What do you think of Mike Anderson Jr. starting to get some playing time? I'm sure youve seen a lot of practices and such. Do you think he still should be playing in the games?

Vahe Gregorian: He's playing for depth. That's it. It's getting late in the season, legs are getting heavy and nagging injuries are occurring. Also, J.T. has been a little under the weather the last week. I like CMA Jr., but you can just tell he's nervous out there and offensive players are blowing right by him. I think he's necessary, though, just to give guys a breather.

Dan Gavura: Graham,

I know this is a crazy question but if the Tigers were able to somehow pull out a win on saturday in manhattan what are their chances of going to the big dance. That would put them at 15-11 and 5-6 in the big 12 with two very winnable games at home back to back. I know its a far fetched dream for that to happen but i think if we stay close throught the first ten minutes of the game we have a shot.

Vahe Gregorian: A win in Manhattan? Bwahahahahahahaha... OK, sorry. I'll finish reading your question...

Wow. If Missouri were to win in Manhattan, then, well, it would paint a very different postseason picture. That would give Mizzou an opportunity to finish 8-8 in league play with three conference wins over Top 25 teams, including a huge road win, and a win over a good Purdue team and a decent Maryland team. I think it would make Mizzou a bubble team. The Tigers would have to make a little run in the Big 12 tourney to get into the dance, but they'd be an NIT lock for sure.

The Big 12 is probably going to get four in the NCAAs this year, maybe five. Right now, those teams are Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M, and Kansas State. Baylor and Oklahoma are also possibilities. If Mizzou can beat either of those teams on the road - even if they lose in Manhattan this weekend - it could make a case for that fifth spot (provided it wins the other necessary games).

JeffB: Do Coach Anderson or the players still consider the NCAA Tournament to be an achievable goal this year?

Vahe Gregorian: Of course. I mean, if they didn't, you'd have to question what Mike Anderson is preaching to his kids. I think they're looking at the schedule and calculating which games they'd need to win to make a plausible run at the NCAA. It's a Biggest Loser mountain challenge (TV show reference), but not out of the realm of possibility.

Eric: Wrestling seems to be coming together at the end of the season after a tough stretch in the middle of the year. Do you think they can duplicate or at least come close to last year's performance at the national meet?

Vahe Gregorian: I'm not sure they can duplicate what they did at the national meet last year without Ben Askren, but I think Max Askren will make a better showing and Raymond Jordan might have a chance to shock some folks. Tyler McCormick is always pretty steady.

The win over Oklahoma was huge and if they can take Iowa State this weekend, I think it will be huge for momentum going into Big 12s.

Jack: Hi Graham,

Would it be fair to assume if Hannah had performed at high levels off and on the court and the Athena incident was his first problem, he would still be on the team? If the answer was yes, what other off and on-court problems did he have that have not been reported by the media? Thanks.

Vahe Gregorian: Slippery slope question here...

Hannah wasn't dismissed from Mizzou because of the Athena incident. He was dismissed because of academics.

I think that's how I'm going to answer this question without throwing out a bunch of rumor and innuendo. If he had other off-court problems and they weren't reported by the media, then I would be out of line talking about them.

Dan Gavura: Graham,

If Missouri were to finsih 18-13 and 8-8 in the conference or 19-12 and 9-7 in conference could they have a shot at the Big Dance. I mean they do have some big wins over maryland,Purdue, Texas,K-State, and they have a few more shots of some quality wins with oklahoma ,baylor K-State and the Big 12 tourney coming up. What is your take on these scenarios

Vahe Gregorian: I agree with everything you say, but have you watched Missouri this year? One minute the Tigers are amazing and we're all talking about the Tournament, the next they look like a junior high team and the message boards are flooded with talk of Anderson getting fired. To me, Missouri needs to show well tomorrow and beat Colorado and Oklahoma State at home. Then we can start whispering in dark corners of crowded rooms about the possibility of the NCAA Tournament. Until then, the College Basketball Invitational will be excited to have Mizzou as a host school.

Mike: If Maclin was eligible for the Draft this year, where do you think he'd end up? I mean, I can just see the guy killing in the combine, running a 4.2 forty and all the GMs getting visions of Devin Hester...

Vahe Gregorian: He'd be a top-10 pick. There's no doubt in my mind. He can do so many things that it would be tough for any team to pass him over.

Lucky for Mizzou, he'll be back for another year.

Dan Gavura: I figured I would get a response like that. Realistically though i think we can spring and upset on the road against either baylor or oklahoma. Heck we did it last season against okie state when everyone thought we would get blown out. Okay so if we go 18-13 and 8-8 we probrobly would have to get to the conference semi's of the tourney then.

Vahe Gregorian: That's about right. I think Mizzou can take Oklahoma if they can block out Blake Griffin. Mizzou will probably have to pull a Tonya Harding to make that happen, though.

Graham Watson: Thanks for the chat. Talk to you next week.

Dave: Can you tell us what Junior Day is all about? Who were some of the names that were in attendance this year? Thanks

Vahe Gregorian: Junior Day is like a camp for some of the nation's best juniors. There are a couple of them throughout the offseason to allow coaches to get players on campus and talk up the school. The juniors get to see facilities, learn about the campus and meet the coaches. This past Junior Day (a couple weeks ago) showcased all the top talent in Missouri. Players like Appleton, Wingo, Hawthorne (see a previous post), Blaine Dalton, T.J Moe, Nathan Scheelhaase, etc. Blaine Gabbert and Andrew Jones were also there to help recruit. According to Jones and Gabbert, there was a lot of talk about making next year's class all from Missouri.