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Cuonzo has never been a zone guy. He played in a zone defensive system at East St. Louis, but Gene Keady was all about man-to-man at Purdue. Martin toyed with playing a zone defense when he thought he was going to have Michael Porter Jr. three years ago and a ton of length on the floor but he scrapped those plans when Porter went on the shelf. Could he press more? Maybe, but again, that's never really been his style. I'll be interested to hear what he says tomorrow when he meets with the media about the defensive breakdowns from the Mississippi State game. He hadn't really processed everything that unfolded when he talked to us right after the game Tuesday. A few things stood out ... 

1. MU let Molinar get deep into the paint too many times in the second half to initiate MSU's offense. The Tigers can't allow penetration like that.

2. Second-chance points killed the Tigers. On the rare occasion MSU missed a shot, its bigs were there to clean up the miss on the glass. That's always been MSU's strength - and the Tigers have historically struggled against teams with multiple, physical bigs on the floor at once. Martin talked about that on Monday - and sure enough, outside of Tilmon, MU's bigs struggled to match that physicality inside.

3. Mississippi State hit some damn tough 2-point mid-range pull-ups, most of them contested. Like Martin said after the game, that's the least efficient shot in basketball. Coaches have figured out that the most efficient way to play offensive basketball is 3-point shots, layups and free throws. Coaches will take their chances if the opponent's strategy is tough, 2-point pull-up jumpers. But Mississippi State couldn't miss. 

I would be very surprised if we see any defensive assistants leave with Walters. This is already a fairly unconventional move - it would be more unconventional for multiple coaches to leave for the same position at another Power Five school. 

From what I've gathered in the last 24 hours, David Gibbs wants the job and he's made that clear to his boss. We'll see if there's any traction there. I've also heard there's some thoughts internally that linebackers coach DJ Smith could be in line. I'd be somewhat surprised by that. He's the youngest, least experienced coach on the staff. 

I don't have a list of verifiable candidates at this point and I'm not going to toss out a bunch of names, though one interesting coordinator with connections to this staff is UAB's David Reeves. He's done an impressive job in Birmingham, where he coached with Mizzou tight ends coach Casey Woods. 

I've touched base with a few people close to this situation here, including Walters. I hope to talk to him more at length and on the record. Stay tuned. 

Here's what I've learned from Mizzou's perspective: This did not come as a surprise that he looked for another job. And while Walters was interviewing for the job at Illinois, MU was not worried about losing him - from the top down. Drinkwitz was happy to keep him on board a year ago to have some continuity on that side of the ball, but he was clearly not thrilled with how the defense played down the stretch. That's not to say he planned to fire Walters. I don't believe it reached that point - because if he wanted to fire him, he would have just fired him. Instead, the way it worked out, he can hand the job to someone else, maybe adjust the scheme or philosophy - and doesn't have to pay Walters a buyout. 

I don't want to speak for Walters, but I get the sense he wanted a fresh start at a program where he gets a clean slate. His re-hire at Mizzou always had the feel of an arranged marriage. An arranged marriage can still be a happy marriage - and I never sensed a shred of animosity between Drinkwitz and Walters -  but when you're the holdover surrounded by new coaches, their new systems, their new vision AND your side of the ball struggles some, things can get awkward. 

Moves like these aren't always filled with malice or resentment, and I never detected that this year between the two. Sometimes coaches are just ready to move on to a new challenge - and their team is ready for the same. 

Arden Walker, the defensive end from Colorado, essentially chose Mizzou based on his relationship with Walters. Walters' father and Walker's father played together at Colorado. I've reached out to Walker and haven't heard back. I'll pass along any thoughts he has about the situation. 

I'd be surprised if we see many/any recruits back out of their letters of intent based on this move. This is much different from a head coach leaving for another job after signing day.

Martin will talk to the media tomorrow. There are plenty of questions to ask. He's usually very candid in breaking down what went wrong in games. I expect the same tomorrow.

The Mitchell Smith question is a big one. The way this offense is designed, the four position/power forward gets open 3-point looks at the top of the key and in the corners, especially on those pick-and-rolls with Tilmon at the foul line. If the defender rolls with Tilmon, the next option is almost always a skip pass to the corner or a pass to the wing that leads to a skip pass to the corner for an open 3. Kobe Brown and Mitchell Smith are supposed to take those open 3s when they're open. If they're consistently missing, then you either plug someone else into that role - Parker Braun? - or you change the offense. Smith is just 3 of 18 from 3 this year. Not good. But last year he was a 30-percent shooter from 3 last year. Not great - but not bad for a 6-10 stretch forward. But look closer to last year: Mizzou reinvented its offense late last season, the Barcelona offense - dribble drive by Pinson/Dru Smith that created lots of plays at the rim/free throws and corner 3s. In Mizzou's last 12 games of last season, Mitchell Smith shot 44 percent from 3. That's damn good. He was a 42-percent shooter from the arc two years ago. Damn good. So, that's why the offense was designed the way it's designed, to free him up for those shots. Now, if you have to adjust, you adjust.

One, a bunch of Georgia players sat out the the Peach Bowl. Two, Cincinnati is a really good team, very strong program - and was a better team than Missouri by every measure this season. That's not really up for debate.

No one is disputing that Drinkwitz has a lot of building to do for Missouri to compete with Georgia, including Drinkwitz. 

I've been consistent in pointing out the roster issues Walters was dealing with late in the year. It's only fair to point out that he was starting two true freshman corners and was playing three converted offensive players in the final couple weeks. He was missing his best safety for the final six quarters of the year. The defense missed 18 games by D-linemen who played in the rotation this year. Those aren't excuses, just facts. This was never an elite defense. But for the season, it was mostly average. Good in some games, bad in others, mediocre in most - but bad down the stretch. 

Walters has coached against Bielema and most of these coaches know each other from crossing paths on the recruiting trail. Is Illinois a better program than Missouri? No, it hasn't been for a long time and isn't right now. But a fresh start can make it a better situation for Walters at this stage of his career in 2021.