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Published Jan 29, 2020
2020 Macadoodle's Mailbag: 5th Edition
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Gabe DeArmond  •  Mizzou Today
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@powermizzoucom

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.

rmotigers asks: What was your favorite Kobe memory? RIP Black Mamba.

GD: I don't have one. I haven't been an NBA fan for a long time. I just don't really watch it. And I really haven't watched it much since Kobe became great. I was a senior in college when Michael Jordan won his last title with the Bulls. Back then, I'd watch a lot of the playoffs because it was sports and if sports were on TV I would watch them. But gradually I watched less and less over the years and the NBA was one of the first casualties because I never had a team I rooted for.

My first reaction to the Kobe coverage on that first day was that it was being a little bit overdone. But the more I watched and listened to, I began to understand, Kobe was this generation's Jordan. He wasn't for me, but for a lot of people of my son's age, he was THE athlete. So I get it. He was an incredibly influential and impactful person not just across the country, but the world. But to me, personally, he was a great athlete who I just didn't really follow all that closely.

MIZDPT15 asks: Is it fair to say ED and staff have much more personality and ability to relate to recruits? Visitor feedback and Tweets seem to be communicating that this staff is doing better with young folks and their families. That's something we never really saw when BO came onboard.

GD: I don't really think it's fair at this point. It might absolutely end up being true, but I think the newness of it all is skewing everyone's opinions right now. We haven't seen him fail so we accentuate the positive in every piece of news we see. Just based on my first couple of interactions with him, yes, Drink probably has a bit more personality and charisma than Odom does. And that may well carry over to the recruiting trail. But I think we tend to forget all the optimism that existed when Odom (or pretty much any other coach) started because it's been erased by the losses.

Missouri's most recent commitment was Johnny Walker, a 5.5 three-star from Florida. That news was greeted enthusiastically by fans (and I'm not saying it shouldn't have been; I think every commitment should be greeted enthusiastically. But if the same kid committed to Odom three months ago, I'm willing to bet a lot of people would have said that you aren't winning by getting 5.5 three-stars that other SEC teams hadn't offered and that recruiting had to improve.

I want to be clear that this is not a knock on Johnny Walker. The ranking doesn't change what kind of player he is and who he committed to doesn't change what kind of player he is. That will all be determined down the road. I'm just saying that the perception of everything around the program is different right now because the new coach hasn't lost a game and so we focus on the potential positives rather than some of the negatives that we've already seen.

Macadoodle's provides fine wine, beer and spirits in Pineville, Branson, Joplin, Springfield, North Springfield, Columbia and Republic, Missouri plus Springdale, Arkansas. Click the logo above to find the location closest to you today.

kdenks24 asks: Go to dessert at Ted Drew's?

GD: I've been there. I'm not sure what the question is beyond that. I enjoyed it. Frozen custard is good.

NeirCreekTiger asks: I haven’t done the research and am going on a gut feeling but will next season’s football tigers be the youngest team we’ve seen in decades?

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