Thought Notebook: Dorial Green’s athleticism in perspective, Rog’s state baseball competition and Keith Guttin’s political capital

Hanging out with the family over the extended weekend, here are a few thoughts that needed some extra Internet time. Thus, a Memorial Day Thought Notebook.

We now have a better grasp on how good of an athlete Dorial Green is

In case you missed it, the Hillcrest High School sophomore won two state track and field events this weekend — the 100-meter dash (11 seconds flat) and the triple jump (47 feet, 2 1/2 inches) — and finished second in the long jump (23 feet, 2 1/4 inches).

Dorial Green's athleticism on display. Photo courtesy of Patrick Dailey/Hillcrest Hornets

I’ll go ahead and admit it: Dorial Green is a better athlete than I thought.

Now, that’s not to demean the Hillcrest phenom, nor insult my own intelligence. We’re just not used to seeing world class — yes, as in “best in the country” — athleticism. We all know Green is going to have dozens of football scholarship offers and he’s going to get to choose where he wants to play, but all we have had to rely on for our evaluations is stats and our eyeballs. Now we have state-regulated stopwatches and rulers to use.

It was a heck of a sophomore year for Green, the 6-foot-6, 210-pound wide receiver/center/sprinter/jumper who might eventually lay claim to status as the best athlete to ever emerge from the Ozarks.

Think that’s hyperbole? Check out his 2009-10 school year:

• In football, he was an unmatched all-state wide receiver who had 66 receptions for 1,616 yards and 23 TDs, helping Hillcrest make the high school football playoffs for just the third time and first since 2003.
• In basketball, he was a first-team All-Ozarks player who helped the Hornets win the school’s second state championship. He averaged 18.7 points per game.
• In track and field, he won state championships in the 100-meters (11.0 seconds) and the high jump (23-2.5) and finished second in the long jump (23-2.25).

Those last number give us some context. Everyone loves stats. I love stats. But, let’s be honest, high school stats  aren’t the most sophisticated numbers or fair barometer, but stopwatches and rulers don’t lie. And with that, let’s have some fun with them.

Various reports of Green’s 40-yard dash times exist, but in reality, the 100 is 2 1/2 40-meter dashes, right? 11 divided by 2.5 is 4.4. According to the NFL Draft Combine, a 4.4 40 would place Green at No. 2 amongst all wide receivers behind Clemson’s Jacoby Ford’s 4.28. (For a broad TV comparable, Notre Dame’s Golden Tate ran a 4.42.) Actually, a 4.4 would tie Green with Pittsburgh’s Dorin Dickerson for fifth amongst all of those at the NFL Combine.

Now, I’m not naive enough to think you can simply divide a 100 time evenly and produce a 40 time, but I’m also not smart enough to mathematically figure out the splits of a 100 time. However, this guy is, and if you want to get precise with Green’s time, you can play around with the link.

Still, the point is that not only can Green dominate all of our local talent, he has world class athleticism to go with his grown-man frame. Everyone loves Grant Wistrom, but was he world class coming out of Webb City? No. Green is.

Don’t be surprised when official scholarship offers roll in. Yes, he still has two more years of high school and he’s far from having to make a decision, but his Rivals.com page has him already having a football scholarship offer from USC. That’s going to be the rule, not the exception with him. I’d advise you to try to watch as many games as possible. That way after he rips off some ridiculous 40 time at the 2015 or 2016 NFL Combine, you can say you watched him as a 17-year-old.

On a side note, Green will likely be at today’s Mizzou football camp that will be held at Parkview High School. Maybe we will get an official 40 time then.

Editor’s note: Green did not attend the Mizzou camp today according to KSPR 33′s Mike Scott. Scott said Mizzou offensive coordinator David Yost said Green was recovering from his weekend at state track. Also, Scott said Mizzou has verbally offered a scholarship to Green.

Rogersville baseball to face future Mizzou pitcher in state semifinal

Not that Rogersville would expect anything less, but in the Wildcats’ first state baseball appearance, they’ll likely face the best pitcher they’ve seen all season.

DuBourg's Matt Linderer

That’s where Matt Linderer comes in.

While Bishop DuBourg, a St. Louis-area private school, is also making its state baseball debut, Linderer is a big reason why. The right-handed pitcher has already signed with Mizzou and will be one of the best pitchers at Meador Park for this week’s state baseball tournament.

In his senior season, he is 7-1 with a 1.33 ERA over 63 1/3 innings, striking out 80 and walking 22. He is 6-2 and 180 pounds, which some say might be a generous weight. Still, he has been clocked at 88 mph with his fastball. Here is what Perfect Game USA has to say about Linderer:

Matthew Linderer is a 2010 RHP/IF with a 6’2”, 178 lb. frame from St. Louis, MO who attends Bishop DuBourg HS. Slender build, young look. Big arm swing delivery, low hands, arm circle is loose and smooth, extended 3/4′s release point, throws under control with minimum effort. Consistent mid 80′s fastball, have seen 88 mph in the past, good late boring action, hitter’s consistently late on FB. CB flashes good size/shape, inconsistent release point, split change gets occ tumble. Primary FB pitcher, spots FB to outside corner for both RHH/LHH’ers. Good student, signed with Missouri.

Uh-oh.

According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch freelance superstar Nate Latsch, Linderer will start Friday’s 4 p.m. Class 3 semifinal against Rogersville. Can’t make the game? Don’t worry, TAGsgf.com will be there dusting off the Live Blog which will bring you live updates, commentary and context.

MSU baseball coach Keith Guttin

What should Missouri State do with Keith Guttin?

This is not a kneejerk reaction in any way, but now that Missouri State’s miserable baseball season has mercifully come to an end, what should the school do about long time coach Keith Guttin?

The Bears finished 21-34 overall and a dead-last 6-15 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Yes, the Bears won the MVC last season, but didn’t make the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive season. The last NCAA appearance for the Bears was the 2003 College World Series team.

Guttin has had a marvelous career. In his 28 seasons, he is 959-607 (.612) with two MVC Tournament titles, 1 CWS appearance and seven NCAA appearances. He’s the only coach MSU has known as a Division I program.

Still, a look at the last decade provides some context.

• Year, Overall record, MVC record, MVC finish
• 2000, 24-33, 15-17, 5th (tie)
• 2001, 36-22, 22-10, 1st
• 2002, 43-21, 19-13, 3rd
• 2003, 40-26, 19-11, 1st
• 2004, 31-28, 19-12, 3rd
• 2005, 26-29, 10-14, 5th (tie)
• 2006, 33-22, 15-8, 2nd
• 2007, 23-24, 7-17, 8th (tie for last)
• 2008, 40-17, 18-6, 2nd
• 2009, 34-20, 17-5, 1st
• 2010, 21-34, 6-15, 8th (last)
• Entire decade: 351-286 (.551) overall, 167-128 (.566) MVC

Any observation with Guttin isn’t as obvious as looking at wins and losses. Still, would you be happy with a winning record most seasons and the occasional first-place finish in the conference? If so, that’s what Guttin’s stats looks like. He produces MLB players, and he and pitching coach Paul Evans have produced more than a handful of MLB pitchers. I guess it depends on what you want out of your program.

There isn’t evidence that this year is the sign of things to come. The last time this happened (in 2007), the Bears rebounded and finished second with 40 total wins. Still, the bigger issue is the NCAA Tournament. It’s been a while since that magical 2003 College World Series run. Did it give Guttin enough political capital to let him decide when it’s time to quit? We will see how MSU AD Kyle Moats reacts.

Guttin is well respected and has always been fair to me. I feel he deserves the benefit of the doubt, especially because of the way he’s been able to bounce back. But another year like this one— which was the worst of the decade — and those wanting change might get their wish, and we might not be able to disagree with them.

Some other quick observations

I watched a fair amount of baseball on TV over the long weekend and after watching both Kansas City Royals righthander Luke Hochevar and St. Louis Cardinals righty (and former SGF Card) Adam Ottavino, I felt like I was watching a carbon copy. That’s obviously good news for Cards fans and bad for Royals fans. The No. 1 overall pick in 2006, Hochevar still isn’t consistent enough and he got pounded by an underachieving Angels team Monday. Like Hochever, Ottavino showed flashes of brilliance on Saturday against the Cubs, but they were undone by poor location in pressure spots. Still, did anyone think Ottavino could provide a near-MLB quality start (5 2/3 innings, 3 ER) — ever? I didn’t. He might get another start either Friday or Saturday … Colorado Rockies righty Ubaldo Jimenez (who pitched for Tulsa at Hammons Field back in the day) is incredible, but did manager Jim Tracy really have to leave him out there for 129 pitches? The game was already sewn up and closer Manny Corpas was ready. Tracy is playing with fire. Just ask Dusty Baker about Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. I know I’m on the uber-conservative side of arm injuries and maybe Jimenez finally has grown-man arm strength, but why would you risk grinding up the best pitcher in baseball? … NBA Finals pick: Lakers in 7. … Be good.