Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Eli Hoff in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Full transcript
Eli Hoff: Morning all, and happy Thursday! I'll start this chat off by grouping the women's basketball questions together to tackle that.
Larry M:ÌýWon't be around for the live chat, so getting my Qs in early. Just frustrating that Kelli Harper (Tennessee WBB coach) becomes available just hours after Pingeton is retained. Couldn't be a single MU Women's BB fan that doesn't see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity to get an A-1 coach for a program that has gone nowhere for the last 6 years. Is there anyone at MU that will step up and push for this no brainer move. Thanks
senior scramble:ÌýAs I do each Thursday, I ask you to make sense of what is going on with the women's basketball program. The women's game is as popular as I can ever remember. If coach P is the coach, then come out as leaders of the athletic department and show your support. Since there are zero comments then how are players in the portal going to trust coming to Mizzou. If she is only going to be the coach for 1 more year, then players with multiple years of eligibility aren't coming to Mizzou. It is as though the women's program at Mizzou means nothing and being in the bottom of the SEC is okay. I can't believe the President who is a huge athletic supporter hasn't demanded something be said to Mizzou fans. The interim AD is sleep at the wheel. Thanks for the chat.
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Hoff:ÌýFirst, what I wrote earlier in the week — on Monday specifically, which was probably the best-ever day for women's college basketball as a sport. There was quite the contrast between what was happening around the country with WBB and with Mizzou.
I think there are a couple of ways to view the reported retention of Robin Pingeton and the lack of confirmation of that decision. (For background, PowerMizzou has reported that she's retained, but a team spokesperson couldn't confirm that on Monday.) For one, there are programs that have achieved much more than Mizzou has recently that are moving on from their coaches (Tennessee, Kentucky). There are also coaches out there who, on paper, you can make the case would be better. I'm not weighing in on that. And regardless of how you feel about Pingeton, she's going into the last year of her contract. That's not standard practice for a reason. Not that she'd approach the season like this, but there's not a lot of incentive for her to prepare the program for the future.
And with whether or not the administration confirms this or says anything... It doesn't convey a whole lot of enthusiasm or confidence about the women's basketball program, does it? Whether embellished or not, presenting some confidence with the decision might make it look better in fans' eyes — but y'all can answer that better than I can. Because there's still official uncertainty, the transfer portal is a lot more difficult to recruit right now. It could be that the interim administration doesn't want to make a whole lot of waves during this, well, interim period. Firing a coach would've made waves. So would extending her. So if this is about trying to quietly keep the status quo, I guess that's what this process falls in line with.
Questions:ÌýHas Parson’s goon squad Oversight Committee officially allowed the athletic department to retain Robin Pingeton? It seems like it’s one of those “sources say†situations but no word officially? I’m hoping against hope that it’s just a rumor. It’s painful to see Mizzou fall while the rest of WBB soars to unheard of heights.
Hoff:ÌýI'm not sure the Board of Curators is all that interested in women's basketball. If they were, I think the program would probably be in a different spot — or at least have different expectations. I suppose the eventual new athletics director could override any promises of retention and fire Pingeton, but that has seemed like a pretty drastic step from the get-go of this search. And now considering that, at the earliest, the new AD would be starting in mid-April (I'm not saying that's the timeframe, that's just my thought of when this could wrap up at the earliest, hypothetically), which isn't enough time to salvage the offseason, crazily enough. The timing of the AD search is really what messes this up.
Larry M:ÌýI have come to question Mens BB coach for his expertise this past season. No progress seen in players improvement, no progress in adapting a successful style. Now the emergence of Moe Diarra for NC State shines another concern in that he can not identify potential. What a presence he could have been for MU this year if allowed to play last season. Is this a valid concern?
Hoff:ÌýA lot of y'all have different views of Dennis Gates' developmental abilities after this season than I do, so I won't re-litigate that. But on Mo Diarra specifically... he's a vastly different player this year. His defensive rebounding rate has gone up from 21.1% with Mizzou to 31.1% with NC State, which means he's become a far more aggressive and productive rebounder. His turnover rate is down from 19.8% with Mizzou to 11.5% with NC State. All of his shooting percentages are up (FG, 3PT, FT, true shooting, eFG). Could he have made that leap at Mizzou? Maybe, but it's not like he was producing at this level last year. He's also in a very different role playing alongside a unique big man in DJ Burns Jr.
I'll put it this way. Mo Diarra's statline last year was: 11.8 mins, 3.2 pts, 3.3 rebounds, 0.6 ast, 0.6 blocks, 0.5 steals, 1.8 fouls, 0.8 turnovers per game. 40% shooting from the field, 55.8% from the free throw line. And the numbers I cited above. Would you have been clamoring for another year of that? He left before I was on the beat, but I don't remember a lot of people bemoaning his departure at the time. It seems like a change of scenery has done him well. But I don't think it's fair to expect someone to have predicted this leap.
Russ:ÌýEli, I realize my question is outside of Mizzou. But what do you hear about Eric Musselman rumors going to USC?
Hoff:ÌýI haven't heard anything beyond what Arkansas/USC/national media are putting out there. It's an interesting move, if it happens. SEC to Big 10 movement becomes even more interesting in this Power 4 that's really a Power 2 era.
Big Tortilla:ÌýThoughts on the proposed super league realignment for college football. I don’t see the SEC and Big 10 conferences specifically, wanting to give up control of their respective leagues as it relates to broadcast rights. Additionally, I’m not sure that networks want to give up what they have.
Hoff:ÌýThere just doesn't seem to be a lot of reason for the SEC and Big 10 to lower themselves to accommodate any other conferences in pursuit of unity. They can go get money and compete with each other by themselves. There would need to be a lot of power- and money-hungry entities coming together to make that super league concept work. It failed with European soccer. I don't know that American college football is any more unified. Someone pointed out to me yesterday that it also would take some very complicated wrangling to work with Title IX. I won't pretend to know what that would mean, but that will also be a factor.
Matt L:ÌýEli, I need times for Mizzou football games ASAP. I was promised greater notice of game times and greater notice I shall have.
Hoff:ÌýIt would make booking travel easier, so I'd like them too! But when the precedent was 12 days in advance, we've still got a ways to go that would fall under "greater notice." Maybe it'll be another 2 hour SEC Network special...
DEK:ÌýJust a note that I appreciate your periodic articles in the PD with features about athletes and coaches in the non revenue producing sports like wrestling, gymnastics, baseball and such. Thanks and keep them coming!
Hoff:ÌýGlad you enjoy them! I like to get out to those events and talk to those athletes/coaches when I'm able. You'll have a softball story in tomorrow's paper/online to check out soon!
Tigggerfan:ÌýEli: my take on the loss of Reed-Francois (who I thought was doing a great job) was the threat of an oversight committee deciding on how much control she had in doing her job. As a 1979 graduate, I have watched Mizzou get in Mizzou’s way like this for years! You hire an AD who gets the program going the right direction, get a member of the alumni to donate $62 million and the thanks you get is; “oh by the way, we’re putting together a committee (or is it the Board of Curators?) to tell you how to spend all that money.†It also makes sense to me that the “committee†could be at least a partial reason that no one has been hired to take Francois’s place. Who’d want to be accountable to a committee as an AD??? It’s hard enough to please just one person let alone a committee. My question is this: is the committee already in place or was this just a threat?
Hoff:ÌýThe origins of the oversight committee were in a consultant report that was ordered a couple years ago. So it's not like it came out of absolutely nowhere. But the timing is still, as you point out, noteworthy. It's not like the committee was formed right after the consultant wrapped up work, or in the wake of Reed-Francois' departure. The timeline is the timeline. And while I don't know exactly how an AD candidate would view such a committee — the reality is it probably would vary by candidate anyway — it does seem to be a very fair question to ask of the job if you're somewhere who's interested in it.
The committee is very much real, though. It met once already in executive session and will do so again tomorrow. How long it remains a thing is a legitimate question, but for now, it's up and running.
MO:ÌýIf the BOC and the Oversight Committee are that powerful, do they even need to hire an Athletic Director? Perhaps maybe just create a new job called "Fundraiser Director?"
Hoff:ÌýYou may joke, but some cynics might tell you that's what the AD is, in the current set-up.
JohnL:ÌýHeyo Ely, Any additional inside scoop on the Men's BB portal picks? When will that window open-wide and then close for the upcoming 24/25 season? Still need lots of help up-front, quite frankly.
Hoff:ÌýThe window is open through the end of the month for players to enter — they can pick programs at any time. It's been a trickle of players entering as their teams' seasons wrap up. Mizzou's needs remain point guard and post presence, which is evidenced by who they're reaching out to. There are a lot of coals in the fire (I think I'm getting that saying wrong... pans on the stove? I'm blanking) — Gates and staff aren't pigeon-holing themselves. There's time yet.
Questions:ÌýSpeaking of softball... that game yesterday against SEMO was a shocker. Do you know what happened to Mizzou's bats?
Hoff:ÌýIt was a strange game. The wind was wild — gusts up to 40 mph. It felt like walking into a wall in the parking lot outside the stadium. That held up any fly ball. By my count, 15 of Mizzou's 21 outs at the plate came on flyouts or pop-outs. Larissa Anderson was quick to say that's not an excuse and that her hitters didn't adequately adjust to trying to put the ball on the ground and force plays that way. Seems like she and the team get that it was a bad loss but also understand that it's a bit of an anomaly, conditions-wise.
Palmetto State Fan:ÌýWhat is your reporting telling you (and us) about the "atmosphere" with the big-dollar donors regarding the takeover of the athletics department by the Board of Curators. Delighted DR-F is in Tucson? Curious as to what the heck is going on? Also, what is the current status of the money she supposedly owes Mizzou for leaving?
Hoff:ÌýThree big donors are on the search committee, so my read is that they're still very much engaged — and will actually have a say in who comes through the door.
As far as the buyout, I don't know. It could be one of the topics from these oversight committee meetings that take place in executive session. The university's PR staff say they can't confirm whether there's even been a request from her to drop the buyout or not. It might not be evident until financials come out – and even then, it might be hard to spot.
Palmetto State Fan:ÌýI must tell you and the fellow chatters this entire situation is absolutely surreal. Followed Mizzou for decades. Am a graduate of the institution. Unfortunately this is one more episode where the leadership on the Columbia campus and over at University Hall, to use the analogy, have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Hoff:ÌýI feel like I see fans oscillate between seeing this as "very Mizzou" and appalled that it's happening at MU. But maybe the two are kind of tethered for y'all.
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