Jan. 20, 2000
COLUMBIA, Mo. - One of the nation's fiercest rivalries resumes this Saturday in Columbia, Mo., as the Missouri Tigers (10-6 overall, 3-1 in Big 12 Conference play) host the 7th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks (15-2, 4-0) at 12:00 p.m. ABC-TV will televise the contest to a national audience.
Through the first quarter of the conference season, Mizzou finds itself just one game off the league lead. The Tigers have won three straight since dropping their conference opener at Iowa State.
Kansas, winners of seven straight games, is perched atop the Big 12 standings, along with Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
Game #17 - #7 Kansas (15-2, 4-0) at Missouri (10-6, 3-1)
Jan. 22, 2000 - Columbia, Mo.
TIPOFF: 12:00 p.m. (central).
ARENA: Hearnes Center (13,300). Opened in 1972. MU is 351-60 alltime at Hearnes.
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Carried on more than 50 stations statewide, and on the Internet at www.mutigers.com.
TV: ABC. Ron Franklin, play-by-play, Jon Sundvold, color.
RANKINGS: AP: KU (7)/MU (n/a), ESPN/USA Today: KU (8)/MU (n/a).
SERIES: KU leads, 151-88, but the last four years have seen the teams split during the regular season. KU won last year at Hearnes, snapping a three-game losing skid there.
COACHES:
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Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89), 10-6 at MU (1st season), 10-6 overall (1st season).
Kansas: Roy Williams (North Carolina '72), 320-74 at KU (12th season), 320-74 overall (12th season). Williams is 13-10 vs. Missouri.
MISSOURI TIGERS (10-6, 3-1)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
| P | NO | NAME | HT | WT | YR | HOMETOWN | PPG/RPG |
| F | 24 | Jeff Hafer*** | 6-5 | 212 | Sr. | Joplin, Mo. | 7.2 / 3.1 |
| C | 33 | Tajudeen Soyoye | 6-9 | 236 | Jr. | Lagos, Nigeria | 10.4 / 6.8 |
| G | 5 | Keyon Dooling* | 6-3 | 184 | So. | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | 16.3 / 2.3 |
| G | 12 | Brian Grawer** | 6-0 | 165 | Jr. | St. Louis, Mo. | 6.9 / 2.9 |
| G | 4 | Clarence Gilbert* | 6-2 | 197 | So. | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | 13.1 / 3.4 |
#7 KANSAS JAYHAWKS (15-2, 4-0)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
| P | NO | NAME | HT | WT | YR | HOMETOWN | PPG/RPG |
| F | 4 | Nick Collison | 6-9 | 240 | Fr. | Iowa Falls, Iowa | 9.9 / 5.9 |
| F | 21 | Nick Bradford | 6-7 | 205 | Sr. | Fayetteville, Ark. | 7.9 / 4.8 |
| C | 44 | Eric Chenowith | 7-1 | 260 | Jr. | Orange, Calif. | 10.3 / 7.5 |
| G | 13 | Jeff Boschee | 6-1 | 185 | So. | Valley City, N.D. | 10.6 / 1.4 |
| G | 20 | Kenny Gregory | 6-5 | 205 | Jr. | Columbus, Ohio | 14.4 / 5.2 |
MISSOURI-KANSAS SERIES
Dating back to the Civil War days, the rivalry between the states of Missouri and Kansas continues to stir the emotions of many.
On the basketball court, the Jayhawks lead the overall series by a 151-88 count, including a 58-49 edge in games played in Columbia.
In each of the last four years, the two teams have split their regular-season meetings. In 1996, 1997 and 1998, the home team successfully defended its court, but last season saw the visiting team win twice.
MU Head Coach Quin Snyder will be taking on Kansas' Roy Williams for the first time on Saturday. Williams is 13-10 in 23 meetings against MU.
Please see page four of this release for a breakdown of the last 20 games of the MU-KU series.
KNOCKING THEM BACK
The last three times that Kansas has brought a top-10 team into Columbia, the Tigers have come out with an upset win.
From 1996-98, the Jayhawks came calling with a national ranking of no lower than #3, only to see the Tigers claim victories each year at Hearnes.
In 1998, MU's Tyron Lee, playing with a dislocated left shoulder, hit a pair of free throws with 11.1 seconds left to provide MU with a 74-73 win over the #3-ranked Jayhawks. John Woods then sealed the win when he knocked the ball away from KU's Paul Pierce in the final seconds.
In 1997, the Tigers downed the #1, and previously undefeated Jayhawks in a classic 96-94 double overtime game on a jumper by Corey Tate with 5.6 seconds left.
In 1996, MU notched a 77-73 win over the #3-ranked Jayhawks. Current Tiger undergraduate assistant coach Jason Sutherland scored 18 points to lead the Tiger charge, and Simeon Haley hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to help MU hold on for the win.
Additionally, MU defeated the Jayhawks four other times in the 1990's when KU was ranked in the top five. In 1994, when the Tigers went 14-0 in the Big Eight Conference, MU swept KU. In 1990, the Tigers accomplished the same feat, and in both meetings, KU was ranked #1. Here's a quick look:
| Date | Score | Site | Rank (KU/MU) |
| 1/20/90 | MU, 95-87 | Columbia | (1)/(4) |
| 12/13/90 | MU, 77-71 | Lawrence | (1)/(2) |
| 1/31/94 | MU, 79-67 | Columbia | (3)/(20) |
| 2/20/94 | MU, 81-74 | Lawrence | (4)/(12) |
MU VS. RANKED TEAMS
Missouri will be playing its fourth game this year against a ranked opponent, as the Tigers stand 1-2 in the previous three outings.
MU had #15-ranked Indiana on the ropes in Columbia (Dec. 7), leading by as much as 16 points in the first half, but the Hoosiers clawed back for a 73-68 win. Two weeks later, MU defeated #15 Illinois at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, by a similar 78-72 score. Lastly, MU was beaten by #25 Kentucky, 70-53 in New Orleans, La., on Dec. 30th.
4 Individually, Keyon Dooling is averaging 21.7 points per game against ranked teams, with efforts of 25 vs. Illinois, 21 vs. Indiana and 19 vs. Kentucky. His running-mate Clarence Gilbert is averaging 15.7 points in those same games, and freshman Kareem Rush, who has to sit out Saturday (the last game of his NCAA-imposed sabbatical) scored 16 points against Indiana.
LAST YEAR AT COLUMBIA
#15 Kansas 73, MU 61Jan. 11, 1999 -- Columbia, Mo.
A disastrous eight-minute scoring drought doomed the Tigers, as No. 15 Kansas held Missouri to 16 percent first-half shooting in a 73-61 victory. Kansas held Missouri scoreless for more than eight minutes en route to a 17-point halftime lead, then held off a late surge by the Tigers. Missouri missed its first six shots and trailed 10-0 before closing to 12-10. But Kansas then scored 14 straight points to take a 26-10 lead with 4:49 left in the half. The Tigers later went on a 9-0 run in the second half and pulled within 54-48 on White's driving shot with 4:37 left. Kansas got the lead back to double figures when Marlon London was fouled while hitting a shot. He missed the free throw but Eric Chenowith, who finished with 13 rebounds, scored for a 61-51 lead with 3:01 remaining. MU could get no closer than six the rest of the way.
| KU (73) | FG | 3PT | FT | RB | A | PF | TP |
| Gregory - f | 2-8 | 0-3 | 2-4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Bradford - f | 2-8 | 0-1 | 3-4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Chenowith - c | 2-9 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Robertson - g | 6-14 | 1-5 | 4-4 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
| Boschee - g | 5-10 | 4-7 | 1-2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| Earl | 1-4 | 0-0 | 4-7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| London | 5-9 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Pugh | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Totals | 25-64 | 5-17 | 18-28 | 56 | 12 | 19 | 73 |
| MU (61) | FG | 3PT | FT | RB | A | PF | TP |
| Parker - f | 0-6 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| White - f | 4-11 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Hardge - c | 5-12 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| Grawer - g | 3-8 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Woods - g | 5-14 | 2-8 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| Gilbert | 3-7 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Dooling | 1-5 | 0-0 | 5-7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Hafer | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Schumacher | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Totals | 23-68 | 6-24 | 9-17 | 43 | 10 | 26 | 61 |
Officials: Rutledge, Hillary, O'Neill
| Kansas | 32 | 41 | - 73 |
| Missouri | 15 | 46 | - 61 |
Attendance: 13,300
THE QUIN-TISENNTIALS
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 10-6 in his first season as a head coach. He notched his first career win Nov. 13th vs. Princeton, when the Tigers grabbed a 51-48 victory in the NABC Classic in Syracuse, N.Y. His first win in the Big 12 Conference came on Jan. 12th, as the Tigers jumped Colorado, 100-86.
An exciting new era began at Missouri this past April, when Snyder was introduced as men's head basketball coach by Director of Athletics Michael Alden.
Snyder, an assistant coach at Duke University the past four years, is just the fifth different head coach at Missouri since 1926.
Snyder's mission is to take the Tiger program to the next level. And if that next level represents the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, Snyder will be a repeat visitor. In 10 years at Duke, he took part in five Final Fours - three as a player (1986, 88, 89) and two more as a coach (1994, 99). For those of you keeping score at home, that's exactly five more Final Fours than Mizzou has qualified for in its previous 93 years.
Snyder had served as Duke's associate head coach the past two seasons, and was entrusted with numerous on-court coaching responsibilities, as well as recruiting duties for the Blue Devils by Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski. He was widely credited with recruiting the group of student-athletes (including 1999 national player-of-the-year Elton Brand) at Duke who compiled a 37-2 record last year and finished as NCAA runners-up.
Snyder and his wife, Helen, were married on Sept. 24th of this year. Snyder celebrated his 33rd birthday on Oct. 30th.
OFFENSE GETTING UNTRACKED
Missouri is showing vast improvement in its offensive game, of late, as the Tigers rank as the Big 12's 2nd-highest scoring team in league games, with an 82.0 per-game average entering Saturday's game with Kansas.
MU is coming off a decent showing at Baylor, where the offense shot 49.1 percent for the night. That's the fourth-best total for the Tigers this season.
The turnaround in offensive performance has been dramatic for the Tigers. Entering the league season, MU ranked 12th in the league in field goal percentage, but through four league games, the Tigers rank 3rd in the Big 12 (league games only), with a team mark of 48.7 percent.
In a 100-86 win over Colorado on Jan. 12th, the Tigers had a brilliant offensive performance. Missouri shot a scintillating 64.6% from the floor against the 'Buffs, which is the best shooting day for an MU team since the Tigers hit for 64.7% against Chicago State on Dec. 2, 1995. It's also the best mark put forth by a Tiger team since the inception of the Big 12 Conference. The previous Big 12 best by MU was a 56.7% shooting day at Texas A&M in 1999.
In scoring 100 points for the first time since beating Southern, 111-69 on Dec. 30, 1996, the Tigers' offensive prowess was impressive, considering the fact that just eight days earlier, MU suffered through its worst shooting performance in over 22 years. On Jan. 8th, MU fell to Winthrop, 51-46, in a game in which the Tigers made just 25.0% of their shots. That was MU's lowest output since shooting 23.9% in a 96-49 loss to Kansas on Dec. 28, 1977.
GILBERT LEADS BIG 12 IN SCORING
Sophomore guard Clarence Gilbert enters Saturday's game as the top scorer in Big 12 Conference games, as he's scoring at a 21.2 points per game clip. He's tied with Marcus Fizer of Iowa State for the lead.
Gilbert celebrated his 20th birthday last Saturday vs. Kansas State by scoring 25 points and grabbing six rebounds. In Big 12 games, he's now scored 26 points (at Iowa State), 19 points (vs. Colorado), 25 points (vs. KSU) and 15 points (at Baylor).
Gilbert's feats in conference play thus far are pretty impressive, given the fact that he averaged just 4.8 points a game in Big 12 play last year as a freshman.
He also ranks 1st in league games with 19 three-pointers made, and rates 2nd currently with a three-point shooting percentage of 52.8 percent. His season scoring average of 13.1 currently ranks 18th in the league.
TIGER QUICK FACTS
Sophomore guard Keyon Dooling currently ranks 8th in the Big 12, with a scoring average of 16.3 points a game. He's coming off a solid game at Baylor, where he scored 16 points, and added seven assists and five rebounds, and made 4-of-4 free throws in the last two minutes of the game to seal the win. Last week vs. Colorado, he was near-perfect when he scored 25 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point land. He also was good on 7-of-8 free throws on the night, and added five assists. His 25 points tied a career high, and he's accomplished that three times this season - against Princeton, #15 Illinois and Colorado.
Junior guard BRIAN GRAWER scored 14 points last Saturday vs. Kansas State, which is just one point shy of his season high. Grawer made 6-of-12 shots on the day, a sign that he could be finding his way out of an extended shooting slump. The career 48 percent shooter is connecting on 32 percent of his shots thus far. Grawer is shooting 90.6 percent from the foul line this year (29-of-32), and would lead the Big 12 in that category, if he had three more makes.
Missouri ranks 50th in the latest RPI rankings, while Kansas rates #9 in the land. MU's schedule ranks as the 33rd-toughest in the nation currently. The Big 12 Conference is ranked as the #3 league in strength ratings, behind only the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences.
Senior forward Jeff Hafer is coming off a solid effort vs. Baylor, as he scored 15 points, on 7-of-9 shooting. He's averaging 11.2 points per game in Big 12 play, and is shooting 62.5 percent from the floor, which ranks 5th in league games. Hafer scored a career-high 19 points against Colorado last week, eclipsing the previous best of 18 he had against Coppin State as a sophomore. Hafer hit 12-of-14 free throws on the night, and added four assists.
Junior center tajudeen soyoye notched the second double-double of his career on Tuesday at Baylor, as he racked up 14 points and added 11 rebounds in 31 minutes of play. MU is now 10-1 on the year when he plays 26 minutes or more, and is winless (0-5) when he plays 25 minutes or fewer. Soyoye currently ranks 9th in the Big 12 with a season field goal rate of 55.0 percent.
Johnnie Parker followed up a 10-point performance at Iowa State by racking up a career-high 16 points in 20 minutes off the bench vs. Colorado. That gave him his first back-to-back double figure scoring games since he scored 10 points in consecutive games as a freshman against Illinois and Maryland. He was held to four points last Saturday vs. Kansas State, but did lead the team with a season-high eight rebounds.
Freshman forward justin gage, who entered Tuesday's game at Baylor shooting just 46.2 percent from the foul line, calmly nailed a pair of free throws with :16 seconds left to give MU a 73-68 lead, which proved to be the winning points in MU's 74-72 win. Gage is a quarterback on the MU football team who walked on to the basketball team following the conclusion of the football season.
REBOUND THAT BASKETBALL
Missouri is not exactly what you'd consider a huge team, as only two players on the roster stand 6-foot-9 or taller.
But the Tigers have come up big on the glass recently, as they've outrebounded both Colorado and Kansas State. Those performances broke a string of eight straight games in which MU had been outrebounded by foes.
Against KSU, the Tigers enjoyed a 46-33 rebounding advantage, including 16-6 on the offensive end, which led to an 18-4 edge in second chance points in the game. Additionally, MU's starting guard trio of Keyon Dooling (7 rebounds), Clarence Gilbert (6) and Brian Grawer (6) accounted for 19 combined rebounds.
Rebounding also keyed MU's win over Colorado last week. Mizzou outrebounded CU by only one, 30-29, but Colorado came into the game as the Big 12's 2nd-best rebounding team.
In MU's previous six games the outsized Tigers had been outrebounded by a margin of 244-to-170 (an average of 40.7 to 28.3), including a season-high deficit of 18 against Kentucky (44-to-26).
Missouri is averaging 33.2 rebounds a game entering the Kansas contest. The Tigers are 5-0 when outrebounding their opponent, and 4-5 when losing the battle of the boards.
ACHIEVING A BALANCE
Unlike this SID's checkbook, the Missouri Tigers have showed great balance of late, on the offensive end of things.
MU has had at least four players score in double figures in each of the four conference games thus far. MU had five score in double digits against both Iowa State and Colorado, and had four reach that mark vs. Kansas State, and Tuesday at Baylor.
For the season, four Tigers are averaging double figures in scoring (including Kareem Rush, who is inactive for Saturday's game vs. Kansas), but in Big 12 play, four Tigers are scoring in double figures, led by Clarence Gilbert's 21.2 per-game standard. Other Tigers in double figures in league play include: Keyon Dooling (16.0 ppg), T.J. Soyoye (13.2), and Jeff Hafer (11.2). One other Tiger, Brian Grawer, is just shy of that mark, at 9.8 points a game.
DEFENSE TIGHTENS THE SCREWS
After giving up 86 points in consecutive games against Iowa State and Colorado, Head Coach Quin Snyder preached to his Tigers the importance of focusing on defense.
The message was received crystal clear by Snyder's troops last Saturday, as the Tigers put the clamps down on Kansas State. MU held the Wildcats to 38.9% shooting, including 18.8% from three-point range (3-of-16). Additionally, MU harassed the Wildcats into 20 turnovers, and tied a season high by nabbing 13 steals.
The Tigers have twice held opponents to under 35% - including an opponent season-low mark of 34.5% percent vs. Morgan State.
RUSH BACK FOR TEXAS A&M GAME
The NCAA has ruled that freshman forward Kareem Rush must miss a total of nine games, down from the original ruling of 14 games. He's already sat out eight games thus far, and Saturday's game vs. Kansas will be the final game in his hiatus. The first game he'll be back for is on Jan. 29th vs. Texas A&M.
After declaring Rush ineligible for competition on Dec. 14th, the University of Missouri learned from the NCAA on Dec. 21st that Rush could be reinstated given that certain conditions are met.
The NCAA ruled that Rush will be required to repay the amount of money he received from an AAU coach, prior to his enrollment at Missouri, which has been deemed as an impermissible benefit. Rush will have the length of his eligibility to complete the payment. The money will go to the charity or charities of his choice.
The reinstatement staff has also ruled that Rush must be withheld from 33 percent of Missouri's competition during the 1999-2000 season (nine games). Prior to the appeal, the NCAA had ruled that he must miss 50 percent (14 games).
THE DYNAMIC DUO
Batman and Robin beware, Missouri can claim a pretty potent duo of its own, in sophomore guards Keyon Dooling and Clarence Gilbert.
Dooling and Gilbert, childhood friends and high school teammates from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., are the top two scorers on the Tiger squad, entering the Kansas contest.
Dooling leads all MU scorers, and ranks 8th in the Big 12, with an average of 16.3 points a game. He leads the team in field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, steals and minutes played, and is second on the squad in assists, steals and three point field goals made.
Gilbert is second on the team with a scoring average of 13.1 points a game, more than three times his freshman scoring average of 4.2. Gilbert is averaging 21.2 points a game in league play, a statistic which currently leads the league. For the season, he's shooting 43.9% from three-point range, up from 23.7% a year ago.
GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES
Missouri has used the three-point shot to its advantage this year. The Tigers enter the Kansas game as the top three-point outfit in the Big 12 Conference. Through 16 games, Missouri has hit 144-of-393 three pointers, both totals which are tops in the Big 12 Conference thus far.
MU has made at least 10 three pointers in in six times on the year, and last week had a scorching night against Colorado when the Tigers hit 10-of-15 attempts for a season-best 66.7% clip.
Ironically, however, MU scored a season-high 100 points against Colorado, but the 15 three point attempts were the fewest they've tried this season.
Taking a look at the season stats, it appears that when MU tries fewer threes, they are more successful. The three games in which MU has attempted the fewest number of threes this year, MU is 3-0. The three games in which they have attempted the most number of threes this year, the Tigers are just 1-2. Here's a breakdown:
| 15 vs. Colorado | W |
| 17 vs. SMU | W |
| 18 at Baylor | W |
| -- | |
| 31 vs. Morgan State | W |
| 30 vs. Indiana | L |
| 30 vs. Winthrop | L |
MU tied a single game school record back on Nov. 27th when it made 15 threes in a rout of Morgan State. The 15 threes made tied the record previously accomplished in 1997 vs. Wake Forest and in 1998 vs. Kansas State.
Seven different Tigers dialed long distance vs. Morgan State, including freshman Josh Kroenke, who came off the bench to nail five treys for the second straight game.
Conversely, Tiger opponents have yet to reach double digits in threes made for a game. Princeton had an opponent high when they hit eight treys on Nov. 13 against the Tigers.
Season records to keep an eye on include 214 three-pointers made and 580 treys attempted, both by the 1997-98 squad. Through 16 games, the Tigers are on pace to make 261 three pointers in 712 attempts.
GETTING TO THE LINE
All season long, Tiger Coach Quin Snyder has preached the importance of driving the ball, which leads to open shots and getting fouled. Missouri was aggressive on the offensive end last week against Colorado, as the Tigers' efforts to get to the hoop resulted in a season-high 28 made free throws. MU shot a solid 77.8% from the line (28-of-38), which was a big factor in the outcome of the game, as CU was 19-of-28 on the night.
MU followed up by making 14-of-19 free throws against Kansas State, and made 16-of-22 at Baylor, including 7-of-8 shots in the game's final two minutes. In league games, MU leads the conference with a 75.0% rate from the foul line.
MU faced a huge deficit at the foul line at Iowa State, as the Cyclones hit 24-of-34 free throws, compared to just 8-of-11 for the Tigers. MU actually outscored ISU by a 73-62 margin from the field, but couldn't overcome the Cyclones advantage from the line.
MU had trouble getting to the line against Indiana. In that game, MU earned only eight free throw attempts, making six, while the Hoosiers connected on 18-of-27 on the night - clearly a deciding factor in IU's five-point win.
TIGERS SIGN THREE PREP BLUE-
CHIPPERS DURING EARLY PERIOD
MU Head Coach Quin Snyder has signed three high school standouts in what looks to become one of the nation's top recruiting classes.
During the early signing period, which ran from Nov. 10-17, Snyder inked prep stars Rickey Paulding, Arthur Johnson and Wesley Stokes to national letters of intent.
Here's a look at each of them:
RICKEY PAULDING
Paulding, a 6-foot-5 guard from Detroit Renaissance High School, is considered one of the nation's top 30 prep prospects, and has been selected to the pre-season all-American team by Street & Smith Magazine . He averaged 25.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots per game last season at Renaissance High, and was selected to Michigan's all-state team in 1999. His point total led the extremely competitive Detroit Public School League last year.
Paulding selected Missouri over Michigan State, Ohio State and Miami, Fla.
Johnson, a 6-foot-9 power forward from Detroit Pershing High School, is considered a top 30 national prospect by many recruiting services. He's one of the top big men in the country, and is coming off a season in which he averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds per game as a junior. He led his Pershing team to a top-five ranking in the state last year, and earned all-state honors for his efforts.
Johnson selected Missouri over Miami, Fla., Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State. His high school coach is Arnold Neville.
WESLEY STOKES
Stokes, a 5-foot-10 point guard out of Long Beach Poly, is considered the top-rated point guard prospect in the West, and is a top-50 national recruit. Stokes averaged 16 points, eight assists and four steals per game last year as a junior, and garnered much attention after some superb play in various summer all-star camps.
Stokes selected Missouri over Southern California, San Diego State, Texas and Massachusetts. His high school coach is Ron Palmer, who directed Long Beach Poly to a 24-7 record last season, and the quarterfinals of the Southern California Regionals. They are a pre-season favorite to win the Southern Section Division I-AA championship, which would be their second in the past four years.
"We're obviously very excited to have such good kids want to join our program," said Quin Snyder. "We get better with all three of them, in different ways."
TIGERS HIT THE ROAD
When MU played at Baylor Tuesday evening, the game marked just the second true road game of the year for the Tigers.
Due to a scheduling rarity, five of the Tigers' six games thus far outside of the Hearnes Center have been played at neutral-court sites. Missouri opened up at the NABC Classic in Syracuse, N.Y., and never faced the host Orangemen. Later, the Tigers played a pair of neutral-site games in St. Louis and closed out 1999 by facing Kentucky in New Orleans, La. MU dropped a 86-81 decision at Iowa State on Jan. 8th to open league play.
The Tigers hold a 1-4 record in games away from the Hearnes Center thus far. Here's a look at the Tigers' numbers this season at home compared to the six games they've played thus far outside the friendly confines of Hearnes:
| Category | Home | Away |
| Record | 7-2 | 2-4 |
| Points | 74.8 | 65.0 |
| Opp. Points | 63.8 | 69.5 |
| FG % | 43.6 | 39.6 |
| Opp. FG % | 41.3 | 50.2 |
| 3-pt. FG % | 35.4 | 39.0 |
| Rebounds | 36.7 | 28.8 |
Individually, numbers which stand out include the following: T.J. Soyoye is averaging 12.3 ppg at Hearnes, and just 7.0 away from home ... Soyoye is shooting an outstanding 59.4% from the floor at Hearnes (41-of-69 FGs), and just 42.4% away from home (14-of-33)...Conversely, leading scorer Keyon Dooling is averaging 20.2 ppg away from Hearnes, compared to 13.8 ppg at home.
MIZZOU SETS ATTENDANCE RECORD
At Missouri's home game on Dec. 7th vs. Indiana, the Tigers played in an electric atmosphere that included 13,782 fans.
That was a single-game attendance record for the Hearnes Center - breaking the previous mark of 13,706 set in 1989 vs. Kansas. It is only the second entry in the top ten that involves a non-conference team.
Here's a listing of the top ten single-game attendance records at Hearnes.
| 1. | 13,782, 12-7-99 vs. Indiana |
| 2. | 13,706, 2-11-89 vs. Kansas |
| 3. | 13,645, 1-14-89 vs. Iowa State |
| 4. | 13,610, 2-27-88 vs. Kansas |
| 5. | 13,558, 2-21-88 vs. Oklahoma State |
| 6. | 13,544, 1-23-88 vs. Iowa State |
| 7. | 13,471, 3-3-88 vs. Oklahoma |
| 8. | 13,470, 2-4-89 vs. Kansas State |
| 9. | 13,454, 12-28-88 vs. Arkansas |
| 10. | 13,360, 1-21-89 vs. Oklahoma State |
TIGER QUICK NOTES
Sophomore forward Matt Rowan left the University of Missouri men's basketball team, and will transfer from MU at the following of the fall semester, as announced Nov. 16th by Head Coach Quin Snyder.
Rowan, a Liberty, Mo. native, did not play in either of Missouri's games at the NABC Classic in Syracuse, N.Y. The 6-foot-7 forward saw limited action last season as a freshman, averaging 0.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 17 games. He averaged 4.9 minutes played in those contests.
Rowan will remain on scholarship through the end of the fall semester, after which time he will be released from his commitment. By releasing him at the end of the semester, Rowan will be allowed to pursue a number of options. He will be eligible to play immediately at any Division II school, and would have to sit out until the end of the first semester of the 2000-2001 season if he was to choose another Division I program.
"We wish Matt the very best, and we'll do whatever we can to help him with his future plans," said Coach Snyder. "He's made a personal decision that he wants to be in a program where he'll be able to make more of a contribution, and we certainly understand and respect his decision."
A quick check of the MU record book shows that Missouri had never before won a game when shooting worse than 30.0%. The Tigers managed a 51-48 win over Princeton on Nov. 13th despite shooting just 29.4%. The previous low shooting night during a Tiger win was back on Feb. 8, 1995, when MU shot just 30.0%, but beat Iowa State, 59-56 in Columbia.
The first point scored in the Quin Snyder era came on a free throw from T.J. Soyoye. Johnnie Parker hit the first field goal (a three-pointer), got the first steal and blocked shot. Soyoye grabbed the first rebound, and Jeff Hafer was the first sub. Keyon Dooling clinched the first win for Snyder with a pair of free throws late in the game vs. Princeton.
An impressive handful of visitors have come calling in the early season to check out Quin Snyder and his Tigers. Early in the year, Doug Collins, current NBA analyst for NBC Sports, and a former NBA head coach and all-star player, visited Tiger camp. He saw the Tigers three days during his visit, and addressed the Tiger team following one practice.
Also paying a visit to Columbia a few weeks ago was former Duke and Vanderbilt standout Billy McCaffrey. He saw practices on two days before heading out of town.
Earlier this summer, current Detroit Pistons Head Coach Alvin Gentry paid a visit to Columbia. Gentry coached with MU associate head coach John Hammond at Detroit.