Missouri Tigers Basketball: Steve Alford the Next Missouri Ball Coach? Absurd!

Steve Alford was a high school all-American, standout guard at Indiana under Hall-of-Fame legend Bobby Knight, coach at Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State University) in Springfield, Missouri, coach of U of Iowa and is currently head coach coach at New Mexico.

16 years as head coach, five NCAA trips and a record of 406-222. Sounds impressive.

Yet, is he right for Missouri?

Steve Walentik reported in Sunday's Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune that Mizzou Athletic Director was at the Final Four pursuing the handsome, sometimes personal, sometimes arrogant Alford. Walentik reported that some coaches at the Final Four in Houston said Alford had already accepted Mizzou's two million dollar offer doubling Alford's current salary.

UPDATE: Since publishing this story, Alford has denied any contact with the school.

Due diligence should look beyond the record and surface resume of this Quin Snyder makeover. He couldn't wait to get out of Springfield; fell out with his mentor Knight, was spurned by Indiana as a Knight replacement and eventually landed in Iowa City where his eventual departure was warmly received. Slick, personable when necessary but always with a wandering eye, Alford's veneer resume needs a more-thorough examination.