Class of '08: Thanks for the...uh...memories?

Well Senior Night came and went and the pre-game ceremonies were not nearly as awkward as I anticipated. I heard no boos and I honestly didn't notice a difference between the senior nights from the past two seasons, which is surprising considering Tiger Nation's disdain for this senior class. It was however, the first time I have ever seen four seniors benched (at the same time) in the opening four minutes of a senior night game for a noticeable lack of effort. 

I've decided not to even post my thoughts on the actual game. I guess it was nice to get a win, but it was by far the most unexciting double OT game I have ever seen. Instead I have decided to dedicate this post to the class of '08. I will recap both my favorite and worst memory of each player from this year's senior class.

*Editor's note: I will also be devoting an entire post to Leo Lyons within the next week, because the scenario that we are seeing play out with him is unprecedented.

Jason Horton

Favorite memory: In December 2004, Gonzaga came to Mizzou Arena (although it may have still been Paige Sports Arena at that point) and the Tigers ended up pulling off a huge upset that ended with the fans storming the court. At the end of the first half of that game I remember Jason taking Adam Morrison one-on-one to the rim and hitting a shot with Morrison all over him. After hitting the shot Horton got right in Morrison's face and told him all about it. I can remember thinking, "Man, this kid's got some swagger to do that as a freshman." Looking back three years later, maybe it wasn't swagger, maybe it was just him being a punk. I don't know.

Worst memory: How about his entire sophomore season when our offense evolved around him dribbling the shot clock down to about 5 seconds and then passing to either Thomas Gardner or Jimmy McKinney and having them shoot an errant three-point attempt? If that's not specific enough how about when, during that same season, he suggested that the entire team might elect to transfer at the end of the year following Quin Snyder's dismissal/resignation?

Marshall Brown

Favorite memory: During his freshman season the Tigers played a non-conference game at Indiana and overcame a 16 point deficit by ending the game on a 21-2 run that culminated with a Brown 360 degrees dunk with one second left to seal the deal. The smart play there would have obviously been to run out the clock, but I was impressed with Marshall's confidence to attempt such a dunk in that situation. His well-known timeout rant against Purdue this season deserves honorable mention.

Worst memory: I'd have to say last night, when Marshall only received 10 minutes of playing time on senior night. I'll never understand what happened to Marshall Brown. During his freshman season I thought he looked like a Ricky Paulding clone. Marshall's weaknesses (ball handling and an inconsistent jump shot) even coincided with Paulding's from his freshman season. But Marshall never developed like Paulding did and I'm not sure why. On the court I always thought it looked like Marshall was simply going through the motions, yet everything I read about him mentioned how he was a team leader and one of its hardest workers. His involvement in Athenagate aside, Marshall was always a role model off the court and that's what made seeing Darryl Butterfield get over twice the number of minutes that Brown got last night so hard to stomach. For whatever reason Brown was just a soft player. I can't say that I've ever been so perplexed by a player's underachievement.

Darryl Butterfield

Favorite memory: N/A

Worst memory: Wow, so many to choose from. I'm going to go with the time he was charged with peace disturbance barely over a week after he was arrested for beating his girlfriend.

Vaidotas Volkus

Favorite memory: V' improbably ended up being the fan favorite of this senior class. I always loved him for his awkward facial expressions and goofy demeanor. I'll never forget seeing him walking alongside Providence Road following the Tigers upset victory over K-State this season. After the biggest win of the year V' was apparently unable to find a ride home. I swear that this happened and I have witnesses to prove it.

Least favorite memory: As hard as he tried, defense was not one of V's strengths. I remember him getting murdered by Aleks Maric in a game in Lincoln last season. 

So there you have it. I think my loyal reader big head described my feelings toward this year's seniors best in his comment on my last post:

"It's like dumping a bad girlfriend. Hurts for about five minutes until you go to Arbys. It's all good after that, and you're excited to head out afterwards."

I don't want to be too hard on these guys because, in all fairness, they were put in difficult positions with Quin leaving the program in the state that he left it. 

But this was different from the class of '06, which was also very disappointing. The seniors that year, Jimmy McKinney and Kevin Young, also failed to live up to expectations but unlike most of this year's seniors they always gave their best effort. McKinney was considered to be one of this biggest signees in recent memory when he signed his letter of intent and proved to be a complete bust. But he never quit on his team or coach, which is something most of this year's group made a habit of doing.

At any rate, thanks for the memories (or nightmares) seniors!