Missouri
Missouri State basketball coach Cuonzo Martin’s bold preseason statement didn’t pan out
The honeymoon period under Missouri State basketball coach Cuonzo Martin was still ongoing when his team was picked to finish 11th in the Missouri Valley Conference heading into 2024-25.
Those with maroon in their hearts thought there was no way a team coached by Martin, who returned after leading the program to its lone regular-season championship 13 years before, would finish in second-to-last place. He was brought back to save the program, they thought, and elevate the coaching position to a place it hadn’t been since he cut down the nets in front of the largest crowd in Great Southern Bank Arena history.
The soft-spoken Martin, one to speak of life lessons and values that go beyond the hardwood, believed his team was capable of better, too. He unleashed a quote that no one forgot throughout the Bears’ final season as a Valley member.
“If we have the 11th best team in the Missouri Valley Conference, then this will be the best season in Missouri Valley Conference history,” Martin said during the team’s annual media day.
The Bears didn’t finish 11th, but they finished in 12th, and it wasn’t the best season in the Valley’s history. Although the team suffered much heartbreak and close losses, it simply wasn’t good enough to compete for a championship.
“I certainly thought we’d be higher,” Martin said ahead of the team’s final Arch Madness appearance.
Barring an unforeseen run at this week’s conference tournament in St. Louis, Missouri State (9-22, 2-18 MVC) will finish its time in the Missouri Valley Conference with perhaps the worst season in the program’s history.
If the Bears don’t win Thursday’s 2:30 p.m. game at the Enterprise Center against fifth-ranked Illinois State, it will be the first time the Bears didn’t crack 10 total wins since becoming a Division I program. If they don’t advance to Saturday’s MVC semifinals by beating the Redbirds and fourth-seeded Belmont, they will finish with the program’s fewest wins in a single season.
“I certainly thought we’d be better, but I’m not ashamed or disappointed in anything,” Martin said. “We scratched and clawed, and our guys stayed steady through the storm. It’s a test of their resiliency as a team. Nobody’s going to make excuses for wins and losses.”
The Bears’ effort never wavered, winning just two games between January and February, when other Missouri State teams of the recent past might have. Even after a late-season loss to Belmont, his players spoke of their belief that they could still make a run to the NCAA Tournament. They turned around and almost ruined league champion Drake’s potential at-large bid, only to lose to it again in overtime.
Such heartbreaks were common for the Bears throughout the year. Of their 22 losses, only four weren’t competitive in the second half. Missouri State should have won a handful of games but failed to close out. The Bears seemed close but still somehow far away.
“When you turn on the TV, you take the records off, you look at them and say ‘Man, that’s the bottom team in the Valley? Wow,’” Martin said. “You look at the fight and grit of that team that keeps coming back with guys down, guys injured, and guys out, whatever the case may be, we just keep pushing and keep getting better.”
The Bears have one guaranteed game remaining before what is shaping up to be another offseason with drastic roster changes. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bears near double-digit departures and additions before they tip off their first season in Conference USA.
The 2024-25 season will be remembered as a disappointment, likely joining the long line of Bears teams that haven’t qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 1999, but it can also be applauded for never quitting, which is a staple of a Martin-led program.
Heading into next year, the standard will have to be higher, and more will be demanded.
Let’s talk drama.
Transfer portal drama, specifically. The kind inspired by last week’s Texas Tech-Florida softball series, which comfortably could have aired on Bravo.
For those who missed out on the fun, former Florida second baseman and current Texas Tech star Mia Williams — the daughter of former Gators point guard “White Chocolate” Jason Williams — was hit by five pitches over the course of the series by her former team.
Florida’s coach was ejected during the fiery Super Regional. The Gators’ players declined a handshake line after the Red Raiders clinched the series and a Women’s College World Series berth behind two Mia Williams home runs in the finale. Jason Williams was spotted Gator-chomping in the direction of the Florida dugout after a home run, and a UF fan was ejected after a reported altercation between Jason Williams and Mia Williams’ sister.
Woah!
College football has some potential for high-octane reunions. Our undivided attention on Sept. 19, for instance, will be on Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford, Mississippi, with LSU.
Let’s turn local: Does the opportunity for some not-so-amicable reunions exist with Missouri football this year?
Probably not to the degree of any of the examples listed above, but there are multiple former Mizzou players on the Tigers’ schedule this season. Missouri also has several projected starters set to face their former teams, too.
Here are the former Missouri football players who the Tigers will see on the opposing sideline this upcoming fall, and the current Mizzou players who are going to face their former teams:
Which former players will Missouri football face this upcoming fall?
Marquis Johnson, WR, Mississippi State: Johnson is expected to be a starting wide receiver for the Bulldogs’ when Mizzou visits Starkville. The wideout, who flashed as a deep-ball threat as a freshman, spent three seasons with the Tigers but never managed to top his rookie-year receiving production. He lost his starting job midseason last year.
Kewan Lacy, RB, Ole Miss: Lacy spent the 2024 season with Missouri and has since emerged as one of the better running backs in the college game, rushing for 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns for the Rebels last season. This has been a little bit of a ‘Sliding Doors’ moment, because Mizzou signed Ahmad Hardy two days after Lacy went into the portal.
That’s worked out just fine for both teams, we’d say. If Hardy can make a storybook comeback this year, which this matchup pits two of the best tailbacks in the college game next season.
Horatio Fields, WR, Ole Miss: Fields technically was a Missouri player for a moment, although it may be the shortest stint in program history. He officially signed with Mizzou from Auburn on Jan. 8 but was back in the portal, after MU added multiple more transfer wide receivers, a little more than two weeks later.
Brandon Solis, OT, Kansas: Yes, there was a transfer across Border War lines in football, as well as basketball, this offseason. Solis did not play for Mizzou over three seasons in Columbia and appears likely to be a backup offensive tackle for the Jayhawks.
Courtney Crutchfield, WR, Arkansas: Crutchfield spent one season with Mizzou in 2024 and caught one pass for 26 yards last season with the Razorbacks. He is projected as a backup for Arkansas next season.
Mark Manfred III, CB, Kentucky: Manfred was a three-star freshman last season, entering the transfer portal and joining the new Kentucky staff in December.
Which current Mizzou players take on their former teams?
QB Austin Simmons, WR Cayden Lee and CB Chris Graves Jr. vs. Ole Miss: Three of Mizzou’s most-important offseason transfer additions will return Oct. 17 to Oxford and will almost certainly have a major say in whether or not the Tigers can stage a midseason road upset.
These parting of ways appear to have been quite harmonious. Ole Miss, for what it’s worth, does have a more notable defector from this past year currently residing in Baton Rouge.
Cayden Green, OT, Oklahoma: Green’s December 2023 transfer to Mizzou from OU upset the Sooners fanbase at the time, and the left tackle has previously spoken about leaving social media because of the backlash. But, the move is yet to boil over on the field, so Green’s last outing against the Sooners should be mostly drama free.
Luke Work, Zach Owens, OLs, Mississippi State: There is a chance that two of Mizzou’s starting offensive linemen when the Tigers play Sept. 26 in Starkville are former Bulldogs. Owens is competing for Mizzou’s starting spot at left tackle, and an injury to Josh Atkins means Work is a candidate to play at right tackle.
Darris Smith, DE, Georgia: Smith spent two seasons with Georgia out of high school before transferring to Columbia. He is expected to be Missouri’s top pass rusher this season, as the Tigers try to replace the massive production of Zion Young and Damon Wilson II.
Nick Evers, QB, Oklahoma: Evers, who will compete with Matt Zollers for Mizzou’s backup QB position behind Simmons, started his college career as a four-star prospect in 2022.
Naeshaun Montgomery, WR, Florida: Montgomery will compete for a rotational role in Mizzou’s wide receiver room this fall. He isn’t likely to start ahead of Donovan Olugbode or Caleb Goodie on the outside, but he could see the field against the Gators, where he spent his true freshman season and caught three passes.
Missouri
Robbie O’Connor, Carmelo Musacchia power Northeastern past Missouri State at Lawrence Regional | Whole Hog Sports
An awareness walk took place in Columbia Saturday that brings attention to a genetic disorder.
The eighth annual Missouri Walk of Neurofibromatosis took place on May 30 at Stephens Lake Park.
The event helps raise money and awareness for people who have the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis (NF).
There are three types of NF: neurofibromatosis type one (NF1), neurofibromatosis type two-related schwannomatosis (NF2-SWN), and schwannomatosis.
While the three types of NF are genetically distinct, they share the common feature of causing tumors.
The severity of symptoms and the specific manifestations of the disorders can vary significantly from person to person.
NF1 is the most common of the conditions, affecting approximately one in 2,500.
NF2 affects around one in 25,000 and other schwannomatosis types affect around one in 40,000.
Together, the disorders affect at least 1 in 2,000 people or approximately four million worldwide.
Anyone can be born with an NF disorder, and they have a 50% chance of passing it on.
For Christina Thomas, an organizer for Missouri Walk of Neurofibromatosis, the walk means “the world” to her.
“I’ve always been about advocating for NF and bringing people together,” Thomas said. “It’s awesome to see so many people coming together who have it.”
Thomas is the third generation in her family to have NF, and three of her four kids also have the condition.
“I grew up thinking my family was the only one with it. To me, it’s very important to be able to let people know that they’re not the only ones with it.”
Thomas said she was often teased when she was younger because her father, who also has NF, had tumors all over his body.
“I was always made fun of because of his appearance. People tell me, ‘You don’t want to get close to her she’s contagious.’”
Thomas said she joined the walk because she wants to bring people together who have NF and let them know they are not alone.
Another of her goals is to get the attention from the University of Missouri.
“Our ultimate goal is to get the attention of the University of Missouri, because not for me, not for my kids, but maybe for my grandkids or the ones that are nearly diagnosed, for us to have an NF clinic here instead of having to travel to Kansas City or St. Louis for expert care.”
She said the best way for the community to support those living with NF is through education and awareness.
“We’re always about advocating. We’re always about bringing awareness.”
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