Dec. 20, 2000

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Game# 10
Missouri (7-2) vs. #5 Illinois (8-2)
Dec. 21, 2000 -- St. Louis, Mo.

TIGERS WRAP UP BIG TEN SEASON WITH ANNUAL BRAGGIN' RIGHTS GAME
Playing their third game in six days, the Missouri Tigers (7-2) will look to spread holiday cheer among MU faithful Thursday night when they take on the 5th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini (8-2). The game, known as the Busch Braggin' Rights Game, will take place at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, and will be shown nationally on ESPN.

Missouri is coming off a tough road swing in which it split a pair of games in Big Ten country, losing 99-94 in double overtime at Iowa, and claiming an historic 68-63 win at Indiana Monday. MU became only the 9th non-conference team to win in Assembly Hall.

Illinois, MU's third straight Big Ten foe, is cruising along at 8-2 overall on the season, with both losses coming to teams ranked #1 in the country at tipoff time (Arizona and Duke). The Illini have won four in a row since falling 78-77 to #1 Duke on Nov. 28th.

THE QUIN-TISENNTIALS
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 25-15 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 18-13 record and an NCAA appearance.

Snyder is 1-0 vs. Illinois, and is making his first coaching appearance vs. Bill Self. He is 3-3 thus far against Big Ten Conference teams.

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.

MU-ILLINOIS SERIES HISTORY
Thursday will mark the 31st meeting in the Missouri-Illinois series. The Illini lead the series by an overall count of 18-12. Since 1980, when the series moved to St. Louis and became known as the Busch Braggin' Rights Game, Illinois holds a 12-8 advantage.

The Tigers, however, have held bragging rights the last three years, and have won seven of the last nine in the series. MU holds a 4-2 edge in games played at the Savvis Center, which had been known as the Kiel Center prior to this year.

Missouri has relished the role of underdog of late in the series. The Tigers have won three of the last four times when the Illini entered the game ranked.

LAST YEAR: MU 78, #15 Illinois 72
Dec. 21, 1999 -- St. Louis, Mo.
After trailing by 14 points in the first half, the Tigers stormed back to claim their third straight win over Illinois, downing the 15th-ranked Fighting Illini, 78-72, at the Kiel Center.

MU's three-pronged guard attack of Keyon Dooling, Clarence Gilbert and Brian Grawer led the way, combining to score 64 of MU's 78 points on the night. Dooling had 25, Gilbert added 24 and Grawer had 15 of his own.

Illinois came out swinging, and hit 13 of their first 16 shots, and led 30-16 with 8:03 left in the first half. But Missouri stormed back by scoring 16 straight points over the next 5:09 to take a 32-30 lead with 2:54 remaining, and went into halftime holding a 32-31 lead.

Gilbert scored 12 straight points midway through the second half to help put the Tigers out front, 64-54 with 7:32 left. Included in his personal run were three three-point field goals, a layin and a free throw.

Illinois closed to within one point, at 71-70 with just 1:49 left, but MU nailed 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.

HE'S NO LUMP OF COAL
MU Coach Quin Snyder must have been good this year, because Santa Claus has dropped off an early Christmas present. The only problem is how to wrap a 6-foot-9, 240-pound power forward?

Travon Bryant is that rather well-sized present, and he will be eligible to use his considerable skills at Missouri for the first time Thursday night vs. Illinois.

Bryant, a McDonald's all-American from Long Beach, Calif., signed with Missouri during the late period last season, becoming MU's first hamburger all-American since Anthony Peeler.

Bryant attended Maine Central Institute this fall, and achieved his test score to become a full qualifier at MU. He got into town last week following the conclusion of his semester at MCI, and practiced for the first time on Wednesday with the Tigers. That coincided with the conclusion of the first semester at MU.

It's unknown how much to expect him to play Thursday night, with just one practice and one shootaround under his belt.

What is known, however, is that Bryant was a top-20 national recruit coming out of David Starr Jordan High School in Long Beach, where he averaged 23 points and 16 rebounds as a senior. He was a 3rd-team Parade Magazine all-American, and chose MU over Kansas and California.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
The addition of Bryant to the MU roster for the Illinois game is a stark contrast to the mood surrounding the MU camp before last year's game.

Just days before the 1999 matchup, freshman star Kareem Rush was taken out of the lineup by the NCAA for a well-publicized prior relationship with an old AAU coach.

Rush was forced to watch from the bench that night as MU upset the 15th-ranked Illini. He returned to the lineup after sitting seven games overall, and went on to become the Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year.

MU NO. 14 IN POWER RANKINGS
Missouri enters Thursday's game vs. Illinois ranked 14th in the latest RPI power poll (www.collegerpi.com). The Tigers have played the 15th-toughest schedule in the land to this point, a figure which will likely improve after Thursday's contest with Illinois (ranked 15th).

MU's only two losses on the year are to teams which are currently ranked in the top 25 nationally -- Syracuse (No. 12 Associated Press) and Iowa (No. 19 A.P.).

RUSH, GILBERT DYNAMIC DUO
Missouri's top two scorers, sophomore forward Kareem Rush and junior guard Clarence Gilbert put on quite a show Saturday night on national television at Iowa.

The duo combined for 64 points against the Hawkeyes, as they scored 32 points apiece -- both career-high totals.

They combined to score 34 of MU's 41 second-half points, as the Tigers rallied to force overtime.

It was reported here originally that it was believed to be the first time that two Tigers went for 30 or more points in the same game. Alas, we jumped the gun, however. Back on Feb. 25, 1961, Tigers Charles Henke and Bob Reiter did the trick at Kansas State.

Ironically, like Rush and Gilbert, the duo scored an identical 32 points apiece. Unfortunately for MU, they got little support from teammates, as they scored 64 of the team's 71 points in a 91-71 loss to the 8th-ranked Wildcats.

MU MAKES HISTORY AT INDIANA
As we mentioned earlier, MU became just the 9th non-conference team to claim a win at Indiana's Assembly Hall when the Tigers claimed a 68-63 win Monday night.

MORE INDIANA FUN FACTS
Missouri turned up the heat defensively against Indiana, and held the Hoosiers to only 33.9% from the floor (21-of-62 FGs).

Perhaps most impressive was the fact that Indiana entered the game as the nation's top three-point shooting team, at 45.5% as a team from beyond the arch. The Tigers' defensive efforts held the Hoosiers to just 3-of-12 from three-point range (25.0%).

Indiana attempted 29 free throws to 16 for Missouri. But the Tigers used solid shooting from the line to nullify the Hoosiers' edge, as MU connected on 14-of-16 freebies (87.5%), while IU made only 18-of-29 (62.1%).

MU took better care of the ball. One game after committing a season-high 23 turnovers at Iowa, the Tigers tunred the ball over a season-low 11 times Monday evening.

TAKING A SECOND CHANCE
Missouri has been an impressive second-half team early in the 2000-01 season. That's been important, given the fact that the Tigers have trailed at halftime in four of nine outings (winning all but one of those).

A prime example of this second-half superiority came during the Great Alaska Shootout, when the Tigers turned strong second-half performances into wins over Rhode Island and Valparaiso.

Against URI, Missouri shot just 29.0% from the floor in the first half, and trailed 31-19 at half. Undaunted, the Tigers regrouped and shot a solid 53.1% in the second half, and outscored the Rams 51-29 to post the 70-60 win.

Similarly, against Valpo, the Tigers fell behind early by 10 points, but bounced back into the game. MU trailed by two points at half, but blitzed the Crusaders 44-26 in the second half. Mizzou held Valpo to a miserable 19.4% shooting effort in the second half (6-of-31 FGs), and turned a 26-12 rebounding deficit in the first half to a 24-14 edge on the glass after intermission.

Individually, Kareem Rush has accounted for nearly half of MU's scoring increase in the second half, as he's averaging 13.5 points after halftime, compared to 8.9 in the first stanza.

SCORING NOTES
Prior to Monday's cold-shooting night at Indiana, Missouri had found itself offensively, if you consider the previous three games. In those contests, the Tigers averaged 90.0 points a game, scoring 99 vs. DePaul, 77 vs. Saint Louis and 94 at Iowa. MU averaged 75.4 points a game in their first five outings.

Individually, Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert stepped things up, as well. Rush averaged 29.3 points in those three games, while Gilbert chimed in at a 25.0 per game clip.

RUSH HOUR CONTINUES
It's awful early in the year, of course, but MU sophomore forward Kareem Rush is quickly establishing himself as an all-America candidate, as well as a leading candidate for Big 12 Player-of-the-Year honors.

The top scorer in the Big 12 Conference (22.4 ppg), Rush is coming off an 18-point game at Indiana. He was held to just 4-of-15 FGs on the night, and went without a field goal in the second half, after tallying 14 points in the first half. Unfazed, however, Rush was still a vital cog in MU's final-minute win, as he calmly sank 4-of-4 free throws in the game's last 36 seconds to seal the big win.

He's now made 26-of-27 free throws in his last three games, and has made 26 straight entering the Illinois game.

Rush turned in yet another outstanding performance Saturday at #22 Iowa, as he tallied a career-high 32 points. He also added 11 rebounds, marking the second double-double of the season.

Rush scored 24 of his points after halftime, and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line, including 8-of-8 in overtime.

In his last four games, Rush is averaging 26.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

Two weeks ago, Rush averaged 28.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and led MU to important comeback wins over DePaul and Saint Louis. He scored 31 points in MU's 99-84 win over DePaul, and followed with 25 more vs. SLU, including a gutsy fall away jumper in the lane that gave MU the lead for good, at 71-70 with just 1:33 left in the game.

For his efforts, Rush was named national player of the week by ESPN.com, FoxSports.com, CNN/SI.com and was also named Big 12 Player-of-the-Week.

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, is leading MU in both scoring (23.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg).

The second-leading returning scorer in the Big 12 Conference, Rush carries a streak of 27 straight games scoring in double figures into Thursday's game vs. Illinois. He will make his first appearance vs. the Illini on Thursday.

GILBERT THE GREAT
Not to be outdone by his younger teammate, junior guard Clarence has had quite a stretch of his own offensively.

Despite being "held" to 13 points at Indiana Monday, Gilbert is still one of the hotter players in the Big 12 Conference. In his last four games, Gilbert is averaging 22.0 points per game (after averaging 12.4 in his first 5 games), and has made 16 three pointers (an average of 4.0 a game). He's finding his range from long distance of late, as Gilbert has made 20 treys in his last five games, compared to 6 threes in his first four outings.

Gilbert hopes for a repeat of his performance last year against Illinois, as he erupted for a then-career-high 24 points in MU's 78-72 win. He hit 5-of-7 three pointers on the night. His career high entering the game was 13 points.

Prior to Indiana, Gilbert turned in a career-high 32 point outing at #22 Iowa Saturday night. He hit 5 three pointers on the night (and tied an MU record with 16 three-point attempts), and added 3 rebounds and 2 assists, playing 46 of 50 minutes.

Gilbert had 26 points recently vs. DePaul, going for 17 second-half points. He hit 6-of-9 3-pt. field goals on the day -- a performance that reminded many of his 27-point outing last year that helped sink then-No. 7 Kansas. He sank 7-of-10 threes in that contest.

He scored 17 points vs. Saint Louis, a game in which he struggled from the floor, connecting on just 5-of-16 FGs. But he was money when the chips were down, as Gilbert made two straight long three-pointers which helped key the Tigers to a comeback win.

His first trey, with 2:44 left, cut the SLU lead to 69-66, and his second bomb just 40 seconds later made it 70-69. He had been 0-of-6 from long range prior to his late-game heroics.

Gilbert currently ranks 8th in the Big 12 in scoring, with his 16.7 ppg average entering Thursday's Illinois contest. He also ranks among league leaders in three-point shooting, assists and free throw shooting.

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) already ranks 7th on the MU career 3-point field goal chart (138 entering the Illinois game), and needs 53 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.

COMEBACK KIDS
In just 40 games under Head Coach Quin Snyder, Missouri has shown a propensity to comeback from precarious situations, as the Tigers have already won four games this year in which they've trailed opposition by 10 or more points. In Snyder's rookie season, MU won four games under similar circumstances.

Two weeks ago, the Tigers won a pair of ballgames despite trailing by as many as 10 points in each.

On Dec. 9th, Missouri led Saint Louis for a grand total of just 2 minutes, 20 seconds in the game -- 47 seconds in the first half and the final 1:33 of the game. SLU led by 10 points with 10:44 remaining in the game, and had the Tigers down by eight (69-61) with just 4:14 left. But MU out-excecuted the Billikens down the stretch, and outscored them by a 16-4 count the rest of the way.

Earlier in the week, Missouri rebounded from a 10-point first half deficit to DePaul, and went on to a solid 99-84 win. Previously, MU cameback from a 14-point second-half deficit against Rhode Island, followed by a comeback from a 10-point deficit the next game vs. Valparaiso.

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 in the early going, rebounding is the area in which the Tigers have likely improved most.

MU ranked last in the Big 12 last season in rebounding, with a per-game average of 33.5. Through nine games this season, the Tigers rank 4th in the league with an average of 42.2 entering Thursday's Braggin' Rights Game.

Mizzou is rebounding opponents by a 5.0 margin through nine games, and recently had an impressive performance on the glass vs. the tall and athletic DePaul Blue Demons.

The Tigers outboarded DePaul by a 38-26 margin, including an eye-popping 20-to-9 advantage on the offensive end. The Tigers turned those rebounds into 27 second-chance points. The Tigers enter Thursday's game as the top offensive rebounding team in the Big 12 (15.2 p/g).

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 by a 44-37 margin, holding URI to just 12 rebounds in the decisive second half.

On Nov. 25th 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.

HITTING THE FREEBIES
If a game comes down to the foul line, early indications show that Mizzou should be right at home.

The Tigers enter Thursday's game with Illinois with a success rate of 73.5% as a team from the line, which ranks 3rd in the Big 12.

MU's recent two-game road swing saw Iowa and Indiana attempt a combined 79 foul shots (including a massive 50 by Iowa), to only 45 for the Tigers.

MU has been sharp from the line in the game's final moments. Thus far, the Tigers have made 82.2% (60-of-73) of its free throws in the final four minutes of games (including overtime), and 82.5% (47-of-57) in the final two minutes (including overtime).

SOYOYE GRABBING THE BOARDS
Senior center Tajudeen Soyoye has continued his solid contributions in the middle for MU, despite being outsized most nights.

The 6-foot-9 center/forward is averaging 8.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and has played well together with freshman Arthur Johnson. That combo has helped MU claim an advantage on the boards in 6-of-9 games this season, a year after MU won the battle of the boards just 8 times in 31 games.

T.J. is coming off an outstanding game vs. Indiana, where he grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and added 5 points. Seven of his boards were of the offensive variety. Five of those came in the final 11 minutes of the game, and they led to five all important second-chance points for the Tigers in their five-point victory.

He ranks 7th in the Big 12 in rebounding, and is averaging 10.3 rpg in his last four games.

Saturday at Iowa, Soyoye scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. That marked his first double-double of the season for the Lagos, Nigeria native.

Soyoye has improved dramatically from the foul line. He's made 23-of-27 overall in his last six games, including a perfect 9-of-9 vs. Texas-Pan American.

His season free throw percentage of 81.6% is up significantly from a mark of 63.1% last season, and Soyoye ranks 10th in the Big 12 Conference in that category.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO CALL HIM 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 is laying claim to Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year candidacy, as he's averaging 9.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He's coming off a 10-point, 10-rebound performance at Indiana, which marked the third double-double since being inserted into the starting lineup five games ago. He's averaging 9.4 boards in his last five games.

Johnson had his best performance thus far recently against DePaul, as he notched his second-straight double-double against the Blue Demons, with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds.

A.J. was possibly MU's MVP of the game, as he kept the Tigers in the game during a first half when DePaul led by as many as 10 points. With primary scorers Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert struggling to find the mark, Johnson collected 7 offensive rebounds in the first half, and scored 14 points. He ended the game with 9 offensive boards.

Johnson was a vital cog in MU's comeback win over Rhode Island, scoring 12 second-half points (all 12 coming during a decisive 33-6 run) to lead the charge. He ended with 14 points, and added seven rebounds.

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.

STOKES FANS THE FLAMES
Freshman point guard Wesley Stokes is really coming into his own of late. He of the unmistakeable coiff was possibly MU's MVP in Monday's win at Indiana.

At Bloomington, Stokes provided a huge spark off the bench, as he scored a career-high 11 points and added an assist and a steal in 15 minutes of play.

Stokes hit 4-of-7 FGs on the night, including a gutsy floater in the lane over IU's 6-foot-9 Jeff Newton with 1:06 left in the game that gave MU a 62-61 lead.

That performance was preceded by an equally-clutch outing in MU's double overtime affair at #22 Iowa. He scored 8 points vs. the Hawkeyes, with all of them coming after regulation.

Stokes hit 6-of-7 FTs in overtime, including 2-of-2 with just 29 seconds left in the 1st overtime to force a second extra period. He also added 3 assists and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes of action.

Stokes has averaged 9.5 points a game in the last two outings, after averaging 2.3 in MU's first seven contests.

The owner of the best hair-do in the Big 12 Conference, Stokes has the support of his head coach. "I like it (his hair)," said Quin Snyder. "I just told him that `If you're going to have that hair, you'd better be a player.'"

GRAWER POWER
Senior guard Brian Grawer doesn't play above the rim, and he doesn't have a deadly cross-over dribble that breaks ankles, but don't tell MU Coach Quin Snyder that he's not a key to Tiger fortunes.

Following MU's 77-73 win over Saint Louis, Snyder called Grawer one of the best leaders he's been around.

"He's the guy that holds us together," said Snyder. "I feel like I've been around some pretty good leaders. I thought Steve Wojciechowski was a great leader. I thought Trajan Langdon was a great leader. Tommy Amaker, when I played, was a great leader. Brian Grawer right now is as good a leader on a team that I've ever been a part of," he said.

Grawer scored six points in MU's comeback win against the Billikens. Again, not flashy numbers, but consider the value of his exploits: All six points of his points came after halftime. One was a key three-pointer that cut a SLU nine-point lead to six, and 3-of-4 free throws in the game's final 24 seconds. The final two provided the winning points in the 77-73 win.

He's coming off a solid game at Indiana, where he scored 7 points, and added 4 assists (with no turnovers) and 2 steals in 26 minutes. He also sank a pair of free throws to give MU a 66-63 lead with 14 seconds left.

Grawer scored a season-high 13 points in MU'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. He was held to a season-low three points vs. Syracuse, but only attempted three shots.

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.

Grawer ranks 5th on the alltime MU career three-point field goal chart, with 152 entering the Illinois game. He needs 1 more to pass Mark Atkins for 3rd on the list. The alltime leader is Jason Sutherland, with 190.

Grawer also needs 2 more steals to catch former Tiger and former roomate Jeff Hafer for 6th 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 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. You wouldn't know he was a shy person by the way he attacks the rim. The high-flying rookie is one of the Big 12's most exciting finishers around the basket, and continues to develop into a vitally important player off the bench for the Tigers.

Paulding had a stellar performance Dec. 9th vs. Saint Louis, when he scored 13 points in 15 minutes and added a team-high 6 rebounds.

The Detroit, Mich. native was a key to MU's comeback win vs. Valparaiso, as he ended the game with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting (including 2 rim-rocking dunks). He also sank 4-of-5 free throws and added 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist to the cause.

Through nine games, Paulding is averaging 7.9 points a game, which is 5th-best on the squad.

POLLING DATA
The Sports Illustrated college basketball season preview issue had 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.

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.

NAJEEB ECHOLS
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
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.

DUANE JOHN
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.