Due to one my sons being ill, I was at home on Thursday and saw the MU-Cincy game on ESPN classic. While MU lost, it was a great game with MU playing hard and well. The team had Diener, Wade, Nnamaka, Merritt and Henry. A good, we-balanced team both in terms of guys with size and with veteran leadership. Henry, in particular, showed great poise and leadership in hitting some big shots at the end. MU lost when Donald Little hit the only jump shot of his life.
In watching that game, it struck me how much we've missed that leadership the past few years. While some of that can be attributed to transfers and being a young team, someone should be providing that veteran leadership role this year and it hasn't happened. None of the big 3 have taken on that role and our seniors have regressed with Fitz and Barro having poor seasons. While I have supported Crean for years, I think his micromanaging of the team may be a contributing factor. I'm also concerned by the lack of confidence displayed by Fitz and Barro, they both seem to be play scared instead of playing with the confidence typically seen by seniors.