English is his Last Name, Ballin’ his Degree.

Photo compliments of @Englishscope24

A leader. What ship would stay afloat without its captain? How would America work without a president? How will Mizzou survive without Kim English? And the rest of the senior class for that matter.

The University of Missouri’s basketball team graduated eight seniors this season. Among them, four starters, three of them four year players for Mizzou, and all of them valuable assets to the team. Marcus Denmon with 1,740 points. Steeeeeve Moore who in this season had more points, rebounds, blocks, steals and assist than any other year with the Tigers. Or even Jarrett Sutton, who by far will always have the loudest cheering section when entering a game. All had their own impact on the team, but maybe none as valuable as Kim English.

In the 2009-2010 season, this sophomore from Baltimore became recognizable. He was Big 12 player of the week, third team all Big 12 and a star on the rise under the watchful eye of head coach Mike Anderson. Suddenly as his junior year began, the target on English’s back become too much to handle. Much how Atlas struggles to hold the world on his shoulders, Kim battled to carry a Tiger team. A favored Tiger just one season instantly turned to the one no one wanted to take the last shot. Kim barely shot over 35% from the field and lead the team in one category, turnovers.

As if English needed anything else to worry about as he began his final year with Missouri he was under control of a new coach, Frank Haith, his counter-part senior leader Lawrence Bowers was out with a season ending knee injury and Kimmy had just been knocked from the college USA team. Kim’s last name might as well have been Murphy’s Law.

Instead of accepting defeat and taking a spot on the bench, Kim took this summer as a rebuilding year. His own worst critique, Kim’s determination to never let his team down is what carried him. Practiced everyday in his team USA T-shirt. Put on fifteen pounds of pure muscle. Suddenly this under-sized power-forward was a threat again. Even at 6’6’’ he held Thomas Robinson to six points  his first half at Mizzou arena and brought the Tigers to an overall 30-4 record for the 2011-2012 season, including an excellent parting gift of a Big 12 Title.

But it wasn’t Kim’s highest field goal percent or personal best in the points statistic that made this 11 seed team a possible number one. It was his voice. Unfortunately for English, there’s no stat for that, if there was he’d be leading the NCAA. English is the father of the Tigers. No not the big brother, not just the senior leader, but the father. No one cares about the team as much as this player and that shows when he stays at practice to shoot free throws or as mid-game he will give Flip the advice he needs or helps Moore up from a charge.

I think I speak for the entire University of Missouri when I say this senior class means so much to me. A game without Steve’s hustle, without Denmon’s three, without Jarrett being Jarrett, just doesn’t seem like Missouri. But the face of Missouri basketball, Kim, no longer being in black and gold? The greatest leader I have ever seen on a college basketball no longer with his team. The senior class and Kim will be greatly missed, after all English is his last name, ballin’s his degree.