First Pick Blog

One of the most overwhelming things to cope with in the overall scheme of life is being told you are not capable of accomplishing something. Even the strongest of minds can wither at the expectation of failure from a vast majority. A person’s reaction to these criticisms will determine how the rest of their life will play out. One can conform to their detractors each time, accept failure and ultimately live a lifetime as an underachiever. The alternative, however, is considerably more rewarding. One can also make the decision to persevere. For when somebody succeeds despite low expectations and extreme doubt, they are labeled as “great.” Their triumphs are glorified and the work that was sacrificed to be successful is given significance. These are the overachievers of the world.

Missouri’s head basketball coach, Frank Haith, is such an overachiever.

When Haith accepted the position at Mizzou last year, following the departure of Mike Anderson (who returned to Arkansas where he had been an assistant early in his career), it was under more scrutiny than any coach in recent memory. During his seven years at the University of Miami he sported a 43-69 conference record with one NCAA tournament appearance and was one of the last candidates that Missouri had even considered for the vacancy. In August, a mere three months before his first season at Mizzou began, he was linked to the Nevin Shapiro “pay for play” scandal in which one of Haith’s assistants at Miami accepted money to heavily pursue several big name high school recruits.

Not only was he under investigation by the NCAA, he inherited a team that had 12 upperclassmen that were all recruited by Anderson and were accustomed to his “40 Minutes of Hell” style of play in which players play an extremely up-tempo fast break offense combined with aggravating defensive pressure. While Haith vowed to keep some of these aspects in tact, it is difficult to obtain a team that had spent so many years under one style of play and make them your own. Rarely do coaches succeed under these circumstances and it usually takes a year or so for a staff to make headway with their players.

The amount of backlash that took place at the university after Haith’s hiring was considerable. Tiger alumni, students, faculty all bashed athletic director Mike Alden for failing to land Purdue head coach Matt Painter who many deemed as the successor to Anderson. The widespread belief was that the players would resist Haith’s staff and try to play basketball the way they had in previous years, which would have greatly depleted team chemistry. It didn’t help that the team’s chief defensive threat in the paint, Laurence Bowers, was lost for the season with a torn ACL a month before the season began. There was no optimism and little if any support for how the team would perform this year.

Haith decided to persevere.

Through 27 games, he has the Tigers off to a 25-2 record, the best the school has seen in almost two decades and are 3-0 against teams ranked in the top 10. They are shooting 50.3% from the field, the second best in the nation, and average 79.9 points a game, the seventh best in the nation.

In a game against the California Golden Bears, ranked 18^th at the time, the Tigers won by a convincing 39 points, scoring 92 points in the process. In an interview with ESPN’s Jason King, Missouri senior guard/forward Kim English described the change in team chemistry.

“This is the best I’ve felt in my four years, because it’s the most selfless team I’ve played on,” English said. “We’re all 10 guys, plus three transfers — we’re buying into the process every day.”

Mizzou is undefeated at home and is poised to make a run in not only the Big 12 tournament but, the big dance at the end of March.

Could it be that Mizzou’s senior leadership wanted to make a statement to the coach who left them in their last years at the university? It’s a possibility.

Could it be that Anderson recruited a team that was most dangerous when it added a half court offense to its repertoire? Perhaps.

But this team’s success ultimately has to do with Haith’s ability to handle adversity.

Haith’s ability to handle all the pessimists and criticisms of the team he was taking on has him as a contender for coach of the year in the NCAA. He holds the players’ pulse and has them playing with more teamwork than before. He preaches a message of accountability and never doubting yourself. The players show love for the game and respect his values. Suddenly, Mizzou Arena is rocking as loud as Cameron Indoor with students camping out days before big games just to assure a seat in the student section.

“Success is not owned. It’s rented, and you have to pay rent every day.’ I live my life like that. I work every day like I’m going to be fired tomorrow”, Haith said in an interview with ESPN columnist Dana O’Neil.

Anderson, ironically, took over a team that only has four upperclassmen and is currently unranked with 17-10 record. Although he gets the opportunity to grow with another set of players, he has to deal with the growing pains of having a young roster and also must wonder what could have been. He has to think about how this season would have played out if he had stayed with his players at Missouri and how it would have felt to have success with the six seniors he recruited. However, he still expresses love for the team he left.

“Those kids are part of my family. They will be for the rest of my life,” said Anderson in an interview with SB Nation. “Obviously they were hurt and even when you talk about some of the fans. Why? When I got there, there was not a lot of empathy about the program. Now there are feelings about it and I understand that. But I’m so excited for those guys. They’re going to do great things.”

Jim Larranaga, who led the George Mason Patriots to a Final Four appearance in 2006, replaced Haith at Miami, is doing similarly well despite being in the basketball super-conference ACC. The Hurricanes are off to a 16-9 record and defeated Duke at home in overtime earlier in the year.

Frank Haith’s first season at Missouri is a prime example of the rewarding feelings that are associated with succeeding under doubt. He was given virtually no shot to succeed before he even set foot on campus. And the negativity that came with his history has been completely erased because he took on the challenge. He looked his critics in the face and proved them wrong. His tenure at Mizzou is, for the time being at least, labeled as “great,” and he is doing so with extreme class.

The future for the currently ranked no. 3 Tigers is to be determined but, the sky is the limit. They take on Kansas State at home Tuesday night (Feb. 21) before heading across the border Saturday night (Feb. 25) to play what could be their last conference game against archrival Kansas (Mizzou is heading to the Southeast Conference next season). There was little confidence in the months leading up to the season but now it seems as though Missouri fans have faith in Haith.