Rock M Digest: Vol. 2, Issue 13

Dec 8, 2024 | Uncategorized

Written By

Truman the Tiger sitting under a lamp in a book-lined room, reading a book called “Rock M Digest”
I’m no Photoshop wizard like Josh, but I think this looks pretty great | Karen Steger Designs

A weekly list of fantastic stories (and quotes) you may have missed this past week at Rock M Nation dot com

Welcome to Rock M Digest, a weekly column where I, Madame Editor, share with you my must-read picks for the Rock M Nation content of the week. These stories made me think (sometimes too much), laugh, smile, cry… you get the picture. We’ve got a talented bunch of writers at this site, and since I have the distinct pleasure of reading all of it — I love reading it all, I swear — I want you, the readers, to know what you should be checking out if you don’t have time to read all the content. There was so much content; we put out 45 stories this week alone. And that’s not including podcasts (which I’ve linked to below) and Rock M+ content, which isn’t found on the main RMN page.

At the bottom, I’ve gathered up my favorite quotes of the week presented them with no context. There is a link to the story included, and I highly recommend reading the stories that go along with them.

And, as always I’ve gathered all the podcasts for you and put all my fave photos from the best photo team into a gallery for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy! We’ve got a good mix of Olympic Sports, hoops, and football aftermath stuff to look forward.


Rock M Recs

3 Years, 2 Wideouts, 1 Love for Mizzou

In what might be my favorite football piece from Quentin this year, he writes about the lasting impact of Luther Burden III and Theo Wiese, Jr. will have on the Tigers long past their time in the black and gold. They made it cool to go to Mizzou and love being here. It’s a fabulous story that everyone should read.

Mizzou Volleyball upsets SMU, advances to Sweet Sixteen

Matthew was on hand in Dallas to witness the awesomeness, where your Missouri Tigers volleyball team, led by the great (some may say G.O.A.T.) Dawn Sullivan, swept Texas State on Thursday in three sets before taking down 2-seed (and host school) SMU 3-1 on Friday on their way to the team’s first Sweet Sixteen since 2017. What lies ahead is another rematch with SEC rival Kentucky, and this piece will get you excited for it!

Luther Burden III was everything Mizzou needed him to be

It’s Luther reminiscing week at Rock M Nation, after the stud junior decided (unsurprisingly) to forego his remaining eligibility and the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft. Josh brings us back to October 19, 2021, when LB3 became a Tiger. During his 1,140 days in the black & gold, he was electric, showing a very Jeremy Maclin-esque quality at times that left fans and the national press looking on in awe at what 3 could do. Alongside his QB, Brady Cook, the duo had one of the best QB-WR rapports in Mizzou history, and when the Tigers needed him, he was there.

From Josh’s piece— “It’s appropriate that Mizzou’s goodbye message to Burden on social media was captioned, “We called and you answered… every time.” That’s who Luther Burden III was; he was the guy who delivered when you needed him, and also when you really needed him. Great stuff.

Halfway through the swim season, let’s check in on the Tigers

In Rory’s latest, she’s looking at Mizzou Swim & Dive halfway through the season. The Tigers are fresh off a “Mini SECs” at the UGA Invite that saw a TON of best times despite coming in fifth out of five top teams from the SEC.

Rory breaks down some notable performances from the season thus far, as well as the top point getters and who to watch in 2025. Good stuff, and I can’t wait to see more from this team in the new year.

Quotables

“De’Myla Brown added three triples in the fourth quarter, expediting the lead in the latter minutes. “We got a deep roster, and to get everybody minutes is really challenging,” Pingeton said. “I thought she was ready when her number was called. Had some really, really good minutes. And in my opinion, as a coach, that’s how you get extended minutes.”” —Dylan Heinrich, Mizzou WBB steamrolls NIU 94-55 in 3-point barrage

“If we could make a word bubble graphic to chart which words are being used in discussion of this season, I think “disappointment” would be one of the biggest words on the board. Between the offensive regression and the falling just short of College Football Playoff expectations, it’s difficult to look at the season and feel 100 fine about how everything went down.” —Josh Matejka, Spare Thoughts, Arkansas

We’ve only been in the transfer portal era for a few years now, so I’m sure Drink and staff will continue to bring in major impact transfers, but it’s hard to imagine one who will be such a hit as Wease. To me, he’ll be the gold standard going forward for what a transfer portal addition can do for your team.” —Chad Moller, Monday Musings: Thanking an Unsung Tiger

Coming out party for Anthony Robinson! I guess he’s trying to put everyone on notice here. An adjusted game score of 34.35 is obscene. A usage rate in the low 30s with an ORtg over 160 and a floor rate of 64%… all absurd. Robinson breaking out is a notch in the belt for the staff and their development plan. He didn’t attempt a 3, which is almost unheard of for a guard this day and age. And while Ant hasn’t quite taken the step of being a knockdown shooter (he’s still just 3-9 on the year), he’s shown immeasurable growth in a lot of other areas, including his finishing package.” —Sam Snelling, Study Hall: Mizzou 98, Cal 93

This team and program truly pulled itself up by its bootstraps. Eli’s first two full seasons were marred by close losses and tragic play on the line of scrimmage. But he was building his roster, leaning on the transfer portal for instant infusions of veteran leaders and talent upgrades. The team culture coalesced around player leadership and a toughness attitude, and won twenty games over two seasons. Saturday’s snowy win was a perfect sendoff for the seniors that built this team. It wasn’t always pretty, and it started quite slow. The passing attack was glitchy. But they found the things that worked, and scored on every possession of the second half.” —Dan Keegan, A Fan’s Notes: Senior Sendoff

In a game that will be remembered for Mizzou’s masterful ball control offense playing keep-away, Cook and Burden connected for a showstopper. With the ginger general rolling out to his right from about the thirty-yard line, he pointed downfield, then chucked a prayer into the back of the end zone. Luther initially overran it, then flipped his defender while spinning back to catch it. This was the definitive “3 down there somewhere” play.” Dan Keegan, Luther Burden’s Top Ten Tiger Touchdowns

Hot Shots

In this week’s hot shots, we’ve got plenty of basketball on deck from Mike & Cal, as well as a few volleyball shots from Matthew out in Texas! Enjoy!

Listen Up!

Here’s what you may have missed podcast-wise on the Olympic Sports, hoops and football fronts.

  • Majority Rules is back after a Thanksgiving hiatus with a women’s basketball heavy episode with the “Basketball Bros,” Quentin & Dylan. We also chat about a surprising softball transfer, and then go to some video updates from Matthew on volleyball & wrestling, Rory on Mizzou Swim & Dive’s performance at the UGA Invite, and Abigail on the new indoor track schedule.
  • Before the Box Score this week with The Nates features a recruiting roundup! And a wrap up of Mizzou’s annual pig roast!

Mizzou Sports this Week:

  • Sun, Dec. 8: MBB vs. kU, 12pm
  • Thur, Dec. 11: VB vs. Kentucky, 11am (Pittsburgh, Pa.) NCAA Tournament, Sweet 16
  • Sat, Dec. 14: MBB vs. LIU, 11am
  • Sun, Dec. 15: WBB vs. Lipscomb, 3pm

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