Kim English knows his Missouri Tigers lost their three leading scorers from last year's team. Gone are DeMarre Carroll, Leo Lyons and Matt Lawrence from a group that won 31 games and advanced to the Elite Eight.

He also points out that no one was giving those seniors – or his team – any credit until April.

"We were picked to finish seventh in the league, and we ended up finishing seventh in the country," English said. "I don’t mind sitting back and letting everyone sleep on us again."

English is one of the more engaging players in the country. There's been a serious gap since Joakim Noah and Glen Davis left college basketball in terms of personalities. Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), Willie Warren (Oklahoma) and Iman Shumpert (Georgia Tech) have a chance, but English could be that guy – if Missouri can remain a national player.

You need to follow him on twitter - twitter.com/Englishscope - while he's in a race with Missouri football player Sean Weatherpoon to get 2,000 followers. As of last check, the tally is 1,376 to 1,290 in favor of Weatherspoon.

"He started about 200 ahead of me, though," English laughs.

OK, back to basketball and the Tigers. English points to the fact that Missouri went on a key run to cut the lead to just one point in the Elite Eight loss to UConn with Carroll and Lyons on the bench.

"We have 10 of our 14 guys back," English said. "That's 10 guys who have been to the Elite Eight and 10 guys who are Big 12 champions. Our chemistry is great, and J.T. (Tiller) and Zaire (Taylor) have been amazing leaders in the summer."

English isn't just spouting out coach-speak, either.

He admits that at first he wasn't certain that Missouri was the right place for a Baltimore native, but he has fallen in love with the school, his teammates and the staff.

"I never thought, being a Baltimore guy, that I'd bleed black and gold," English said. "I'm a Big East and ACC guy to death, but I love it here."

English raves about incoming freshman point guard Mike Dixon, Jr.

"He's amazing," English said. "He fits our style and instinctively does all the things that Coach is going to love."

English said it takes a certain type of kid to come in and buy into the Missouri system.

"We're not going to get a lot of McDonald's All-Americans because they want to come in and play 40 minutes a game," English said. "The way we play, you can't play 40 minutes. Coach Anderson does a great job recruiting instinct guys who fit his style."

In fact, I'm not sure Missouri has a single top 100 player on its roster.

English jokes about the fact that he and Tiller were responsible for the rule change in college basketball in which now the opposing coach will select the player to shoot free throws if the shooter is unable to go to the foul line.

Remember, last March Tiller was injured in the waning moments of the NCAA tournament game against Marquette, and English came off the bench and knocked down a pair to give the Tigers the win.

"I say it's the J.T. Tiller Rule," English said. "I'll give it to him. He's a senior, and it never would have happened if he hadn't gotten to the rack and got fouled."

PAULUS NOT ALONE ON GRIDIRON

Greg Paulus isn't the only former college hoops player to give it a try on the gridiron.

As we mentioned earlier in the week, former Miami big man Jimmy Graham is trying to make the transition to tight end on the Hurricanes football team this season.

Also, ex-Arizona power forward Fendi Onobun told FOXSports.com that he was cleared by the NCAA to play this season at Houston (his hometown).

Onobun ran a 4.5 and also had a 38 ½ vertical in front of pro scouts. But no NFL teams brought him into camp, so he opted to give college football a shot for this season.

RANDOM NOTES: Former Clemson shooter Terrence Oglesby, who decided to leave school two years early to pursue opportunities overseas, signed with Naples in the first league in Italy. ... Burlington Ontario shooting guard Brady Heslip will visit Boston College unofficially today, according to a source.