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In what could be a huge loss for the Missouri Tigers for the 2010-2011 season, at least one person with inside knowledge of Missouri sports does not feel that Tony Mitchell will be a Tiger this upcoming season.

Find out who said what after the jump.

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Former Mizzou Tiger, Kareem Rush, must've spent time rehabbing his torn ACL in the studio. Listen to his new single.

Here's video of Mizzou incoming freshman Phil Pressey dunking over Mizzou incominf freshman Tony Mitchell at the TABC All-Star Game in San Antonio, TX.

At the start of the season, B12H.com ran a "Five Questions For..." segment asking the five most pressing questions of each team. In our continuing review of the season, here are the answers to those questions.

Five Questions For...Mizzou basketball

1)       How can Mizzou replace the loss of DeMarre Carroll, Leo Lyons and Matt Lawrence?

I'm not sure they truly replaced the senior leaders who departed. Kim English, Marcus Denmon and Laurence Bowers all averaged double digits, replacing those guy's scoring, but they didn't have the chemistry the Elite Eight team of the year before had.

2)       Can Mizzou sustain the momentum that led them to a Big 12 tournament championship and Elite Eight run last season?

Yes and no. At times they looked unstoppable, and at times they lost to Oral Roberts and Oklahoma. In college basketball there really isn't such a thing as multi-season momentum, but the Tigers did play some good ball, and the Elite Eight run was a great learning experience that probably netted them a few baskets here and there.

3)       Now that Coach Mike Anderson has a squad made up entirely of his recruits, can the "Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball" be even better?

Not so much. The talent wasn't there like it was the previous year, especially on the inside. It will be better in the future, but this year wasn't better than the previous year.

4)       Who will step up in the frontcourt for Mizzou? Steve Moore, Laurence Bowers, Keith Ramsey, Justin Safford?

Ramsey made the biggest leap from year one to year two. He was hitting free throws and scoring on the inside. Bowers improved his game also, and Saffords outside J was raining while he was healthy. Moore was thought to have taken the biggest leap, but he still looks to be a year away.

5)       Will this be the year Mizzou beats Illinois for the first time in 10 years in the "Busch Bragging Rights" game?

Much to the relief of Mizzou Nation, the Tigers finally beat the Illini in the heated (maybe soon-to-be conference) rivalry.

As an aside, the readers barely though that replacing the departed seniors was the most pressing issue for the 09-10 Tigers.

Now that the college basketball season is officially over, we're going to take a look back at each Big 12 school to discuss their season. The rundown will go in order of conference standing. See the complete schedule after The Jump.

What Went Right: Mizzou came into the season after an Elite Eight run in 2009. There were lots of question marks on the team after the loss of their top three scorers from the record-setting previous campaign. The Tigers started the season out on the wrong foot, with loses to Richmond, Vanderbilt and Oral Roberts, but got their mojo back by beating Illinois in the Braggin' Rights game for the first time in 10 years. Other than a loss to a struggling Oklahoma squad all games Mizzou lost in conference were to the 4 teams that finished ahead of them in the standings, showing that they grew up mid-season and were beating the teams they were supposed to beat.

What Went Wrong: The team was so topsy-turvy this season that you didn't know what to expect from them. A win over #2 in conference K-State followed by an overtime game to a lowly Texas Tech shows the Dr Jekyll-Mr Hyde persona that MU fans came to expect.

Team MVP: JT Tiller was amazing on the defensive end of the ball, but his game seemed to drop a touch from last season, so the MVP award goes to 3rd Team All Big 12er Kim English, who led the team in scoring at a 14 ppg clip.

Key Losses: Tiller, back court mate Zaire Taylor and rebounding specialist Keith Ramsey all graduate.

Outlook Next Year: The senior losses are tough to overcome, but their replacements are waiting in the wings. Marcus Denmon, Mike Dixon will take over for T&T, and I expect big things from Laurence Bowers and Justin Safford down low. I see the Tigers securing a top 4 slot in conference.

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That answers that.

Missouri teammates Kim English and Michael Dixon have been chosen the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for games of December 21-27 in voting by a panel of media covering the Conference.  It is the first career honor for both student-athletes.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kim English, Missouri, G, So., 6-6, 200, Baltimore, Md./Randallstown/Notre Dame Prep
English averaged 23.5 points to lead Missouri to victories over Illinois (81-68) and Austin Peay (94-79).  The sophomore guard started the week with 24 points and six rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting as the Tigers stopped a nine-game losing streak in the series with the Fighting Illini.  He followed with 23 points and four boards in the win over the Governors.  In two contests, he shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29), including 8-of-16 (.500) from beyond the arc.  He was also 7-of-10 from the free throw line, with two assists and four steals.  English has scored in double digits in 10 of his last 11 outings, including 20 points or more six times. 

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Michael Dixon, Missouri, G, Fr., 6-1, 175, Kansas City, Mo./Lee’s Summit West
Dixon also contributed strong efforts in both Mizzou wins.  The freshman guard began with a career-high 16 points versus Illinois’ guard trio, connecting on 6-of-13 shots from the floor.   He started his fourth straight game in the Austin Peay contest and added 12 points and four steals on 4-of-5 shooting.  In two outings last week, he averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 assists and 3.5 steals.  He shot 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the field and was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.  Dixon has reached double figures in six of his last seven games and has dished out 24 assists with just four turnovers during that stretch.

See past award winners after The Jump

via big12sports.org

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Evan Pfaff
Senior Editor
evan.pfaff@big12hoops.com 
Twitter @MizzouHoops