Every week, PowerMizzou.com publisher Gabe DeArmond answers questions from Tiger fans in the mailbag. This format allows for a more expansive answer than a message board post. Keep your eye out each week to submit your question for the mailbag or send them to powermizzou@gmail.com. On to this week's inquiries.
ZouFan27 asks:Â How can Jontay have been the sole scoring option going into the season this year? Or at least, why were all the hopes placed on one person?
GD: He's not the only scoring option. Jordan Geist had 21 against Oregon State, Mark Smith can score, Kevin Puryear can score. But he was the main scoring option. And beyond that, it's how his loss impacts everyone else. He demanded double teams. He was the best shooter and passer on the team and the best big man. Missouri didn't just lose its best scorer. It lost its best EVERYTHING. They just don't have enough talent to overcome it. Neither would most other teams.
TigerCruise asks:Â Do you think we'll start to see next years replacements in this week's game or mostly a Senior laden game on their final home game? Most of the 2015 class sees the field (a conversation of some angst recently), does Odom use this as a peak into the future against a garbage team or a final hurrah for his Seniors?
GD: First and foremost it's about winning the game. You play the starters until you're up at least three scores in the fourth quarter. I know everyone's assuming this is an easy win, and it should be, but Arkansas is still an SEC team that put up 31 on Alabama and only lost to LSU by a touchdown and on the right day, they could beat Missouri. So first you win the game. But this isn't about next year. This is about the guys who got you here and the seniors. What I'd like to see is a situation where Missouri has a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter and sends Drew Lock out for the first play of a series and then subs him out, giving him the chance to get a big ovation. You play all the seniors if you can, but the first objective is making sure you win.You get the young guys and next year's pieces work in bowl practices. They'll have their chances to play in games down the road.
mexicojoe asks:Â Who are your top 5 juco guys to have played at Mizzou since 2000?
GD: 1) Sheldon Richardson
2) Pig Brown
3) Marcell Frazier
4) Nino Williams
5) Damien Nash
Honorable mention: Darnell Terrell, Victor Sesay, Jamar Smith, Walter Palmore
Editor's Note: I forgot Markus Golden, who would be No. 2 on this list
