Nov. 24, 2000
Anchorage, Ak. - TIGER NEWS & NOTES 2000-01
Missouri (2-0) vs. Valparaiso (2-0)
Game# 3 - Nov. 24, 2000 - Anchorage, Ak.
Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout
TIPOFF: 8:30 p.m. (central)/5:30 p.m. (Anchorage time).
ARENA: Sullivan Arena (8,700).
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play/Gary Lint, color). Carried on more than 50 stations statewide, and on the Internet at www.mutigers.com.
TV: No television for this game.
RANKINGS: MU is receiving votes in ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press polls.
SERIES: Missouri leads the series, 1-0.
COACHES:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke `89), 20-13 at MU (2nd season), 20-13 overall (2nd season). Snyder is 0-0 vs. Valparaiso
Valparaiso: Homer Drew (William Jewell `66), 188-169 at VU (13th season), 457-291 overall (25th season). Drew is 0-0 vs. Missouri.
OFFICIALS: Will be announced prior to tipoff.
TIGERS FACE CRUSADERS IN SHOOTOUT SEMI-FINALS
A berth in the Great Alaska Shootout championship game is up for grabs, as the University of Missouri Tigers (2-0) take on the Valparaiso Crusaders (2-0) Friday evening in the tourney semi-finals.
A win would give Missouri its first 3-0 start since the Tigers went 4-0 to tip off the 1995-96 season.
Valparaiso marked its first-ever Shootout appearance with an 83-67 first-round win over host Alaska-Anchorage on Wednesday. The Crusaders opened their 2000-01 season with an 80-66 win over Indiana-South Bend on Nov. 18.
MISSOURI TIGERS (2-0)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
P NO NAME HT WT YR HOMETOWN PPG RPG
F 21 Kareem Rush* 6-6 215 So. Kansas City, Mo. 20.5 10.5
F 31 Johnnie Parker*** 6-6 230 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. 2.0 2.5
C 33 Tajudeen Soyoye* 6-9 240 Sr. Lagos, Nigeria 10.0 10.0
G 12 Brian Grawer*** 6-0 170 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. 10.0 *3.0
G 4 Clarence Gilbert** 6-2 199 Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 10.5 *5.0 *-Assists per game
VALPARAISO CRUSADERS (2-0)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
P NO NAME HT WT YR HOMETOWN PPG RPG
F 1 Lubos Barton 6-8 230 Jr. Ceska Lipa, Czech Rep. 12.5 7.5
F 44 Jason Jenkins 6-8 220 Sr. East Peoria, Ill. 6.5 1.0
C 5 Raitis Grafs 6-11 225 So. Riga, Latvia 16.5 11.5
G 21 Jared Nuness 5-10 170 Jr. Eden Prairie, Minn. 8.5 1.0
G 4 Dwayne Toatley 6-3 190 Sr. Eden Prairie, Minn. 11.5 4.5
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
To borrow liberally (and likely criminally) from the great Charles Dickens, Missouri's opening-round win Wednesday vs. Rhode Island was indeed the best of times and the worst of times.
The worst of times came in the games' first half, when Missouri came out flat, failed to execute offensively, and found itself down 31-19 at the half. The Tigers shot just 29.0 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, and made just 1-of-10 three pointers, while netting zero trips to the foul line.
The URI lead grew to as much as 14 points with 18:32 left in the game, but the Tigers came roaring back. MU ambushed the Rams 33-6 over the next 13 minutes, to take a 57-44 lead with 5:36 left. Leading scorer Kareem Rush, who could only play 7 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, scored 11 of his team-high 17 points in the stretch, and freshman Arthur Johnson added 12 during the decisive stretch.
Mizzou shot 53.1% in the second half, made 14-of-18 free throws, and outrebounded URI by a 22-11 margin to pull away.
OF TIGER COMEBACKS
In just 33 games under Head Coach Quin Snyder, Missouri has shown a propensity to comeback from precarious situations, as evidenced by MU's comeback from a 14-point second-half deficit against Rhode Island.
Mizzou won four games last year while coming back from double-digit deficits. Twice they won games after falling behind by as many as 14 points - vs. Illinois and at Nebraska.
MU SHOOTOUT HISTORY
The Missouri Tigers are making their first appearance in 15 years at the Great Alaska Shootout.
Missouri has participated in two previous Shootouts, but this marks MU's first appearance since the Tigers finished 7th in 1985. Mizzou made its first appearance in 1980, when Steve Stipanovich and Jon Sundvold's team finished 4th.
Overall, MU is 4-3 in its two-plus appearances. When the Tigers knocked off Rhode Island in the first game Wednesday, it marked the first time MU has won its opening game in the tournament. If the Tigers defeat Valparaiso Friday, the Tigers would make their first-ever title game appearance.
Tiger coach Quin Snyder is no stranger to the Shootout, either, as he was on the Duke sideline in 1995 and 1998 for Blue Devil tournament appearances. Duke won the 1995 title and finished 3rd in 1998.
Here's a look back at MU's previous Shootout outings:
1980 (5th Place)
Opponent (Rank) MU Rank Score
Arkansas (20) 11 L, 81-73
Colgate 11 W, 73-67
Alaska-Anchorage 11 W, 54-53
1985 (7th Place)
Opponent (Rank) MU Rank Score
North Carolina (1) - L, 84-63
Alaska-Anchorage - L, 59-56
Texas-San Antonio - W, 80-47
TIGERS IN THE GREAT NORTHWEST
Missouri got to Anchorage at 11:30 p.m. local time Sunday. What have they been up to since arriving?
On Monday, it was mostly basketball and getting acclimated to the time change. The Tigers practiced for a couple of hours at Elmendorf Air Force Base Monday morning, and followed with an hour shootaround at Sullivan Arena late Monday afternoon.
Tuesday saw the Tigers partake in some of the local culture. The team loaded a tour bus and headed to Aleyska, where they took in a wildlife park and saw the likes of caribou, muskox, a baby grizzly bear and a bald eagle.
Afterwards, the team went to Aleyska Ski Resort, where they took a tram up the mountain and got involved in a massive snowball fight that saw everyone from coaches to players to support staff get in the act. Brian Grawer and Kareem Rush were the consensus picks as best snowballers.
The afternoon was capped by a practice at Service High School, and the team visited a local mall for dinner and entertainment Tuesday evening.
The team practiced at UAA Thanksgiving morning, enjoyed a turkey day meal Thursday afternoon at the hotel, and had the evening to themselves. Several of the players attended the tournament games.
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
Yes, it's extremely early to have a grasp on tendencies, but early numbers show that this Tiger team could be vastly different than last year's squad which went 18-13 and reached the NCAA Tournament in Quin Snyder's first year.
Through two games, MU is shooting 47.2% from the floor, up from 42.3% last year. Tiger faithful hope the improvement indicates a better grasp of the offensive scheme.
MU has held opponents to just 32.3% from the floor, after foes connected at a 45.0% rate last season.
One area that killed the Tigers last year was rebounding, as opponents grabbed an average of 5.0 more rebounds per game than MU. MU outrebounded foes only eight times last year, and lost the rebounding battle in each of its last nine games.
Again, its early, but through two games thus far, MU is outrebounding foes by a 49.0 to 33.5 spread.
One last area to examine is the three-point shot. Last season, the Tigers were dependent on the long-range bomb to compensate for its lack of size inside. MU averaged 9.4 threes made per game, which ranked 4th in the NCAA and set a school record with 288 treys made.
Through two games this year, MU's output from beyond the arch is down nearly 50%, at 5.0 per game.
Here's a look at the numbers:
Category 1999-2000 2000-01
FG% 42.3% 47.2%
Opp. FG% 45.0% 32.3%
Reb. Avg. 33.5 49.0
Reb. Margin -5.0 +17.0
3-pt. FG% 36.2% 25.0%
3-pt. FGs p/g 9.4 5.0
KAREEM OF THE CROP
Sophomore Kareem Rush, who has earned pre-season all-America mention by one publication, has shown in MU's two games that he's worthy of such mention.
Rush, who averaged an MU-freshman record 14.7 points per game last year, and was named the Big 12's co-freshman-of-the-year, scored 24 points and added a career-high 15 rebounds in Mizzou's season opener vs. Savannah State, all in just 24 minutes of play.
Rush was limited to just seven minutes of play in the first half of MU's game Wednesday vs. Rhode Island, due to foul trouble. He scored just 2 points while MU fell behind by 12 at halftime.
He returned in the second half and keyed a Tiger comeback win by scoring 15 points after intermission, including 11 in a decisive 33-6 MU run. He ended with a team-high 17 points and added career highs in assists (4) and steals (4).
The second-leading returning scorer in the Big 12 Conference, Rush carries a streak of 20 straight games scoring in double figures into Friday's game vs. Valpo.
We know it's extremely early, but the MU sophomore scoring record of 18.8 points per game could be in jeopardy this year if Rush keeps his play up. That record is held by former Tiger all-American Derrick Chievous, in the 1985-86 season.
ESPN the Magazine was in town last week to work on a feature on Rush. The story is scheduled to run in one week.
SHOOTING STARS?
Anyone who follows Missouri Basketball had to be pleased with what they saw in MU's season opener vs. Savannah State, especially when you compare it with the Tigers' season opener from a year ago - the improvement seems dramatic, most markedly on offense.
MU showed a much better grasp of Quin Snyder's offense in its 90-49 win over Savannah State. The Tigers shot 53.3% from the floor, which is the third-best mark under Snyder. In fact, Missouri reached the 50.0% mark just four times all of last season.
MU's 90 points were also the fourth-best total under Snyder, as the Tigers reached that plateau just three times all of last year.
Missouri also shot 55.3% as a team from the floor in its two exhibition wins.
Last year's squad opened play against Wisconsin, and while its understood that the Badgers are one of the nation's best defensive teams, the Tigers looked quite unsure of themselves offensively. MU shot just 34.7% from the floor and managed only 55 points in Snyder's debut, a 66-55 loss.
PUTTING THE CLAMPS DOWN
Missouri has shown that it can be a dominant defensive team early in the season.
In its season opener, Missouri held Savannah State to 29.8% from the floor - that's a record under Quin Snyder. The previous best (or worst, however you choose to look at it) was 34.5% by Morgan State last season.
MU held Rhode Island to just 34.3% shooting on Wednesday, and thier two-game defensive field goal percentage of 32.3% is a vast improvement from 45.0% last season.
While most people like to focus on MU's offensive exploits, it often is overlooked that Snyder believes defense is the primary focus for his team. Look for the Tigers to extend their pressure more this season to create chaos for opponents, which can lead to transition opportunities.
REBOUNDING REPORT
Missouri struggled mightily last season to hold its own on the boards. Playing with a lineup that featured a front line of 6-foot-9, 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-6, MU was vastly undersized virtually each time out.
That disadvantage was difficult to overcome, and MU found itself outrebounded by a 5.0 margin per game. The Tigers were outrebounded in their last nine games last season, including a huge 55-30 deficit in the NCAA Tournament against North Carolina.
This year, the Tigers aren't exactly mammoth in size, but the arrival of freshman center Arthur Johnson and athletic forward Rickey Paulding, certainly can help MU's rebounding cause.
MU outrebounded Savannah State by a 54-27 margin to open the season. The biggest margin MU held last year was 14. The Tigers followed by outboarding Rhode Island on Wednesday by a 44-37 margin, holding URI to just 12 rebounds in the decisive second half.
Coaches preach the importance of controlling the boards, and this stat rings that to be true: when the Tigers held the rebounding edge last year, they were 7-1.
GILBERT MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
For many years, junior guard Clarence Gilbert has been tied together with his childhood friend, Keyon Dooling. They played together beginning in junior high, and continued that bond through the previous two seasons at MU.
But when Dooling became the 10th pick in the 2000 NBA Draft after his sophomore year at Missouri, some people wondered how Gilbert would fare without his high-profile friend around.
Don't worry about Clarence. He's shown in the early going that he'll be just fine. Gilbert is averaging 10.5 points through two games, and leads the team with 10 assists. He was instrumental in MU's comeback win vs. Rhode Island, as he had a career-high seven assists. Gilbert averaged 13.0 points a game in MU's two exhibition games, shooting a solid 55.6% from the floor. He had six assists in each of the two exhibition contests, to just five turnovers.
Naturally, the long-range shot hasn't left the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native's mentality. Gilbert, who broke the MU single-season three-point field goal record last season (88 treys) led MU with six three pointers in the pre-season. In just two years, he already ranks 9th on the MU career 3-point field goal chart, and needs 79 more to break the career record of 190 set by former Tiger Jason Sutherland.
The 3rd-leading returning scorer in the Big 12 Conference, Gilbert earned 3rd-team all-league honors last season as a sophomore. He was tabbed as high as 2nd-team all-league by several publications this fall.
GRAWER POWER
As sure as death and taxes, you just had to know that senior guard Brian Grawer would get his shot back that deserted him last year.
Grawer hit 3-of-6 three-point field goals Wednesday vs. Rhode Island, helping guide MU to a comeback win. He ended the game with 12 points and five rebounds.
As a sophomore, Grawer led the Big 12 Conference, and ranked 3rd in the nation, in three-point shooting percentage, hitting at a school-record 49.6% clip.
Last season was a perplexing one for the St. Louis, Mo. native. He just couldn't find the range from long distance, and shot just 32.8% from three-point land. He made three or more threes in a game only four times that year.
Grawer ranks 5th on the alltime MU career three-point field goal chart, with 143 entering the Valpo game. He needs three more to tie Lee Coward for 4th on the list. The alltime leader is Jason Sutherland, with 190.
Grawer also needs one more steal to tie former MU all-American Derrick Chievous for 7th on the career steals chart.
YOU DOESN'T HAVE TO CALL ME JOHNSON
You can call him A.J., or you can call him Arthur, or you can call him Dock. Through the early going this season, though, opponents are calling Arthur Johnson a handful.
The affable freshman came to MU as a highly-touted recruit out of Detroit, Mich., and he's not disappointed anyone in the Tiger camp.
Johnson enters the Valparaiso game as MU's second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder, with respective averages of 13.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Johnson was a vital cog in MU's comeback win over Rhode Island on Wednesday, scoring 12 second-half points (all 12 coming during a decisive 33-6 run) to lead the charge. He ended with a career-high 14 points, and added seven rebounds.
He tallied 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists in MU's opener vs. Savannah State.
A.J. reported this fall a bit overweight, tipping the scales at around 300 pounds. But he worked hard in pre-season conditioning, and is now down to 270.
POLLING DATA
The Sports Illustrated college basketball season preview issue is on newsstands, and the publication has Missouri well-represented.
For beginners, the magazine has Missouri ranked No. 22 in its pre-season poll.
Secondly, and more interestingly, the magazine conducted an informal poll among Big 12 Conference players this summer, and several Tigers won their own election, of sorts.
Head Coach Quin Snyder was voted as the "Opposing Coach You'd Most Like to Play For." We won't mention who was named the "Opposing Coach You'd Least Like to Play For."
Senior guard Brian Grawer was named as the best shooter in the league.
Junior guard Clarence Gilbert was named as the biggest trash-talker in the league. Since he's from the state of Florida, Gilbert is going to ask for a hand re-count.
TOEING THE LINE WITH THE BEST
One year after playing what was rated as the nation's 16th-toughest schedule, Missouri will once again take on an impressive slate of foes that will likely rank high again this year on strength of schedule.
Awaiting Mizzou on the 2000-01 schedule is a virtual who's who of top-notch basketball programs.
Among MU's non-conference highlights include bouts against Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, DePaul, Saint Louis and Virginia. Mizzou will also participate in the Great Alaska Shootout, where they will take on Rhode Island in the first round, and possibly face the likes of Syracuse, Ohio State, Florida State and Valparaiso, among others in later rounds. Never one to back down from a challenge, Quin Snyder believes in playing a tough schedule to become the best. That strategy paid off last season, when his Tigers received a #9 seed in the NCAA Tournament with an 18-12 regular-season record.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
Missouri has had a program of national prominence for some time now, and has benefitted from that notoriety by being able to recruit talented players from all over the country.
However, a quick scan of the media guides (and believe us, any scans performed at 1:30 in the morning are indeed quick), shows that Tiger freshman Wesley Stokes will be the first native Californian to letter at MU in 36 years.
Incredibly, not since 1965, when John Loyear (Fresno, Calif.) played in 16 games during the 1964-65 season, has a Californian lettered at MU.
The only other close call since then was back in 1982, when Lenny Wechsler played in seven games during the 1981-82 season. The Los Angeles native did not receive a letter, however, after playing a total of 13 minutes.
THE QUIN-TISENNTIALS
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 20-13 in his second season as a head coach. He was named the national rookie coach-of-the-year by Basketball Times last season after leading the Tigers to an NCAA appearance.
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 previous 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 in 1998-99 and finished as NCAA runners-up.
RECRUITING COUP
Quin Snyder and his staff has put together what experts believe is one of the nation's top recruiting classes for next year. Four of the nation's elite prep players signed with Missouri during the early period, which ran from Nov. 8-15.
The class of Najeeb Echols (Chicago, Ill.), Jeffrey Ferguson (Benton Harbor, Mich.), Duane John (Toronto, Ontario), and Robert Whaley (Benton Harbor, Mich.) has been ranked as high as fourth-best in the nation, according to HoopScoop.
Here's a brief look at each of the future Tigers.
The 6-foot-7, 220-pound small forward is considered one of the nation's top prospects, and has been ranked as high as No. 20 in the country by ESPN.com. He averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists per game as a junior at Chicago Whitney Young High School, and led his school to second place in the Chicago Public League playoffs. An all-state special mention in 2000, Echols will attend Chicago's Morgan Park this season.
Echols chose Missouri over Illinois, DePaul and Houston primarily, and also considered Duke, Michigan State, Kansas, Michigan, UCLA and Cincinnati, among others. He is the son of Jim and Shirley Echols.
Jeffrey Ferguson, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward from Benton Harbor, Mich., is considered among the nation's top-50 prospects by most recruiting analysts. Ferguson averaged 12.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.8 block per game as a junior at Benton Harbor High School. Ferguson helped lead Benton Harbor to a Big 8 Conference title and a Class A championship last season.
Ferguson is a Toronto native who moved to Benton Harbor for high school. He selected the Missouri program over Michigan State, North Carolina, Kentucky, Stanford and Michigan, among others. He earned first-team all-conference honors as a junior, and was selected honorable mention all-state. He is the son of Ms. Carol Ferguson.
The University of Missouri men's basketball program picked up Canada's top prep player when Duane John, of Toronto, Ontario, signed a national letter of intent to attend Mizzou.
John is a 6-foot-6, 195-pound forward who was rated by many analysts as the top prospect in all of Canada. He averaged 32.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and three assists as a junior at Boylen High School in Toronto. He was named to the Toronto Sun's All-Star Team, and later averaged 18.3 points a game this summer playing AAU basketball for Team Toronto Elite, under coach Rowan Russell.
A native of the West Indies, John moved to Canada prior to high school, to be with his mother, Aldona Fosu. He chose Missouri over Michigan State, Syracuse, Louisville and Pittsburgh, among others. He moved to Homestead, Fla. over the summer, and will attend Berkshire High School for his senior season.
ROBERT WHALEY
Whaley is a 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward who is considered by many recruiting services as one of the nation's top prospects, and is ranked by ESPN.com as the No. 10 prep player in the country. He averaged 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.2 blocks, 3.2 assists and 3.1 steals per game last year at Benton Harbor, and helped lead his team to a Big 8 Conference title and a Class A district championship. He received honorable mention on USA Today's high school all-American team, and was a consensus first-team all-state selection.
Whaley plays at Benton Harbor for Head Coach Paul Wilhite and Assistant Coach Lou Harvey, who is the father of MU Associate Head Coach Tony Harvey. He picked Missouri over Michigan State, Michigan, Kentucky, Georgetown, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Connecticut. He is the son of Ms. Sonya Whaley and John Barnes.
NEW ARENA APPROVED BY CURATORS
Missouri received some rather exciting news on Nov. 9th, when the MU Board of Curators approved a presentation by Chancellor Richard Wallace to build a new arena, which will house the Tiger men's and women's basketball teams.
Wallace's proposal called for a $75-million facility to be built, most likely in time for the 2004-05 season. He announced a $25-million donation by an anonymous donor to go toward the arena - the largest gift ever in the history of the University.
That $25 million, along with $2 million more already raised for the arena, gives MU $27 million up front to help fund the arena. Dr. Wallace then asked the Curators to seek $35 million from the Missouri Legislature in general obligation bonds. Other donations/gifts, up-front seat payments and interest income would make up the remaining $13 million for the project.
The Board voted a unanimous 9-0 in favor of the project, and the next step is to get the appropriations from the state.
The arena would be located South of the Hearnes Center, and would seat anywhere from 15,000-to-17,000 people. The Hearnes Center would remain open to house the needs of MU Olympic sports such as volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling and indoor track and field.