The excitement level for Mizzou basketball to begin hasn't hit Columbia this hard in quite some time. The Tigers open their season on Friday and will do so in front of a packed hose at Mizzou Arena. In fact, they will play the entire season in front of a packed house because, for the first time in a decade, Mizzou sold out of season tickets to Mizzou Arena.
"To me, this is what Missouri basketball is all about," junior Kevin Puryear told reporters on Wednesday, "to have a sold out crowd is extremely big for the university. We deserve it."
Usually a comment like that from a team who won just eight games a season ago, but this is not a usual circumstance.
New head coach Cuonzo Martin has brought in one the top five recruiting classes in the country, including Michael Porter, Jr. the nation's top prospect.
If you think the upperclassmen are jealous, or have animosity towards the new kids, think again. The chemistry on this team may actually be a strong point.
"All of us older guys thought it was going to be hard to mesh with them and gel with them," senior Jordan Barnett said, "but it really hasn't been that hard. It has almost been a seamless transition. When you have a team with common goals it makes it easier to get along with them."
On Friday, the Tigers can put the talk of what this season could be and begin actually making it what it will be, which is a great thing in the eyes of their coach.
"Not to sound negative, but I don't really care, I really don't," Martin said of the hype, "If they're consumed with what people are saying about them then they're not making progress like they should."
