Starting with the change in the calendar year, Mizzou Athletics' very own Ben Arnet will write a monthly column for MUTigers.com. Titled Mizzou Musings, Arnet will look at every Mizzou Athletic program and give you his take on everything Mizzou. Below is the first edition.
M(y first thought)- BARRY ODOM basically turned around the 2017 season through sheer force of will. I spoke to several players after every game of the now-famous six-game winning streak and asked them all how this happened. What changed? Nearly every answer started with the coaching staff, specifically Barry Odom. He doesn't like to talk about it all the time but with the exception of his family, the University of Missouri is just about the most important thing in the world to Coach Odom. There will be lots of different people with lots of different opinions about when he got the program turned around but during the winning streak I keep coming back to one moment. If you follow the program at all you remember the heart-breaking loss to Georgia at Faurot Field in the third game of Barry's tenure last season. In the locker room afterwards, he searched for the words to console a young team that had just suffered its first ever gut-punch loss. After a few moments Coach stopped and said, "Now I'm gonna show you all the real me". What followed was a passionate speech punctuated repeatedly by three things: How much Barry loved each and every person in that room, how much he loved Mizzou and how close he knew they all were to winning if they just kept trusting the coaches and each other. I know it took another 13 months before it all came together but I truly believe Barry Odom set the tone and the path for the program that night. Since then he's been a blend of Larry Smith's grit and Gary Pinkel's consistency. Like Larry Smith, he's toughened up his players while openly sharing his emotions. Like Gary Pinkel, he's made adjustments when necessary while never wavering from the bedrock principles of the program. And like both of his mentors, he never misses a chance to tell his players how much he genuinely cares about them, win or lose.
I (think you need to know): about TERRY BECKNER JR's GROWTH since he arrive at Mizzou. I don't know if I've seen a player mature more in three years than TBJ and I was elated to hear that he will return for his senior season. The kid has certainly been through enough (for more on this check out our story on his rehab from two different season-ending knee injuries (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGt_zkAE0y0&t=3s). When he first arrived, Terry was raw in every way. He definitely didn't like doing interviews and was generally quiet. But after fighting back from those two devastating injuries and returning to form both times he's gained so much confidence. You can see it in his eyes but mostly you can HEAR it. Terry grabbed the reins of leadership as Mizzou turned things around in the second half of the season and became much more vocal. His confidence began to show on the sidelines and he talked more between series. He has a terrific position coach in Brick Haley who continues to draw out Terry's personality and talents. His potential is vast and I can't wait to see what he accomplishes in his fourth and final year in the program (a sentiment I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling).
Z Z (don't sleep on…): Amber Smith. A year ago she started the first 10 games of her freshman season but she was more of a "bruiser". Smith's calling card was rebounding and defense. She could score here and there but that definitely wasn't what earned her minutes early in her career. Then she turned it on in SEC play and was the best shooter on the floor for the Tigers in conference games. So we shouldn't have been surprised when she popped for a career-best 23 points on 60% shooting in Mizzou's win over Kansas State and then bested that with 27 points against LSU. The offensive possibilities for Smith have been brewing since late last season. If she can keep this up, Smith becomes the logical replacement for the points Sierra Michaelis used to provide. And that would be huge for a Mizzou team that needs secondary scoring to support the exploits of Sophie Cunningham.
O(ur school has…): A pretty awesome Women's Basketball Coach. After losing their season-opener, Robin Pingeton did what she always does: she went back to work. After that initial loss to Western Kentucky, Coach P immediately reminded her team about how they achieved all the success we've seen over the past several seasons. A national ranking and pre-season accolades didn't come easily and keeping them will be even harder. I'd imagine there was a similar message after Mizzou's loss to LSU. And what happened? A victory over the fourth-ranked team in the nation, followed by a big road win at Vanderbilt. It's not a coincidence that the Mizzou Women's Basketball team always bounces back after a loss.
U (need to see…): A Mizzou Gymnastics meet in-person. I've had the pleasure of calling three meets in my career and will be back on SEC Network Plus this season starting with the home opener on January 19 against Arkansas. While I'd love you to watch, I'd love it even more if you show up to Hearnes to see Shannon Welker's team in-person. It's probably the fastest-growing program in the highly-competitive SEC and the in-person experience is legitimately fun (especially if you have kids). The key to the watchability of gymnastics meets in-venue is the pace. Not unlike volleyball, there's virtually no lull in the action. There are always at least 2 different events going at once so you get to bounce your attention from one thing to the next. Kids don't get bored easily because if one event doesn't grab their attention there's usually a different event going on at the same time or right after the current athlete is done. Mizzou competes at Hearnes four times this season and takes on 3 teams in St. Charles on Friday February 16th (including Arkansas & LSU). So try to make it to one of the home meets and bring the kids… You won't regret it!