Mizzou Tiger Talk with Gary Pinkel, Markus Golden, and Marcus Murphy

Mizzou Tiger Talk was full of interesting conversation this week.

Recently Coach Gary Pinkel’s former coach and mentor Don James, who coached at both Kent State and the University of Washington, passed away.

At the Coach James’ memorial service, Pinkel ran into old players from the Washington team he coached. It had been more than 25 years since he had seen them last. A lot happens in that amount of time, including those players having kids going off to college and them entering a stage of life a lot athletes don’t think about while they are so young playing.

Pinkel was stoked to see his old team again to reflect on times had with Coach James.

“He was an organizational genius,” Pinkel said. “I was very lucky.”

Also, junior tailback Marcus Murphy and junior defensive lineman Markus Golden talked about the team. They elaborated on what it takes to be good teammates and the way the team bonds.

The things a team does to bond can be so simple but so effective. Whether it’s playing videogames, watching movies or listening to music, the things the Mizzou Tigers do to increase their chemistry and family love for one another has proven to be helpful for all involved both on and off the field.