Instead of worry, however, the Tigers look to be in pretty good shape thanks to a big-name transfer who won a national championship at Syracuse. Alex Oriakhi decided to take on another year at the college level, but do it elsewhere, saying he still has things left to accomplish. He’ll try to do just that alongside very close friend and Missouri point guard Phil Pressey, immediately creating a solid 1-2 punch.

Alex Oriakhi joined KCSP in Kansas City with Danny and Carrington to discuss why he picked Missouri, playing with buddy Phil Pressey, why he didn’t just go to the NBA, how he describes his game, coach Frank Haith’s reaction and joining up with a group with plenty of new faces.

Why did you choose Missouri?:

“At the end of the day it was just a comfort level. Having a good friend of mine, Phil Pressey, there definitely helped, but I was definitely comfortable when I got there. They were a team that had a pretty successful season in my opinion, winning 30 games, and they were able to do all that without a big man, so I definitely knew they needed a big man. … Everything just meshed and it was the perfect fit.”

What’s your relationship like with Phil?:

“Phil, I’ve known him since eighth grade. … At the time, he lived in Texas but we played AAU so he basically lived with me and my family in the summer. … Even before I transferred we always texted each other every day, talked on the phone. He’s one of my real good friends.”

Why did you decide to play another year at a different school instead of going pro?:

“I didn’t perform as well as I’m capable am to go to the NBA. It was definitely a step back for me, the season I had. … I didn’t think there was a reason for me to even go into the draft. I feel when it’s time to go to the NBA for me is when I feel I’m ready and I feel I’ve done everything I can do. I have more left to accomplish.”

Describe to people how you play:

“I know I have a lot to work on and a lot to improve on, but for the most part I feel like I’m a defensive-oriented guy. Growing up, I wasn’t always the most offensively capable big man … so I had to do other things to stay on the court. I’m definitely a defensive presence. I rebound, block shots. I am working on my offense so I can really score in the post. But for the most part, I’m a defensive guy. I feel like you can dominate a game without scoring.”

When you told Frank Haith you were transferring to Missouri, what was his reaction?:

“He was ecstatic. He was really excited, gave me a hug and said, ‘Welcome to the family.’ … He said it was like getting a Christmas present. I heard that. That’s not what he told me, but that’s what I heard. I just laughed. For a coach to say that about you, it just shows how bad he really wanted me and I’m just excited to come down there and just work my tail off and let the results follow.”

Did you know him from before?:

“No, not really, but Phil’s a real close friend, so if I had any questions, I could definitely go ask Phil. That was the best. Phil was a great resource because I knew Phil was going to keep it 100 percent with me. … He was going to be truthful with me because he wouldn’t want to put me in a situation that wouldn’t help benefit me.”

Was it important for you to come into a situation where there were plenty of new faces, including you, rather than an established lineup?:

“I definitely think it helps to go to a team that’s new because I’m going to be new, my face is going to be new to the rest of the guys and we’re all going to have to learn together and find our roles out and build team chemistry.”

Listen to Alex Oriakhi on KCSP in Kansas City here

Sure, it’s still early, but Missouri has already beaten Baylor and Iowa State — the only other two teams above .500 in league play — on the road and Kansas has yet to lose. There’s sure to be more intrigue, but first-year coach Frank Haith has his Tigers controlling their own destiny.

Frank Haith joined WHB in Kansas City with Between the Lines to discuss beating Baylor on the road, why the team has been so good on the road, having a team that can shoot this well, where this team ranks against others he’s coached, keeping the team in check mentally and the Big 12 race shaping up.

On beating Baylor on the road:

“I thought our guys did a great job. We had great focus all week preparing for those guys and I thought we went out and played with great toughness and tremendous poise down the stretch. It was really good to see and I’m sure from a fans standpoint it was a fun game.”

You took over a team that struggled on the road last year. Why the success this season?:

“They’re a year old, so that helps. The fact that we got taken out to the woodshed a couple weeks ago in Manhattan and I think our guys came back and regrouped and talked about it a little bit, talked about what it takes to win on the road and toughness was a key topic of conversation. … Our guys understand that we’re a good team, but we’ve got to play with great toughness in order to win on the road.”

On having a great shooting team:

“We’re taking good shots. That helps. We’re not going to shoot the ball great every night. We’ve got to find other ways to win games, too, and that’s being good defensively and rebounding. … We have found a way to understand great shots and they share the ball and I think that’s why we shoot a high percentage. We don’t hunt shots. I’ve stressed this to these guys, we should hardly ever have to shoot a contested shot because we’ve got such great ball skills and we have to play with unselfish play.”

Where does this team rank against others that you’ve coached?:

“Obviously I think in terms of this team and what we’re doing, keep in mind we won like six ACC games in a row and Duke was I think ranked second in the country and Wake was ranked like sixth in the country and we had a run there. And obviously we had a run at Texas where, with T.J., we got to the Final Four. I’ve told this team that we’re capable of doing great things. We are, because we’ve got the intangibles, chemistry, ball skills … and now we’ve started to show we’ve got a little toughness. … This team is very capable but it’s still a long year.”

How do you keep this team in check mentally?:

“I think that’s going to be on us. They’ll feel the sting a little bit and we’ll keep them on point as much as we can, but you always worry about that when you have success. … We always have a session in film that we go over after every game, the good, the bad and the ugly, and they’ll see things we’ve got to get better at. But I really believe if you enjoy the process as a player — enjoy the preparation and get focused on that — you’ll get yourself ready to play.”

How much are you starting to hear from fans about Kansas and the Big 12 race?:

“I don’t pay attention to a lot of that stuff other than I do know Kansas is playing outstanding. … You’ve got to think Bill’s done an outstanding job with probably a team that’s not typical, from a talent standpoint, that he’s had in the past. He’s still got this team right here undefeated in the Big 12. He’s done a great job and you’ve got a really good team that’s playing extremely hard. That’s down the road for us.”

Listen to Frank Haith on WHB in Kansas City here

Kansas coach Bill Self added to the frenzy this week when he told reporters that he wouldn’t feel the need to schedule Missouri in the longstanding rivalry if the Tigers left the Big 12. The two schools have played every year for nearly 100 years. Self says he wouldn’t feel obligated to schedule them and that Kansas basketball and the Big 12 will be just fine whether Missouri stays or goes.

This interview clearly took place before Friday’s news that TCU has been invited to join the Big 12, but that development shouldn’t really affect his stance on any of this as Missouri continues to assess its options.

Bill Self joined KCSP in Kansas City with Bob Fescoe to discuss his stance on not scheduling Missouri were the Tigers to leave the Big 12 for the SEC or elsewhere, how the Tigers’ move out of conference would affect the rivalry in general, why he thinks the Big 12 will be fine regardless of what changes are still to come, all of this shifting being all about money and whether he feels there is any stability within the conference right now.

You said this week that you would consider not playing Missouri — a team Kansas has played every year since 1907 — in a non-conference game if the Tigers left the Big 12. Expound on that:

“I don’t know what’s controversial about it. We’ll do whatever we feel like we should do and what’s best. I’m not obligated to do anything just like they’re not obligated to do anything. Who would know if they would want to continue to play Kansas. Certainly I would feel no obligation to do so. … We’ll wait and see. The bottom line is this, I don’t want that. I want Missouri to be in our league. Missouri and Kansas are good together even though it’s a hatred rivalry. … I would hate to see it go, but if it does, it does.”

Do you feel like, even if you did play Missouri, that the rivalry would feel the same?:

“That’s exactly right. You look at Illinois and Missouri. I was a part of that rivalry. It’s great. But it’s not so great that they feel like football has to play. … It’s just not the same. Your rivals are the ones that are in your league. Your league is so much more important than any non-conference game. I guess Kentucky-Louisville is a great non-conference rivalry, but they’ve always been in different leagues. … When you go from being a rival in the league to being outside the league I don’t see how it would ever be the same.”

What do you think would be the situation at Kansas if the Big 12 would collapse?:

“First of all, I haven’t heard from my higher-ups at all since three weeks or two weeks ago that the Big 12 will fold without Missouri. There may be speculation … but Texas wants this to work and from what I gather OU is kind of on board with Texas now. … We can go get schools. If the commitment is made by the other schools, if we have a core eight, eight’s not bad. … But I think we can go get schools from other leagues and bring them in and have a great league. … I think our league is here to stay. … If it wasn’t, then I think that it would hurt Kansas basketball, I’m not going to lie. I think would hurt Kansas basketball, but the thing about it is I don’t think it would kill us.”

What are your thoughts on this whole conference realignment movement when it comes to being all about money?:

“That’s the appearance, but all our rules, within the NCAA, is about student-athlete welfare. … All these things are the movement of the NCAA to toughen academic restrictions. That’s what the presidents want, which, hey, when you raise the bar, usually people follow. I’m not saying good or bad with that, but if that is the case, give the kids the best chance.”

Do you feel there is any stability in the Big 12 right now?:

“There’s not. But, if anybody thinks that the Big 12 won’t be better than it’s ever been, if everybody’s on board to sign these long-term deals and make the buyouts where you can’t get out or the cost would be so expensive, and add a couple of teams or whatever they’d choose to do, this league goes from being the appearance of being unstable to the league that maybe schools want to get in. … We can get to the point where there is stability. I feel really bad for our ex-commissioner because he was really a good guy, but he was captain of the ship whenever there was so much instability nationally. … Stability I think will come with Missouri staying, to be real honest with you. But if Missouri doesn’t stay, I think we’ll be fine, but there will be the appearance of instability because they leave in the short-term. But in the long-term, schools in the Big 12 are going to win out.”

Listen to Bill Self on KCSP in Kansas City here

Haith comes to Missouri from Miami, where he never had a winning record in the ACC and took the Hurricanes to just one NCAA tournament. The resume doesn’t pop off the page to many, and even as Haith was formally announced as the new coach there was still plenty of disdain from the fans.

But Haith has put his own spin on the entire situation, flipping that backlash into what he calls a positive. He’s viewing it as a good sign that the program has a rabid fanbase that should help him in the long run. That’s a fine way to spin it, but Haith better win early on or he’s probably in for more of the same.

Frank Haith joined WHB in Kansas City with Kevin Kietzman to discuss standing in front of irritated fans at his press conference, if he feels like he has something to prove now, how much better his situation is at Missouri than it was at Miami, how he’ll try to keep current players in the program and his philosophy on releasing players.

What was the press conference like?:

“I had a lot of adrenaline going. … I was excited about the opportunity to really get a chance to be in front of people and give them a chance to get to know me as a person.”

Does he feel like he has something to prove to the fans?:

“If you’re a competitor, which I am, and you thrive on competition, which I do, there’s no question I’m excited about this opportunity. The fact that we have a fanbase, we share the same vision, the same passion. I didn’t view the backlash as being a negative, I viewed it as a positive because that tells me we’ve got some passionate fans.”

How much better is his situation now at Missouri rather than Miami?:“I was very fortunate to have the opportunity that I had there at Miami and there were some great things there, too, that we could sell. … We were creating our tradition at the University of Miami. Having the opportunity to coach in the Big XII … and see Missouri up close, I’ve seen it up close. I’ve been in this arena, up close, I’ve seen the passion and enthusiasm. … That right there helps me understand that you’ve got a rabid fanbase that’s excited about your program and you’ve got a home-court advantage.”

On re-recruiting those who are already in the program:

“That’s first and foremost, we’ve got to make sure the young men on this team right now are comfortable and want to be a part of this journey. … I feel good about where we’re at with this whole team. I know Lawrence and Kim have put their names in the draft and we’ve have talked to both of those young men and I do anticipate those guys coming back this season, too. I think they just want some feedback for the future.”

What does he do if a player comes and asks for a release?:

“We’ve got to find out why. We’ve got to have some dialogue first in terms of where we’re at and we’ve got to have some dialogue. … If, at the end of the day, that’s what they want to do, then I’m OK with that.”

Listen to Frank Haith on WHB in Kansas City here

To start out, it was already plenty weird how the whole situation was handled by pretty much every party involved. Missouri seemingly holds no secrets when it comes to a coaching search and reports about whether Matt Painter was going to go there were all over the map.

But in the following interview, it really seems like he has no interest in answering the questions. He says all the right things about Purdue showing him a level of commitment and whatnot, but when it comes to talking about the process, he’s all over the map in discussing it. Again, I’ll admit there’s a chance that this is simply how he sounds all the time, but his accounts of the events still sound a little fishy to me.

Matt Painter joined 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis with Dan Dakich to discuss how the process played out in taking a peek at Missouri, his relationship with the Purdue administration, whether this process has opened some eyes and what he’ll say to recruits who wonder if he’ll test the waters somewhere else.

On how the process with Missouri played out:

“It’s something for me, personally, that’s flattering when somebody calls and is interested. I’ve never really been through it. … When you’re happy somewhere and somebody calls you to show interest … you start to listen and you search out other people in the business that have been through it. … I reached out to a lot of guys in the business and they just said, ‘When you’ve been somewhere awhile, you’ve got to strengthen your conviction of why you should stay at Purdue.”

Did you ever feel you weren’t on the same page as the administration?:

“I think what you have to do is you have to do a better job of educating those around you of what other people in the country are doing. … You can’t just throw money at every single problem that you have. … After having some lengthy discussions, I felt there are some things, in terms of helping out our program, that are really going to help us have even more of a championship commitment.”

On having eyes opened at Purdue as to what you need to win a national title:

“I would agree with that. I would say a lot of things have changed in the landscape of college basketball. Butler is an unbelievable example. … You need good players, you need an administration that supports you and is on top of that. I feel I have that at Purdue. There’s no doubt that that’s strengthened and that got better. Purdue got a lot stronger here in the last week.”

Will that be his message to recruits when they say they saw the whole thing where he seemingly tested the waters?:

“No doubt about it. Anybody that gets in that thing and especially coaches that try to use that against another coach, that’s crazy. … Anybody can say what they want to do, but everybody’s going to listen to what someone is going to say. … I’m very happy at Purdue and I think they’ve made a huge commitment to me before this and they’ve made another huge commitment to me.”

Listen to Matt Painter on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis here

Still, his Tigers program has incidents surrounding suspicion of driving under the influence and now a former captain has basically been kicked off the team following charges of deviate sexual assault. And all of this has gone down with a season-opening rivalry game in the near future. That’s obviously going to turn some heads.

It has turned the head of Pinkel as well, but the veteran coach insists that he’ll stay the course, using the same disciplinary principles that have worked at Missouri for the better part of a decade.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel joined ESPN Radio 101 in St. Louis on the Bob Stelton Show to discuss why this weekend’s meeting with Illinois seems to be the final one in the rivalry matchup, whether recruiting receives a boost from the rivalry game, what it’s like to dominate such a rivalry, how he approaches players who are receiving NFL Draft or Heisman attention and how he’s ensuring that the bad off-the-field decisions come to a halt.

On why this is the final meeting currently scheduled with rival Illinois:

“I think in basketball … when you have that many games [on a schedule] it’s easy to schedule [that matchup]. It’s a great rivalry game, there’s no question about it. St. Louis does a great job of putting it on, first class and it’s good for the community and good for both schools. That being said, to have some variety a little bit and be able to schedule … we’d like to have this game be played six out of every 10 years. … Hopefully we can do that again.”

On whether Mizzou gets a recruiting boost from having the game:

“I think it’s a plus. It’s always televised, that’s good. It’s in St. Louis, that’s one of our great recruiting areas. It’s a plus in many ways.”

On what it’s like to dominate such a rivalry:

“I don’t ever talk about the past. I never do. I never, ever talk about the past. Whether you won them all or lost them all doesn’t matter. What’s important is focusing on this game and taking care of our business. … My biggest concern in any opening game is in that opening game, are you going to protect the ball? Are you going to play a good kicking game? Are you going to not have mental errors? Are you going to not have penalties? Those things that you have to learn how to not lose before you start winning. Those things are things that are important.”

On how to approach players like quarterback Blaine Gabbert who have Heisman Trophy and NFL Draft hype surrounding them:

“I think you have to earn all that stuff. I think he’s very talented and hopefully he can have that kind of year where those things will really come out and those things become a reality. The way it looks is he’s done a good job and he’s played well, but he can play remarkably better. If he’s having a great year, that means we’re probably winning a lot of games. What goes all along with this, I used to tell Chase Daniel and Brad Smith this, is that’s how you get those kind of recognitions – the team wins and you play at a high level. Hopefully those things happen.”

On how he’ll go about ensuring recent off-field troubles come to an end:

“We’ll just do what we’ve always done. That’s how we’ve built our program. We run a disciplined program. We’ve had some kids that have made some serious mistakes and errors in judgment, but do we put a handle on it? No. It just is what it is. I think we’ve always been respected nationally for being first class and doing the right things. The way it sits now is there’s consequences for those decisions and what we have to do then is we have to earn some respect back. That’s what we’ll do. That’s my job. These things, as the leader here, I’m responsible for everything that happens here.”

Listen to the interview with Gary Pinkel on ESPN Radio 101 in St. Louis here

The Matchup between #3 Texas and Missouri this weekend is a big game for both teams, but is a must win for Gary Pinkel’s

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel is 0-4 against Texas while Longhorns’ Mack Brown is 5-0 against Missouri.  Pinkel knows for him this is a must win ball game.  Missouri’s lone victory over Texas in Big 12 play was 37-29 on homecoming in 1997.  Pinkel has had very little success versus Texas and maybe this week he can give the inspired pregame speech coming off two losses to get them back into the hunt. 

Gary Pinkel joined KCSP in KC and talked about the big matchup with Texas this weekend, last weekend’s loss versus Oklahoma State and what it will take to get back into the conference title game.

Asked if there was too much pressure on Sophomore QB in Blaine Gabbert the last game:

“I would suggest he did in the first half, so the second half I think that our inconsistency and he is also playing hurt.  Chase Daniel and Brad Smith never had to do that in terms of their plant leg and everything else.  He is very courageous in terms of that.  I don’t really look at that in any way; that interception for a touchdown was a tipped football, it was a perfectly thrown ball, it was a tipped ball, so that wasn’t his fault.  So that being said you turn the ball over four times and not get any on defense, you’re not going to win many games.”

Asked about the big showcase game against Texas and the big challenge they have Saturday:

“That’s an understatement Jim, they have great players and it’s a great opportunity for us.  Personal wise they are outstanding and what makes them even more so outstanding is they have a very experienced high level quarterback, so that’s what exciting about this.  It’s a great opportunity for us.  Our stadium will be packed, and we will go out and make some plays and compete and we are really looking forward to it.”

Asked to look at the Big 12 North and the hard schedule to start the season:

“It’s crazy when you look at it. I look at our football team and I knew going into this season right here with these first three teams we play, it’s our third nationally ranked team in a row, last year it was 13th and 14th and this year it’s a 3rd in the nation. We were starting off with a bang and I knew it was going to be a difficult run. The good news is your going to get better from all of these and hopefully you can get some wins here. Half of this football season is left; there are a lot of things out there yet.”

Listen to Gary Pinkel on KCSP in KC with the Morning Rush

The Tigers were the 2008 Big 12 North champions, and look to repeat that feat again in 2009. It will not be easy, as quarterback Chase Daniel opted to enter the NFL Draft this off season, falling all the way out of the draft and eventually signing a free agent deal with the Washington Redskins. Coach Pinkel’s system is great for the college level where Daniel put up huge numbers, but his experience at Missouri doesn’t translate to the NFL game according to scouts.

Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel joined WHB to talk about this upcoming season in which they hope to finally get past Oklahoma for the outright Big 12 Championship.

On how hard it is to retain assistant coaches year after year when they’re trying to ascend the ranks themselves:

“Well I think we’ve slowly become very competitive, its just taken awhile to become competitive salary-wise. I think they love living in Columbia (Missouri). I think it’s a great place to raise a family. I also think how we handle our football program in terms of organizationally, our hours are different. I think we work as hard as anybody but I try and make it as family oriented (as possible). I want my coaches, if they can be home every night and be able to kiss their kids and put them in bed every night, I didn’t get a chance to do that. So we’ve organized it, we get here early in the morning. I think it’s been very family friendly. I think a combination of all of those things has allowed us to keep a staff together and certainly believe that we’re going to win since I brought a staff over from Toledo.”

Coach Pinkel was asked what you can’t know about a new quarterback until he suits up and starts his first game:

“Some people say that quarterbacks are like tea bags, you don’t know what you have until you put it in hot water. To some degree, there comes a time in a game where a quarterback’s got to drive to win the game in the 4th quarter. I don’t care what his background has been or whatever, or what his ability level is, you still have to go do it. There’s a lot of how do you handle when you get a big hit. That’s why we allow our quarterbacks in the first couple of scrimmages to get live. You still have to do it game day. I think I have a pretty good feel for the guys at that position.”

On if he thinks about where Mizzou might wind up in the division or if he takes it game by game:

“Our goal has always been, I talked about being at the top of the giant pyramid, the top three blocks and the top of it is the national championship. Win the Big 12 slash Big 12 Championship and go to a bowl that you want to hit, one, two, three or three of those every year. So that’s never changed for our football program. Out of rankings, I look at them a little bit. The only reason I look at them is because to me its about respect. That’s all that it is. People respect your program they’ll pick you to win. Other than that, it really doesn’t mean anything.”

Listen to Gary Pinkel on WHB in Kansas City

Of course, it’s not entirely implausible: the Browns are rumored to be moving Braylon Edwards soon, and plenty of people are enamored with Maclin’s ability to make cuts and perform at the NFL level. Which may explain why there were lots of questions about the Browns when he appeared on WKNR in Cleveland recently. Well, that and the fact that he was in Cleveland, too, I guess.

On going to Missouri and the coaching staff there:

“I have a great deal of respect for Coach Pinkel and the coaching staff. They have done nothing but be real with everybody on the team, whether you’re a walk-on, whether you’re a starter, whether you’re an All-American, they still treat you the same way no matter what. Not only did he teach us to become better football players, he taught us how to become better men. That’s the one thing that he definitely stressed a lot. If you’re a good football player but have terrible character, that means absolutely nothing. You have to have the total package.”

On his dealings with the Browns leading up to the draft:

“They sat down and told me they don’t bring anybody in unless they’re looking at them. They don’t like to waste their time. Like I said, they shot me straight and they sat down there and I had a very good meeting. Mangini’s a very good guy, I like him a lot, and like he said he prides himself on character-type guys and I think I would fit his family here just fine.”

On the health of his knee after a bad injury in 2006:

“I haven’t had a problem with this knee since the surgery. It’s definitely held up very well and I’ve come back faster, come back stronger, come back quicker, cutting better. My knee hasn’t given me problems since August of ’06.”

Listen to Jeremy Maclin on WKNR in Cleveland with Kenny Roda

Coming off a successful college career where he won the Heisman, Doug was shunned aside by the men who make the decisions in the NFL.  Chase Daniel of the Missouri Tigers enters this weekend’s NFL draft in a similar boat, mainly, he’s undersized at the QB position; he’s 6-feet.  Despite finishing off an impressive college career there are still skeptics.  Chase Daniel joined Galloway and Company on ESPN Radio Dallas to discuss those critics, which quarterbacks he sees himself in, and what transpires at NFL workouts.

On whether or not people doubted him coming out of high school:

“I think a lot of people questioned whether I could play at the next level even though I had 30 offers out of high school.  You know, I think that everybody has their doubts about me, everyone has their doubts about everyone.  You just try and go out there and compete – you can’t listen to the people that never put on a jock strap in their lives, and maybe some media that are dogging you, or maybe some fans.  Your true followers, your true friends, they know what you can do, and they know that I’m a winner and that I win football games.  That’s something I wanna be remembered by.”

On which NFL quarterback he compares himself to:

“It’s definitely Drew Brees.  We’re both from Texas, both went out of state and took some programs to the next level and both had a great career.  He’s 6-foot tall, we resemble each other a lot.  The Jeff Garcias, Doug Fluties.  There have been plenty of guys and quarterbacks that have played in the league that haven’t been 6’5″ and proven they can play so I’m excited about it.”

Chase Daniel on what NFL teams are analyzing during workouts and the full interview after the jump.

On what NFL teams are analyzing during workouts:

“Pretty much they wanna see, and the Cowboys especially, they were testing if we retain the knowledge and if we were listening, and if we were paying attention to the minor, minute details of what Jason Garrett was saying… For the most part it’s just can you retain the knowledge?  On the field, we threw maybe 30 balls yesterday, each of the quarterbacks, I mean, it wasn’t a workout.  They wanna see a glimpse of it, if you’re staying in shape, see if you’re taking this process seriously and I definitely am.”

Listen to Chase Daniel with Galloway and Company on ESPN Radio Dallas