As a former recruiting coordinator, Missouri coach Barry Odom would prefer to build a program in the fashion one might expect from someone who worked in that ultracompetitive environment. Win recruiting battles, sign the best prospects possible and construct a deep, talented team.
“I’m excited about having a chance to hopefully put together the best group we’ve ever had,” Mizzou’s first-year head coach said last week at ESPN headquarters, “and then after this year, we’ll try to do it again next year.”
But if Odom hopes to enjoy the long-term success that predecessor Gary Pinkel did, he and his staff must continue one of the most important traditions of the Pinkel regime.