Nov. 25, 2000
Anchorage, Ak. - TIGER NEWS & NOTES 2000-01
Missouri (3-0) vs. Syracuse (3-0)
Game# 4 -- Nov. 25, 2000 -- Anchorage, Ak.
Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout
TIPOFF: 11:00 p.m. (central)/8:00 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: ESPN. Bob Carpenter, Play-by-Play, Jimmy Dykes, Color.
RANKINGS: MU is receiving votes in ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press polls.
SERIES: Syracuse leads the series, 2-1.
COACHES:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke `89), 21-13 at MU (2nd season), 21-13 overall (2nd season). Snyder is 0-0 vs. Syracuse.
Syracuse: Jim Boeheim (Syracuse `62), 578-199 at SU (25th season), 578-199 overall (25th season). Boeheim is 2-1 vs. Missouri.
OFFICIALS: Will be announced prior to tipoff.
MISSOURI-SYRACUSE TO BATTLE FOR SHOOTOUT TITLE
The University of Missouri Tigers (3-0) will make their first-ever appearance in the championship game of the Alaska Shootout Saturday evening, when they'll take on the Syracuse Orangemen (3-0) for the Golden Muskox (or something along those lines).
MU has defeated Rhode Island (70-60) and Valparaiso (77-61) to reach the finals. A win Saturday would give Missouri its first 4-0 start since the Tigers went 4-0 to tip off the 1995-96 season.
Syracuse got to the finals by defeating DePaul (92-84) and Ohio State (77-66) in its first two games. The Orangemen are also gunning for their first-ever Shootout title.
MISSOURI TIGERS (3-0)
(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. 18.7 9.0
F 31 Johnnie Parker*** 6-6 230 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. 1.3 2.3
C 33 Tajudeen Soyoye* 6-9 240 Sr. Lagos, Nigeria 7.3 8.3
G 12 Brian Grawer*** 6-0 170 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. 11.0 3.3
G 4 Clarence Gilbert** 6-2 199 Jr. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 14.0 *4.0
*-Assists per game
SYRACUSE ORANGEMEN (3-0)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
P NO NAME HT WT YR HOMETOWN PPG RPG
F 3 Preston Shumpert 6-6 188 Jr. Fort Walton Beach, Fla. 24.3 6.0
F 25 Damone Brown 6-9 200 Sr. Buffalo, N.Y. 17.0 7.7
C 35 Billy Celuck 7-0 216 Sr. Jessup, Pa. 3.7 7.7
G 1 Allen Griffin 6-1 186 Sr. Brooklyn, N.Y. 12.3 3.3
G 21 DeShaun Williams 6-3 198 So. Warner Robins, Ga. 15.3 3.7
PLAYING FOR THE TITLE
Missouri's appearance tonight in the Great Alaska Shootout championship game is an historic one, of sorts, for the Tigers.
This will mark MU's first-ever title game appearance in Alaska, for starters. Secondly, it marks the first championship of any kind Missouri will play for since reaching the championship game of the inaugural Big 12 Postseason Tournament in 1997 (#1-ranked Kansas downed MU 87-60).
Missouri does have a history of playing for titles in in-season tournaments, and the Tigers are 7-4 in those occasions since 1969. Here's a look at those games.
Year Tourney Opp. Result
1989 Maui Inv. N. Carolina W, 80-73
1988 Pre-Season NIT Syracuse L, 86-84 (ot)
1985 Rainbow Classic Washington St. W, 70-63
1984 Hi.-Pacific Inv. N. Carolina W, 81-76
1982 Rainbow Classic N. Carolina L, 73-58
1981 Winston Tire Classic USC W, 65-58
1976 Sun Carnival UTEP W, 83-60
1974 Big Sun Tourn. Tennessee L, 99-77
1972 Volunteer Classic Tennessee W, 67-57
1970 Cowboy Classic Hardin-Simmons W, 91-77
1969 Sun Devil Classic Washington L, 92-80
MU-SYRACUSE HISTORY
If history repeats itself, you might want to bring your Maalox tonight, because Missouri and Syracuse have a tendency to play nerve-wracking games.
MU and the `Cuse have played only three times previously (SU leads, 2-1), but they've all been barnburners, and they've all been in tournament situations.
The teams met twice during the 1988-89 season, first in the pre-season NIT championship game in New York, N.Y., later in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis. Syracuse won the first meeting, 86-84 in overtime, and squeaked out an 83-80 win in the latter.
The two schools met again in the Sweet Sixteen in 1994 in Los Angeles, and Missouri exacted a measure of revenge, claiming a 98-88 overtime win.
A SECOND CHANCE
Missouri has played lights out in the second half of each of its two Shootout games, but unfortunately for Tiger faithful, they've needed every bit of it to compensate for slow starts in the opening 20 minutes.
On Wednesday vs. Rhode Island, Missouri shot just 29.0% from the floor (9-of-31), including just 1-of-10 from three-point range, and trailed 31-19 at the half. The lead reached as much as 14 before MU ripped off a 33-6 run to pull out the game. The Tigers rebounded to shoot 53.1% after intermission.
Friday vs. Valparaiso, it was a similar pattern for MU, as the Tigers fell behind 8-0 and 16-8 right off the bat, and trailed by as much as 10 points in the first half. MU shot just 39.3% in the first half, and was outrebounded by a huge 26-12 margin. The second half was a different story, as the Tigers shot 48.0%, held Valpo to 19.4%, and outrebounded the Crusaders, 24-14.
In MU's two games in Alaska, the Tigers have been outrebounded in the first half by an average margin of 9.0 boards per half, but have grabbed an average of 10.5 more boards than opponents in the second half.
Here's a look at the numbers, which show quite a contrast in MU's 1st and 2nd half performances in Alaska:
Category 1st 2nd
Avg. Points 26.0 47.5
FG Pct. 33.9% 50.9%
3-Pt. FG Pct. 17.4% 46.7%
Opp. FG Pct. 33.8% 28.8%
Reb. Margin -9.0 +10.5
Scoring Margin -7.0 +20.0
MU has also hit 30-of-38 free throws (79.0%) in the two second halves of play in Alaska to help seal a pair of wins.
OF TIGER COMEBACKS
In just 34 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 Wednesday, followed by Friday's comeback from a 10-point deficit vs. Valparaiso.
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 5-3 in its two-plus appearances, and are making their first-ever appearance in the tourney's title contest. 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.
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.
MU has held opponents to just 31.0% 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 three games thus far, MU is outrebounding foes by a 44.7 to 34.7 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 three games this year, MU's output from beyond the arch is down nearly 50%, at 5.7 per game.
Here's a look at the numbers:
Category 1999-2000 2000-01
FG% 42.3% 46.0%
Opp. FG% 45.0% 31.0%
Reb. Avg. 38.5 44.7
Reb. Margin -5.0 +10.0
3-pt. FG% 36.2% 29.3%
3-pt. FGs p/g 9.4 5.7
KAREEM OF THE CROP
Sophomore Kareem Rush, who has earned pre-season all-America mention by one publication, has shown in MU's three 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).
That pattern repeated itself Friday vs. Valpo, as he was whistled for his second foul with 13:52 left in the first half, and he sat until halftime. MU rallied from a 10-point deficit with him on the bench, however, and he returned in the second half to score 12 points (ending w/15) and led MU to a 77-61 win.
The second-leading returning scorer in the Big 12 Conference, Rush carries a streak of 21 straight games scoring in double figures into Saturday's game vs. Syracuse.
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 this next week.
PUTTING THE CLAMPS DOWN
Missouri has shown that it can be a dominant defensive team early in the season.
The Tigers are fresh off a dominant defensive performance against Valparaiso, in which they locked in and held the Crusaders to a paltry 28.6% effort from the floor. MU's stifling efforts frustrated Valpo shooters Lubos Barton and Jared Nuness to shooting nights of 2-of-16 and 0-of-11, respectively.
MU completely imposed its will in the second half vs. Valpo, holding VU to just 19.4% (6-of-31). The game total is a record low for an opponent under Quin Snyder.
MU's three opponents have now shot 26.8% (Valpo), 34.3% (Rhode Island) and 29.8% (Savannah State), and their three-game defensive field goal percentage of 31.0% 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.
On Friday vs. Valpo, the Crusaders jumped out to a 10-point lead, and held a massive 26-12 rebounding edge in the first half. But the Tigers regrouped to get control of the game in the second half -- largely due to a 24-14 advantage on the glass after intermission.
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 14.0 points through three games, and leads the team with 12 assists. He was instrumental in MU's comeback win vs. Rhode Island, as he had a career-high seven assists.
With leading scorer Kareem Rush in foul trouble Friday, Gilbert took over the scoring role, and poured in a season-high 21 points against Valpo. He scored 7 points in a decisive 10-0 run in the second half, and the Tigers never looked back after that.
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 76 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.
Grawer scored a season-high 13 points in Friday's win vs. Valpo, and added 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. He also sank 6-of-7 free throws in the second half to salt away the win.
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 145 entering the Syracuse game. He needs one 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 pass former MU all-American Derrick Chievous for 7th on the career steals chart.
OH RICKEY, YOU'RE SO FINE
Freshman forward Rickey Paulding is a very quiet and humble young man. After helping lead MU's comeback win Friday over Valparaiso with a career-high 16 points, he didn't want to go to the interview room after the game because he was timid about speaking in front a group of people.
Paulding acquitted himself just fine in the interview room, as he did on the court Friday. You wouldn't know he was a shy person by the way he attacked the rim vs. Valpo, as he threw down two rim-rattling dunks (he now leads the team with four on the season).
The Detroit, Mich. native ended the game Friday with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He also sank 4-of-5 free throws and added 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist to the cause.
Through three games, Paulding is averaging 9.7 points a game, and is shooting a solid 54.5% from the floor (12-of-22 FGs).
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 Syracuse game as MU's 4th-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder, with respective averages of 10.3 points and 6.3 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 21-13 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.