There seems to be a lot of smoke about Mitchell possibly joining the Kentucky Wildcats, here’s how you should feel about it…
I’m kidding. I’m not going to tell you how to feel about it. Whatever way you want to feel about this possibility is correct.
One commenter on Rock M+ said this: “I will always consider Mark Mitchell a True Son and hope MU fans are classy enough to give him a standing ovation if he ever plays for visiting team in Columbia Missouri.”
I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I feel I’m closer to this quote than some of the more negative reactions I’ve seen online. There are plenty of people who are upset about the idea of seeing Mark Mitchell in Kentucky blue. You don’t have to go back that far, he played in Duke blue just two years ago. The two aren’t that different.
For me, I’m still processing.
The logical side of me gets it completely. If someone came by my office and offered to double my salary, I would have to at least listen. And we’re not talking about my meager salary, we’re talking about many times over what I make in a year being offered by one of the most storied programs in college basketball history. If Mark Pope wanted me to play for the ‘Cats and make $5-6 million to do so… well I’d have a hard time turning that down.
But it also sucks. It sucks a lot.
Part of being a fan and following your team is getting to know the players. You pick favorites, and root harder for them. It gets even easier when those guys turn out to be really good, and the easiest when they turn out to be good people on top of that. Mark is both of those things, really good and a really good person. Everyone really likes Mark Mitchell.
In a perfect world Mizzou would find a way to keep Mark and let him finish his career as a Tiger. We thought they did that, he walked on Senior day, and got the standing ovation he deserved. The way it’s gone for decades. And then the lawyers got involved. And Kentucky missed on enough transfer portal recruits to really need a 4-man. And truly silly numbers got thrown out there.
If Mark signs for Kentucky for $6 million, he’ll join Milan Momcilovic who transferred from Iowa State and is rumored to be making $8 million. That’s $14 million between two players, which I’m fairly certain is more than Mizzou’s entire roster.
If for some reason he comes back to Mizzou, it will be for a lot less than that. It’s hard asking guys to pass up that much money. It’s also hard to see your guy leave like that. If he suits up for Kentucky and returns on January 9th, cheer or boo, it’s up to you.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
With camp fully underway, Nathan Hurst checked in on his five questions to be answered during camp:
There is almost nothing on the passing side of the offense that should look the same as it did a year ago. Start with quarterback Austin Simmons, who is clearly talented, but also relatively raw and enters the season with limited experience as a full-time starter at this level. Then there is Chip Lindsey, who was brought to Columbia specifically to improve a passing game that has never consistently lived up to its potential under Drinkwitz.
Mizzou also has a new quarterbacks coach in former offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, while the receiving corps has undergone significant turnover. Transfers Cayden Lee and Caleb Goodie are among the new faces expected to play major roles, joining a group that will have to build chemistry with Simmons during camp.
He’s got questions about the defense, obviously we all do. But I think this season hinges on how good Austin Simmons can be. If he’s who Ole Miss thought he would be, I think the Tigers will be a surprise team in the SEC.
SOCCER GOT STARTED LAST NIGHT
- Jack Wiselogel, our new Soccer beat writerhad the preview for the season before the game:
The Tigers’ last postseason appearance came in 2018, when they reached the SEC Tournament before falling to LSU in the first round. Every season since has ended the same way: no bid.
For Missouri’s senior class, that drought has become motivation.
“We have something to prove this year,” senior forward Brianna Buels said. “This is definitely a year where we’re going to make it. It’s not even like a hope — like, we will make it.”
It’s nice to hear the confidence from the team. They sound excited for the chance to change the program with a big step forward this season.
They didn’t get off to the best of start, however, with a 0-0 tie last night against Western Kentucky. Jack had the game story.
- Nothing from RockM.plus yesterday because our hosting provider had a giant outage and the site didn’t come back online until late. But we were still chatting offline about Mark Mitchell.
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