A look back at Frank Haith’s three years at Mizzou
Frank Haith came from Miami, but his hiring came out of nowhere.
Haith was the shocking choice to succeed Mike Anderson. The former Texas A&M assistant was a public relations challenge for Missouri basketball, which not only faced uncertainty going into Haith’s first year but also dealt with the Miami booster scandal.
His first season could not have been any better. The Tigers went 30-5 and won a Big 12 tournament title. Even with a seven man rotation, the Tigers were one of the most entertaining teams in the nation. The team was shocked by Norfolk State in its first tournament game that year, marking the start of many issues facing Missouri.
In 2012, Haith and the Tigers were caught up in saga involving Michael Dixon, who was accused of sexually assaulted two females in separate incidents. Dixon was never charged for a crime, but was given his release. Dixon ended up in Memphis.
Even with the loss of Dixon, Missouri still featured Laurence Bowers, Alex Oriakhi and Phil Pressey to lead the way. The Tigers upset Florida at Mizzou Arena and took home a third straight Braggin’ Rights trophy against Illinois. However, the Tigers were shown the NCAA tournament door after its first game again, losing to Colorado State. Missouri finished 23-11 that year.
Not many knew what to expect from Frank Haith’s third season at MU. Missouri would count on a trio of scorers; Jordan Clarkson, Earnest Ross and Jabari Brown. However, with such a young front court, the Tigers counted on the trio for approximately three-quarters of their offensive output. MU got signature wins over UCLA and at NC State, but fell short to several lower-tier SEC schools. Missouri (23-12) missed out on the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2007-2008 season and went 1-1 in the NIT.
On April 18, 2014, Frank Haith sent a text message to his team and athletic director Mike Alden, saying he accepted a job with Tulsa. He becomes the latest head coach for the Golden Hurricane after Danny Manning left for Wake Forest. Haith finishes with a 76-28 record with Mizzou.
