Missouri is the Show-Me State. Nobody knows that better than Frank Haith.

From the moment the former University of Miami basketball coach took over at the University of Missouri last April, skeptical Tigers fans challenged Haith to show them the school hadn’t made a horrible mistake hiring a coach most of them had never heard of, and paying him $1.5 million a year. Show us, they demanded, why we should believe in a man who reached only one NCAA Tournament in seven years with the Hurricanes.

Haith’s hiring was so controversial a group of Missouri students considered staging a protest and advertised it as “a peaceful but adamant rejection of Frank Haith.” Dennis Harper, owner of a popular bar, told the Kansas City Star at the time: “I thought we were stepping up. It sounds like we’re stepping down.” And Missouri alumnus Tim Hyder said picking Haith after courting Purdue coach Matt Painter was “like going from a Mercedes to a Prius.”

Haith showed them. And then some. Apologies are pouring in from all over the state.

That Prius is now the toast of Mizzou after leading the Tigers to an 18-2 record and a No. 2 ranking in both polls this week — the team’s best start since 1981-82 and highest ranking in 22 years. Haith is being mentioned as a national Coach of the Year candidate.

“It’s a remarkable story of redemption, like a Disney movie,” said ESPN commentator Fran Fraschilla, who has called several of the Tigers’ games this season. “Frank was ridiculed, heard all the criticism surrounding his hiring, and the pending NCAA investigation in Miami. He had something to prove. Likewise, the returning players had something to prove. They had a very talented team that fizzled out last season.

“They bought into Frank, trusted him from Day One, learned to trust each other, and he turned them from a selfish team to a selfless team. It’s a magical story.”

‘I just did my job’

Haith insists he never let the criticism get under his skin, but he did worry about what his wife and two children were hearing. He said some of the emails he received were downright vile.

“I can’t worry about things I can’t control,” he said by phone this week. “I know everybody’s not happy when there’s a new coach, but I didn’t take it personal. I just did my job, and now people are coming up to me saying, ‘I’m sorry, I was one of those Tigers fans who didn’t want you, and now I’m eating crow.’ ”

He said what hurt him most was the implication that he didn’t do a good job at Miami. He made the postseason five times — four times in the NIT, once in the NCAA Tournament — and had 20-plus wins three of his past four seasons. He said he still has strong feelings for UM — so much so that he initially declined to be interviewed for this story because he didn’t want to hurt his former players’ feelings by showing off his new team. Haith kept his house in Miami and said it would always be a second home.

Haith inherited an abundance of talent from former coach Mike Anderson, who left for Arkansas. The Tigers reached the Elite Eight in 2009, made the past three NCAA Tournaments and were returning a group that included senior guards Marcus Denmon and Kim English, senior forwards Ricardo Ratliffe and Laurence Bowers, and sophomore point guard Phil Pressey.