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St. Louis mayor gives Missouri coach Frank Haith a key to the city

NCAA Basketball Tournament - Practice Round - Omaha

OMAHA, NE - MARCH 15: Head coach Frank Haith of the Missouri Tigers addresses the media during a press conference prior to the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at CenturyLink Center on March 15, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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The City of St. Louis has announced that Missouri head coach Frank Haith will receive an honorary key to the city from Mayor Francis Slay Thursday morning at 10 a.m.

This comes after a season in which Haith led the Tigers to a 30-5 record, before being eliminated by 15th-seeded Norfolk State in the Round of 64 of the NCAA tournament.

Considering the resistence with which Haith’s hiring was met, was it impressive? Absolutely. But, as Chad Garrison as the Riverfront Times points out, how is Rick Majerus feeling right now?

Majerus led the St. Louis Billikens to a 26-8 record this past year and the Round of 32, before losing narrowly to top-seeded Michigan State.

Where’s his key? I guess he’ll have to wait.

Missouri is looking to make another run next season in 2012-13, as they bring in one-year Connecticut transfer Alex Oriakhi to solidify the middle.

But, the Tigers will have to overcome the loss of guards Marcus Denmon and Kim English, as well as big man Ricardo Ratliffe.

Their recruiting class is a large one—seven players in total—led by Canadian native Stefan Jankovic.

As a side note, a little research shows that the city of St. Louis is a big fan of handing out keys to Missouri head coaches. In 2009, Slay presented then-coach Mike Anderson with a key to the city, as well.

Check out that video here.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_