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Big 12 Insider: The Mess at Missouri

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Bill Haisten, Tulsa World, Okla.

Feb. 28--During Norm Stewart's run as University of Missouri coach, the Tigers had 17 20-win seasons, captured eight Big Eight championships and had 28 all-conference first-team selections.

In Stewart's 32 seasons, he recorded 634 victories. In 61 seasons before he arrived, Mizzou had a combined total of 630 wins.

The Tigers were proud and good for a long time, and that's why Missouri's current mess is so glaring.

All things considered, there may not be a more dysfunctional and underachieving Division I men's basketball program than Missouri's.

On what was a bad Friday for Big 12 coaches, Missouri's embattled Quin Snyder resigned on Feb. 10 -- the same date that Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton had an auto accident. A former assistant at Duke, Snyder was Stewart's successor. Snyder stepped aside in the midst of his seventh season at Missouri.

Countless dents have been kicked in Missouri's image, but the Tigers' head-coaching position is still viewed as attractive. In media reports, UAB's Mike Anderson, Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie, Creighton's Dana Altman and Northern Iowa's Greg McDermott have been listed as possible candidates. So has former Utah coach Rick Majerus. Former Tiger star Larry Drew, now an Atlanta Hawks assistant, has expressed interest in the position.

Melvin Watkins is Missouri's interim coach. Before joining Snyder's staff, Watkins was 60-112 in six seasons as Texas A&M's coach. While his Aggie record was subpar, Watkins said he believes he is the best man for the Missouri job.

"I'm going to have the upper hand over (other candidates) in terms of trying to get this thing turned around quicker than anyone that's out there. That's my opinion," said the 51-year-old Watkins.

Asked whether the Mizzou restoration would be a long-term project or could be executed in a relatively short time, Watkins replied, "It can be a shorter-term thing if you can identify what the problems are and make those adjustments quickly. I think I'm the one that can do that quicker than anyone else."

Critics have roasted Missouri athletic director Mike Alden for his handling of events that led to Snyder's resignation.

The Missouri basketball program has been soaked with problems. It was alleged that Mizzou accepted junior college transfers, including former point guard Ricky Clemons, whose academic records had been falsified.

On the court, the Tigers have been miserable.

Since losing to Oklahoma in the Elite Eight round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, Mizzou is 64-50. At the start of the 2003-04 season, the Tigers were ranked No. 3 nationally. They wound up with a 16-14 record and a berth in the NIT. They also were hit with an NCAA penalty -- a one-year ban on off-campus recruiting.

Last season, the Tigers again settled for the NIT and were 16-17.

Now, Missouri is 11-14. And in a season of bad losses, the most astonishing outcome was a 26-point loss to lowly Baylor.

Since opening league play with wins over Oklahoma State and OU, the Tigers have lost in 10 of 12 and occupy 11th place in the Big 12. In the 15,061-seat Mizzou Arena, the Tigers' attendance average this season has been a paltry 8,302.

"We've never been to a Final Four, and a lot of people expected us to reach that level under Quin's guidance," said Jon Lawrence, a 1998 Mizzou grad and the president of Tulsa's chapter of the University of Missouri alumni group. "If you look at everything as a whole, I do think this has been somewhat embarrassing. Missouri fans want a proven coach, someone with a history of NCAA Tournament success."

Ultimately, Lawrence added, Tiger fans want to have again what they had with Norm Stewart as the coach.

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Source: Tulsa World

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