June 20, 2000
Columbia, Mo. - University of Missouri Head Basketball Coach QUIN SNYDER announced today that former Tiger guard KEYON DOOLING has elected to forego his final two years of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft. Today represented the deadline to withdraw his name for consideration from the draft, which is scheduled for June 28th in Minneapolis, Minn. Dooling first announced his intention to enter the draft in April, and many mock drafts have him going near the middle of the first round.
"I'm very happy for Keyon, and we wish him the best," said Snyder. "He's got an outstanding opportunity in front of him, and it will be exciting to see him at the next level. Playing in the NBA is something that every kid dreams about as he's growing up with the game of basketball, but Keyon is one of the relative few who will have the chance to experience it," he said. "He's been very thorough in his information gathering throughout this whole process, and I believe he's making a decision that suits him well," Snyder added.
"I'm very thankful for the time I spent at Missouri, and I'll always be a Tiger," said Dooling, from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "I'll miss my teammates, and walking by the Columns, and the great fans at the Hearnes Center. But I'll be watching the guys on television every chance I get, and I know they'll be very successful under Coach Snyder," he said.
Dooling was a unanimous second-team all-Big 12 selection as a sophomore, after leading Missouri to an 18-13 record and an appearance in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Dooling led MU in scoring (15.3 ppg), assists (3.7 apg) and blocked shots (17) last year, after averaging 8.7 points per game as a freshman in 1998-99.
Despite the loss of Dooling, Snyder is very optimistic about the outlook for the 2000-01 Tiger squad, which will feature four returning starters, including guards Clarence Gilbert and Brian Grawer, as well as forwards Kareem Rush and Tajudeen Soyoye. In addition, Snyder has added a recruiting class that is considered to be one of the nation's best.
"I'm very excited about the group we have returning," said Snyder. "It's a good nucleus that knows what it takes to win - togetherness, toughness and desire. They displayed those traits last year, and I'm confident they will build on that and help instill the same strengths in their new teammates," he said.
If taken in the first round, Dooling will be the 10th first round draft pick in MU history. The last Tiger taken in the first round was Anthony Peeler, who went to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1992 draft. The highest a Tiger has been selected since 1985 - when the current lottery system was introduced - came when the Dallas Mavericks selected Doug Smith with the sixth overall pick in the 1991 draft.