MU's LAST TIME OUT: SW MISSOURI 72, MU 69
Nov. 18, 1998 -- Columbia, Mo. (Chase NIT)
Kevin Ault scored 20 points last Wednesday as Southwest Missouri State beat Missouri 72-69 in the opening round of the preseason NIT and broke the Tigers' 28-year winning streak against other Missouri schools. The Tigers hadn't lost to an in-state opponent since Dec. 8, 1970, when they were beaten 79-70 by St. Louis. The Bears went up 70-68 when Ken Stringer hit two free throws with 1:55 remaining. Missouri, which trailed 49-38 with just over 18 minutes left, fought back behind 14 second-half points from forward Albert White and tied the game at 68 with 2:38 on two free throws by Johnnie Parker. Parker's free throws followed eight straight points by White. White's 18 points and 11 rebounds led Missouri, which missed two 3-point tries in the final 4 seconds. Southwest Missouri, which went on a 7-0 run to start the second half, took an 11-2 lead early in the game. Missouri, sparked by Brian Grawer and freshman Kenyon Dooling, fought back and took 21-20 lead just before the midpoint of the first half. Grawer hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points in a 12-2 run, and Dooling - who had not been expected to play because of a hip injury - started the surge with a pair of free throws and a breakaway dunk.

SMSU (72) FG 3PT FT RB A PF TP
Stringer - f 2-3 0-0 3-4 3 2 4 7
Bruton - f 1-3 0-0 5-6 6 1 3 7
Moore - c 6-15 0-0 4-5 6 1 3 16
Fontleroy - g 6-11 1-1 5-7 6 4 2 18
Ault - g 7-14 4-7 2-2 2 2 1 20
Miller 0-0 0-0 2-2 1 0 1 2
Bettenhausen 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Brakebill 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 2
Tshomba 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Rueter 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0
Totals 23-48 5-8 21-26 30 11 16 72

MU (69) FG 3PT FT RB A PF TP
Parker - f 3-6 0-1 2-2 7 2 4 8
White - f 8-16 0-1 2-4 11 2 3 18
Hardge - c 3-6 0-0 4-7 4 0 5 10
Grawer - g 6-12 4-9 0-0 3 3 2 16
Woods - g 0-5 0-3 0-0 1 0 0 0
Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Dooling 5-8 0-3 3-5 1 4 2 13
Hafer 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 0 2 2
Schumacher 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 4 2
Totals 27-56 4-18 11-18 33 12 22 69

SW Missouri State 42 30 - 72
Missouri 38 31 - 69

Officials: Hall, Danner, Spaulding
Attendance: 5,176

MU HEAD COACH NORM STEWART
One of college basketball's most successful coaches and colorful characters is Missouri's Favorite Son, Norm Stewart. Stewart, voted by the Associated Press and the Kansas City Star as the all-time Big Eight Conference coach, is the third winningest active coach and eighth all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I annals.

The 1998-99 campaign is Stewart's 32nd at the helm of the Tigers, and his 38th overall. With every win, he further solidifies himself as one of the most successful mentors ever. At MU, he has a record of 615-325, while overall hes 712-367.

During the Tigers 1997-98 season, he recorded both his 600th win at Missouri and his 700th career victory.

He began the 98-99 season as the third winningest active coach in Division I (behind Mount St. Marys James Phelan and Indianas Bob Knight) with 711 career victories. His current win total of 712 is also good for eighth all-time.

Stewart is one of 19 coaches in NCAA history to win 600 games, and one of just 17 whove won 500 or more games at one Division I school. Three years ago, he became just the 10th coach in NCAA history to coach in 1,000 games, and passed legendary Kansas coach Phog Allen on the longevity list. Stewart has now coached in 1,079 games to rank 5th in NCAA history.

Hes been involved as a player, assistant or head coach with 1,100 of the 2,124 games that have been played in Missouri basketball history meaning that he has had a role in more than 50 percent of Mizzous basketball history.

The 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons have to rank as two of the most gratifying campaigns in Stewart's long tenure. First, the 1993-94 Tigers went undefeated through the Big Eight Conference, notching Stewart's eighth conference championship, then went on to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament while posting a 28-4 record.

Appropriately, Stewart earned national coach-of-the-year honors from six different organizations, including both the Associated Press and United Press International.

STEWART NAMED MISSOURI CITIZEN OF THE YEAR BY MARCH OF DIMES
Missouri head coach Norm Stewart, who has been so instrumental in fundraising efforts both statewide and nationwide to fight cancer, has been named the 1998 Missouri Citizen of the Year by the March of Dimes.

Stewart, who is the third winningest active coach and the eighth all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I history, was honored at a black tie affair on Thurs., Nov. 12 at the Reynolds Alumni Center on the MU campus. NBC broadcaster, and long-time friend Bob Costas was the keynote speaker at the affair.

I consider it a distinct honor to represent this group, Stewart said. I hope my visibility might create awareness for such a great cause. Stewart will act as a figurehead for the March of Dimes cause, which is to help prevent birth defects and infant mortality.

HE'S WHITE HOT
Junior forward ALBERT WHITE has gotten off to a fast start this season, showing in the early going that hes completely healthy after off-season surgery to clean up bone chips in both his ankles -- injuries which nagged him all of last season.

White is coming off his first double-double of the young season, as he scored 18 points and added 11 rebounds against Southwest Missouri State last Wednesday. In the game, White was held to four points in the first half, but took over later in the second stanza, scoring 14 points, including one stretch where he scored eight straight points for MU.

He's averaging 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds entering the Austin Peay game, and is shooting 51.5 percent from the floor (17-of-33). In MU's season opener vs. Jackson State, White scored a game-high 22 points (just one off his career high), and also added a game-high nine rebounds. He added three assists, one block and one steal in the process. He was 9-of-17 on the night, including 2-of-3 from three-point range.

The former McDonald's and Parade first-team all-American averaged 10.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last year for the Tigers, despite being hampered by his pair of gimpy ankles.

DOOLING LEAVES 'EM DROOLING
Freshman guard KEYON DOOLING came to Missouri as one of the most highly-touted recruits in a long time. And judging from his first two appearances as a Tiger, all of those accolades were right on the mark.

Dooling has come off the bench in MU's two games, and has averaged 12.5 points and 5.0 assists per game.

He played 32 minutes last Wednesday vs. Southwest Missouri State, despite being in obvious pain from a strained right hip MU'scle, an injury he suffered last Monday in practice.

Against the Bears, Dooling sparked MU to a comeback after the Tigers had fallen behind, 11-2 in the early going. He had four steals on the night, including one in which he scored on a reverse dunk. Dooling also had another dunk on a pretty alley-oop play, with the pass coming from Brian Grawer.

Through two games, Dooling is shooting a solid 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the floor, and is second on the team with seven steals.

A third-team Parade All-American last year out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., lived up to his billing as one of the top 20 recruits in the nation, as he tallied 12 points and added a game-high six assists in 27 minutes of play in MU's season-opener vs. Jackson State. He also threw in three rebounds, three steals and a team-high two blocked shots just for good measure.

Dooling hit 3-of-6 shots from the floor, including his first career three pointer, and clearly sparked MU's intensity on the defensive end. His ability to penetrate and create on the offensive end also played a big role in MU's success.

Dooling was tabbed the preseason Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year by both the league coaches and media. If he would go on to win the award, he would be the first Tiger since Kelly Thames won the Big Eight equivalent in 1994.

GRAWER KEEPS HITTING
Sophomore guard BRIAN GRAWER was one of the Big 12s top three-point shooters last season (hitting at a 45.6 percent rate), and hes picking up right where he left off last season.

Grawer tied a career-high with 16 points in Wednesdays game vs. Southwest Missouri State, and hit 4-of-9 three pointers in the process. He enters the Austin Peay game with a 54.5 percent success rate from three-point range (6-of-11). The St. Louis native also has six assists with just one turnover, and has a team-best nine steals.

Grawer scored eight points in MU's season opener vs. Jackson State, as he connected on all three field goal attempts, including 2-of-2 from three-point range.

Grawer also netted a career-high six steals in the game, and added three rebounds and three assists, with no turnovers in 25 minutes of play. Grawers three-point percentage of 45.6 last season was the fifth-best single-season mark in MU history.

TIGERS ON THE MARK OFFENSIVELY
After shooting just 42.3 percent from the floor as a team last season (the lowest team mark for MU in Norm Stewart's history, and the lowest at MU since a 37.0 percentage in 1966-67), Missouri has shown in its two games that it plans on being a good shooting team this year.

In MU's 87-46 win over Jackson State, Mizzou connected on 52.3 percent of its field goals (34-of-65), including a sterling 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range.

Last season, in 32 games, the Tigers managed to shoot 50 percent or better just five times (MU went 3-2 in those games).

Having good shooters certainly has a lot to do with it, but working to get the good shot also plays a factor, as all basketball people know. And the Tigers appear, through the early going, to be a good-passing unit. MU had 18 assists in the opener vs. Jackson State, and averaged 22.0 assists per game in its two exhibition games.

Through two games, the Tigers are averaging 50.4 percent from the floor as a team.

THE FULL MONTE
Senior center MONTE HARDGE, a member of the Big 12s all-improved team last season, got his final campaign off to a good start.

The 6-foot-11 physical specimen is averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game through two contests. He has worked hard to improve on his shooting touch around the basket, and the work has paid off in the early going. After connecting on just 42.9 percent of his FGs last season, Hardge is connecting at a 61.5 percent rate from the floor (8-of-13).

Hardge scored 10 points last Wednesday vs. Southwest Missouri State, before fouling out with 7:07 left in the second half. Hardge tallied 12 points and added eight rebounds in MU's opener vs. Jackson State.

Hardge, whos name by no coincidence rhymes with large, scored six of MU's first eight points vs. JSU, as the Tigers continually fed him down low. Hardge, at 6-foot-11 and 335 pounds, used his considerable power to work Jackson State center Vincent Jones (6-foot-11 and just 205 pounds) into scoring position.

TIGERS PICKED THIRD IN BIG 12 BY LEAGUE MENTORS
Hopes are high in Columbia, Mo., as the season is underway for the 1998-99 basketball Tigers. And, according to Big 12 Conference coaches, the hopes raised by Tiger fans are justified, as the Big 12 Coaches pre-season poll picked MU third in the league, behind only Oklahoma State (#1) and Kansas (#2).

Missouri finished an even 8-8 in league play last year (17-15 overall), and tied for 5th in the standings. MU's Big 12 mark included an odd, if not symmetrical, 8-0 record at home and 0-8 on the road.

No Tiger individuals received enough votes to garner mention on the coaches all-Big 12 preseason team, but junior forward Albert White is listed among the honorable mention.

Tiger freshman Keyon Dooling received enough votes to be tabbed the leagues Preseason Freshman-of-the-Year. The 6-foot-3 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., native was a third-team Parade All-American last year, after averaging 22 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals a game for Dillard High School.

Dooling is the third Tiger in as many years to receive preseason individual honors from league coaches. In 1996, Tyron Lee was voted league Preseason Newcomer-of-the-Year, and in 1997, Albert White was tagged with the same label.

The recently-released Big 12 Media Poll listed the Tigers finishing fourth in the league, behind OSU, KU and Oklahoma.

The media poll concurred with the coaches assessment that Keyon Dooling is the pre-season freshman-of-the-year. Albert White also recieved votes for the all-league first team.

WE MAY BE SMALL, BUT WERE SLOW
Well, that old adage might be only half true for Missouri this season. The 1998-99 version of the Missouri Tigers isnt exactly mammoth in size, but MU should prove to be a rather quick, explosive team that can play the full 92 feet of the court.

Despite having only two players on the roster over 6-foot-7 inches in height (Monte Hardge and Pat Schumacher, both 6-feet-11), the Tigers have tested out as one of the strongest in team history.

When the Tigers concluded their pre-season strength testing, MU strength and conditioning coach Bob Jones labeled the Tigers one of the best hes seen.

This is one of the most hard-working teams Ive been around, said Jones, who is in his 10th year at MU. They compare favorably to the 94 team (which went undefeated in Big Eight play) in terms of strength and work ethic. Its a good group, he said.

Sophomore guard Brian Grawer was one of the leaders in testing, as he proved to be the strongest Tiger pound-for-pound. The St. Louis native, who weighs just 169 pounds, bench pressed 280, up from 225 a year ago. He also increased his vertical jump by three inches, to 30 inches, and led MU in all five conditioning tests.

Other impressive numbers included senior guard John Woods, who set a team record with 620 pounds lifted in the squat lift, breaking the old mark of 605 pounds set last year by Dibi Ray. Freshman guard Clarence Gilbert squatted 500 pounds, which is a team freshman record.

Fellow freshman Keyon Dooling has the teams biggest vertical leap, at 33.5 inches. Standing just 6-foot-3, he can reach an impressive 11-foot-6 with a one-step jump.

The teams body fat percentage is down to 7.3 percent, the lowest since the figure has been recorded beginning in 1990. Sophomores Johnnie Parker and Brian Grawer lead the way, with identical figures of just 4.2 percent.

MU TV SCHEDULE UPDATED
Since the publishing of the MU media guide, the Tigers television schedule has change slightly. The changes benefit MU fans, however, as two more games were picked up by the Mizzou Sports Network.

Added to the tube were MU's Big 12 Conference opener against Nebraska, on Jan. 2nd. Also added to the slate is MU's final home game, on Feb. 24th against Iowa State.

The additions to the Tiger's schedule means that all but six games (five non-conference, and one Big 12 game) will be shown on TV this year. The schedule located on page one of this release is updated to reflect MU's television schedule.

CHECK YOUR SCORECARD
The 1998-99 Missouri Basketball Media Guide is already outdated, as the Tigers have added a new member of the team to the roster.

Not included in the media guide is KENGE STEVENSON (pronounced KEN-jee), who walked on to the Tiger squad this week. Stevenson is a 6-foot-5 guard/forward who hails from Ladue, Mo. He attended a prep school last year, but is listed as a freshman. His jersey number is No. 3.

Stevenson missed MU's game last Wednesday vs. Southwest Missouri State, due to the death of his father, Sylvester Stevenson.

CHECK YOUR SCORECARD
A pair of teammates from Meridian Community College in Meridian, Miss. has signed national-letters-of-intent to attend the University of Missouri, MU Head Coach Norm Stewart announced today.

TAJUDEEN (TODDGE-ew-dean) SOYOYE, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound power forward, will lend his considerable talents to the Tiger program beginning next year. Soyoye (pronounced SOY-oy-aay) was named a fifth-team pre-season junior college all-American by Street & Smith this year, after averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds per game during the 1997-98 season. He helped lead MCC to a school-best 22-8 record last season, and has the Eagles currently ranked 5th in the nation among junior college teams, according to College Basketball. Soyoye is a native of Lagos, Nigeria, and is a Phi Beta Kappa student. His best performance last year was a 26-point, 18-rebound game against Delgado Community College.

Joining Soyoye in a Tiger uniform next year will be fellow big man NYAH (n-EYE-uh) JONES, a 6-foot-11, 230-pound center. Jones is a native of Montreal, Ontario, and attended Duquesne University out of high school, after prepping at Central Hower High School, in Akron, Ohio. He redshirted at Duquesne during the 1996-97 season, and played in 16 games in 1997-98, before breaking his foot. Prior to the injury, he averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, and had career-highs of 14 points and six rebounds in his first game as a collegian, against Southwest Missouri State. Jones then transferred to Meridian, where he is currently a sophomore in eligibility.

Meridian Community College is the same school that has produced former UNLV and NBA star Larry Johnson, as well as former Arkansas and NBA star Alvin Robertson. The head coach at Meridian is Dennis Helms.

We feel these are two quality people who will come in and help us be a bigger, stronger team, said MU Head Coach Norm Stewart. One area we know well need help in is size, and both Tajudeen and Nyah will certainly help there, he said. They should be nice additions to our ballclub.

The early signing period ran from Nov. 11-18. The late signing period runs from April 7, 1999 through May 15, 1999.

TALE OF THE TAPE

 MU APSU
 1-1 Overall Record 1-1
 L 1 Current Win-Loss Streak W 1
 .504 Field Goal Percentage .468
 .375 Opponent FG Percentage .541
 .344 3-PT FG Percentage .436
 .345 Opp 3-PT FG Percentage 290
 5.5 3-PT FGs Made Per Game 8.5
 16.0 3-PT FGs Att Per Game 19.5
 .535 Free Throw Percentage .647
 39.0 Rebound Average 29.5
 +5.5 Rebound Margin -5.0
 18.0 Turnovers Per Game 19.0
 24.0 Opp Turnovers Per Game 20.0
 78.0 Points Per Game 76.0
 59.0 Opp Points Per Game 79.0
+19.0 Average Margin -3.0
 

UPDATED MIZZOU NUMERICAL ROSTER

NO. NAME POS. HT. WT. YR. HOMETOWN (High School/JUCO) 
 3 Kenge Stevenson F 6-5 200 Fr. Ladue, Mo. (High) 
 4 Clarence Gilbert G 6-2 180 Fr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Dillard)
 5 Keyon Dooling G 6-3 180 Fr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Dillard)
11 Mark Wampler* G/F 6-5 195 Jr. Savannah, Mo. (High)
12 Brian Grawer* G 6-0 166 So. St. Louis, Mo. (Pattonville)
24 Jeff Hafer** F 6-5 215 Jr. Joplin, Mo. (High)
31 Johnnie Parker* G/F 6-6 220 So. St. Louis, Mo. (Webster Groves)
32 John Woods* G 6-3 202 Sr. McKinney, Texas (High/Connors St. JC) 
44 Albert White* G/F 6-5 238 Jr. Inkster, Mich. (High/Michigan)
52 Matt Rowan F 6-7 230 Fr. Liberty, Mo. (High)
53 Monte Hardge** C 6-11 335 Sr. Jefferson City, Mo. (High)
54 Pat Schumacher C 6-11 250 Fr. St. Louis, Mo. (Hazelwood Central)

NOTE- Stevenson joined the team as a walk-on in October.

Hafer sprained his left ankle last week in MU's NIT game vs. Southwest Missouri State. He played only 15 minutes before suffering the injury early in the second half.

Dooling suffered a strained right hip MU'scle in practice last Monday, but played 32 minutes against SW Missouri on Wednesday, despite playing in obvious discomfort.

Neither Hafer nor Dooling were able to practice on Friday, but Tiger coaches are still holding out hope that they can go vs. Austin Peay.

WINNINGEST ACTIVE DIVISION I COACHES [by wins]

COACH,SCHOOL YRS. W-L
James Phelan, Mt. St. Marys 44 785-428
Bob Knight, Indiana 33 719-269
NORM STEWART, MU 37 712-367
Don Haskins, UTEP 37 703-340
Lefty Driesell, J. Madison 36 694-351
Jerry Tarkanian, Fresno St. 27 685-156
Denny Crum, Louisville 27 625-255

WINNINGEST ALL-TIME DIVISION I COACHES [by wins]

COACH,SCHOOL YRS. W
Dean Smith 36 879
Adolph Rupp 41 876
Henry Iba 41 767
Ed Diddle 42 759
Phog Allen 48 746
Ray Meyer 42 724
Bob Knight 33 719
NORM STEWART 37 712
Don Haskins 37 703
Lefty Driesell 36 694
John Wooden 29 664

BY THE NUMBERS...

23-0
That is MU's alltime record vs. teams from the Ohio Valley Conference.

4
The number of St. Louis area natives on the current Tiger roster -- Brian Grawer, Johnnie Parker, Pat Schumacher and Kenge Stevenson

5
Thats the number of times in 32 games last season that MU shot 50 percent or better from the floor. MU already has one such performance this season, as the Tigers hit for a 52.3 percent rate in Fridays win over Jackson St.

11-foot-6
Thats how high 6-foot-3 freshman Keyon Dooling can reach with a one-step jump.

31
The number of turnovers MU forced in its season-opening 87-46 win over Jackson State, Friday, Nov. 13th.

44
The number of U.S. states from which MU Head Coach Norm Stewart has beaten a team. The only states he hasnt defeated include: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Vermont.

57
The number of head coaches that have come and gone at other Big 12 schools since Norm Stewart took over at Missouri in 1967-68.

620
Thats the number of pounds senior guard John Woods can squat -- that represents an MU Basketball record!

Missouri's RECORD BREAKDOWN

Overall: 1-1
In Tournaments: 0-1
Non-Conference: 1-1
Big 12 Conference: 0-0
vs. Big 12 North: 0-0
vs. Big 12 South: 0-0
at Home: 1-1
on the Road: 0-0
at Neutral Sites: 0-0
vs. Ranked Teams: 0-0
in November: 1-1
in December: 0-0
in January: 0-0
in February: 0-0
in March: 0-0
on Monday: 0-0
on Tuesday: 0-0
on Wednesday: 0-1
on Friday: 1-0
on Saturday: 0-0
on Sunday: 0-0
Games decided by 10 or less: 0-1
Games decided by 5 or less: 0-1
in Overtime games: 0-0
on CBS: 0-0
on ESPN: 0-0
on Mizzou Sports Network: 0-0
on Big 12 TV: 0-0
on ABC: 0-0

MISSOURI'S RECORD WHEN:

MU shoots at least 50% from the field: 1-0
MU shoots below 50% from the field: 0-1
MU has rebound advantage: 1-1
MU has same rebounds as Opp.: 0-0
MU outshoots Opp. from the field: 1-1
Opp. outshoots MU from the field: 0-0
MU shoots more FTs than opponent: 1-0
Opp. shoots more FTs than MU: 0-1
MU bench outscores Opp. bench: 1-1
Opp. bench outscores MU bench: 0-0
MU has fewer turnovers than Opp.: 1-0
MU has more turnovers than Opp.: 0-0
MU has same turnovers as Opp.: 0-1
MU leads at halftime: 1-0
Opp. leads at halftime: 0-1
Teams are tied at halftime: 0-0
MU holds Opp. to below 80 points: 1-1
MU holds Opp. to below 70 points: 1-0
MU holds Opp. to below 60 points: 1-0
Opp. holds MU to below 80 points: 0-1
Opp. holds MU to below 70 points: 0-1
Opp. holds MU to below 60 points: 0-0