TIGERS BEGIN ROAD STRETCH AT COLORADO LOOKING TO GO 2-0 IN LEAGUE
The University of Missouri (10-3 overall, 1-0 in Big 12 Conference play) travels to Boulder, Colo., where they'll take on the Colorado Buffaloes (10-4, 0-1) Wednesday night. Tipoff for the game is set for 8:00 p.m. (central).

Missouri opened its 2001 conference season with a hard-fought 68-66 home win over Nebraska. The Tigers have now won three straight games since falling in overtime to #5 Illinois on Dec. 21st. The Colorado game begins a tough stretch which will see the Tigers play four of their next five on the road.

Colorado had a five-game winning streak snapped when they fell, 61-56 at Baylor last Saturday in the Buffs' league opener. CU is averaging a league-high 88.0 points per game, and is one of the nation's top shooting teams, at 51.7% for the season.

THE QUIN-TISENNTIALS
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 28-16 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 2-0 vs. Colorado and Ricardo Patton, as the Tigers swept CU last season.

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.

TIGERS HIT THE ROAD
Jack Kerouac should be required reading for Tiger players over the next couple of weeks, as MU will lend its own interpretation of what it means to be "On the Road."

Wednesday's search for Rocky Mountain gold (not oysters) begins a stretch for Mizzou that will see them play four of their next five on the road. The Tigers return home Saturday for a tough matchup with 18th-ranked Iowa State, then hit the road for three games in nine days: at Kansas State (Jan. 16), at 10th-ranked Virginia (Jan. 20), and at Nebraska (Jan. 24).

MU is 1-1 this year in true road games, losing a heartbreaker at then-#25 Iowa (99-94 in 2 OTs) and winning at Indiana (68-63) in a span of three days from Dec. 16-18.

Mizzou's win at Indiana got significantly more meaningful Sunday when the Hoosiers defeated defending national champion and previously unbeaten and top-ranked Michigan State on the same court.

MU has also played four other games away from Hearnes, as they're 2-2 in neutral court contests, including going 2-1 at the Great Alaska Shootout in November.

NEBRASKA NOTES

MU-COLORADO SERIES
Missouri and Colorado will meet for the 131st time Wednesday when they hook up in Boulder. MU leads the series by a count of 83-47 overall. Mizzou has won three straight in the series, and four of five overall since the Buffaloes claimed four straight (their longest such streak in the series) from 1996-98.

Missouri swept the Buffs last season, winning 100-86 in Columbia and 86-81 in Boulder. It marked the Tigers' first season sweep over CU since 1994.

MU has won 13 of the last 20 games in the series, but has historically had a tough go of it in Boulder. The Tigers had lost five straight there before last year's win. CU leads 29-23 in games played in Boulder, but MU leads 12-9 in games at the Coors Events Center.

TIGERS IN ATTENDANCE
The Rocky Mountain Tigers Chapter of the MU Alumni Association will have a group of 75-100 alumni in attendance Wednesday at the game rooting on their beloved Tigers. The chapter president is Tim Nimmer, a 1994 MU grad.

IN HOSTILE TERRITORY
Winning on someone else's home court is a tough chore, but the Tigers have shown an ability to come away with some key road wins over the past two seasons, and those wins have spurred MU to consecutive finishes in the top-half of the Big 12 standings.

Last season, MU went 5-3 on the road in Big 12 play, and ended 10-6 overall to finish 6th. All five wins came by 10 points or less.

In 1999, MU went a similar 5-3 in Big 12 road games, and finished 11-5 overall to take second in the league. All but one of those wins came by 10 points or less, as well.

Missouri went the entire first two years of Big 12 play without a conference road win.

HOME-ROAD COMPARISON
As expected, MU has performed better statistically at home in amassing a perfect 7-0 home record thus far.

The most glaring numbers that jump out relate to shooting percentage and free throw attempts. MU is shooting 47.8% from the floor at home, compared to just 39.9% away from home. MU turned in its best shooting game of the season on Dec. 30th, as they fired in 56.5% of their shots (35-of-62) against Stetson. That mark was also the 2nd-highest under Quin Snyder.

Additionally, Tiger opponents are getting an average of 29.2 free throw attempts per game away from Hearnes, but are being held to 14.7 attempts on average at Hearnes.

Also, the Tigers have controlled the glass with authority at home, posting a rebounding margin of +7.4 at Hearnes, as opposed to a deficit of -2.3 away from home.

Individually, Kareem Rush is averaging 25.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in MU's two road games, and is a perfect 18-of-18 from the foul line. Clarence Gilbert is averaging 22.5 points a game in road games, while T.J. Soyoye has pulled down an average of 12.5 rebounds, and Arthur Johnson is added 10.5 boards on the road.

MU NO. 33 IN POWER RANKINGS
Missouri enters Wednesday's game ranked 33th in the latest RPI power poll (www.collegerpi.com). The Tigers have played the 47th-toughest schedule in the land to this point.

Colorado enters the game ranked 70th in the power rankings, with a strength of schedule rating of 119th.

Two of MU's losses were to ranked teams (at #22 Iowa and vs. #5 Illinois), while the other loss came to Syracuse, which is now ranked 10th in the latest Associated Press poll.

RUSH, GILBERT DYNAMIC DUO
Missouri's top two scorers, sophomore forward Kareem Rush and junior guard Clarence Gilbert put on quite a show Dec. 16th 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.

Gilbert, who ranks 9th in the Big 12 in scoring, and Rush (the league's top scorer) are in fact the top point-scoring duo in the league.

IT'S A BLOCK PARTY
Missouri has blocked 59 shots in 13 games on the season, and needs only two more blocks to equal last year's total of 61 for the entire season (31 games).

Freshman center Arthur Johnson is leading the charge, with 29 blocks. That's an average of 2.2 per game, and puts him on pace to break the MU single-season record of 56 set by former all-American Steve Stipanovich in 1982-83. He needs just five more to move into the single-season top-10 list.

Blocked shots are just one fact that points out how much the Tigers' inside game has improved from last year, when Quin Snyder was forced to employ 6-foot-5 Jeff Hafer and 6-foot-9 T.J. Soyoye at the 4 and 5 spots, respectively.

Hafer and Soyoye combined to average 15.8 points and 9.9 rebounds a game last year playing against much bigger competition most every game. They blocked a total of 16 shots in 31 games.

This season, Soyoye and Johnson are adding an average of 19.0 points and 15.7 rebounds per game to the Tiger cause, and have blocked 33 shots between them already.

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 six of 13 outings (winning all but two of those).

In addition to coaching adjustments made in the lockerroom by Quin Snyder and his staff, Mizzou has simply played better after halftime. The Tigers are scoring more, shooting better, and handling the ball better.

MU has outscored opponents by 109 points in the second half, as the Tigers are averaging 42.2 points after intermission, to opponents' 33.8.

The last time out was a perfect example of this trend. MU was ice cold in the first half, shooting just 27.3% from the floor (including 9.1% from 3-pt. range), and scored just 26 points. The Tigers regrouped to connect on 16-of-30 FGs in the 2nd half (including 4-8 3-pt. FGs), good for a 53.3% clip, and outscored the Huskers, 42-32 for the comeback win.

Nebraska held a huge 23-12 rebounding edge in the first half, but the Tigers held their own in the second half on the boards, grabbing 14 while holding NU to 12.

Another 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.

IT'S ALWAYS RUSH HOUR AT MIZZOU
It's only halfway through the season, 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 Sporting News recently released its all-American team to this point in the season, and Rush was listed as a first-teamer at small forward. He was also listed as one of 30 mid-season candidates for the prestigious Wooden Award, as announced recently by the Wooden Award Foundation.

The top scorer in the Big 12 Conference (22.2 ppg), Rush is making 30-point performances seem routine. He's coming off his third 30-pt. game of the season, as he racked up 30 points and added 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks vs. Nebraska.

Rush was a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line on the night, including a pair of clutch freebies with 1:04 left that provided the final margin in MU's 68-66 win.

He's averaged 25.3 points in his last three games since foul trouble held him to a season-low 11 points vs. #5 Illinois on Dec. 21. He played just 21 minutes in that game, as he did in MU's loss to Syracuse in the Great Alaska Shootout championship game. The Tigers are 0-2 when he plays 21 minutes or less, and conversely are 10-1 when he plays 24 or more.

He previously had a 25-point, 12-rebound outing vs. Stetson. He sank 10-of-16 shots on the day, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also added a career-high five assists in the game, and notched the third double-double of the season.

Rush turned in an outstanding performance recently 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.

Prior to that, Rush had a huge week when he averaged 28.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in leading MU to 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 averaged an MU-freshman record 14.7 points per game last year, and was named the Big 12's co-freshman-of-the-year.

GILBERT THE GREAT
Junior guard Clarence Gilbert has emerged as one of the Big 12's top scorers this season, and his presence gives MU the luxury of having one of the deadliest 1-2 perimeter scoring combos around.

Gilbert is coming off a gutty performance against Nebraska. He tallied 16 points (11 in the second half), and added 4 steals and 3 assists in 36 minutes. Perhaps most important, however, was his harassing defensive effort against NU's Cookie Belcher. Gilbert held Belcher to 8 points (8.5 below his average coming in), and forced him into 7 turnovers in the game.

Gilbert's scoring is down slightly in the last three games, but he's getting others involved, as he's averaged a team-best 5.3 assists in those three contests.

Gilbert had a great all-around game on Dec. 30 vs. Stetson, as he scored 13 points and dished out seven assists (one shy of his career high) and added four rebounds and two steals. He made 5-of-10 shots on the day.

Gilbert previously had a 23-point outing vs. Illinois. Despite making just 8-of-23 FGs on the night (4-of-13 3-pt. FGs), he was forced to carry the load offensively while his teammate Rush was on the bench with foul trouble. Gilbert did his best to play hero, though, as he hit a runner in the lane with 1:03 left in regulation that gave MU its last lead of the game, at 72-70, before Illinois sent it into overtime.

Gilbert turned in a career-high 32 point outing at #22 Iowa. 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 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.

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 5th on the MU career 3-point field goal chart (150 entering the Colorado game), and is on pace to break the career record of 190 set by former Tiger Jason Sutherland. He needs 2 treys to tie Mark Atkins for 4th on the list, and is just 9 behind active leader Brian Grawer.

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 44 games under Head Coach Quin Snyder, Missouri has shown a propensity to comeback from precarious situations, as the Tigers have already won five 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.

On Saturday vs. Nebraska, the Tigers trailed by 10 points with 15:20 left in the game. But MU strung together a 10-0 run that got them back in the game, and held on at the end for the win.

Earlier this season, the Tigers won consecutive games under similar circumstances.

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 that same 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.

ARTHUR, KING OF SWAT
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 10.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He leads Big 12 freshmen in four categories, including field goal percentage, rebounding, blocks and steals, and is currently 3rd in scoring.

A.J. is coming off a solid 13-point game vs. Nebraska. He added 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks in a career-high 34 minutes. He had 9 of his points in the second half (on 4-of-5 FGs), as his teammates continued to look for him down the stretch. His biggest bucket came on a sweet jump hook in the lane with 3:21 left to give MU a 63-60 lead.

Johnson previously had a 14-point outing vs. Coastal Carolina. He blocked 7 shots during the game, marking the second straight game he surpassed the old school record of 5 blocks.

On Dec. 30 vs. Stetson, Johnson blocked a school-record 8 shots. That shattered the old MU single-game mark of 5, which was held by seven former Tigers. He also added 10 points and 6 rebounds on the day.

Against 5th-ranked Illinois, A.J. had a solid 15-point, 12-rebound performance vs. the Illini's strong front line, which marked his 4th double-double since being inserted into the starting lineup. He's averaging 10.8 points and 8.3 rebounds a game as a starter.

Johnson hit 7-of-10 FGs against the Illini, and displayed a nice array of moves on the post, including a soft-as-a-babies'-bottom jump hook. His rebounding total marked a career high.

Johnson scored a career-high 16 points and added 10 rebounds vs. DePaul in December.

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 over 300 pounds. But he worked hard in pre-season conditioning, and is now down to 265.

SOYOYE GRABBING THE BOARDS
Senior center Tajudeen Soyoye has continued his solid contributions in the middle for MU.

The 6-foot-9 center/forward is averaging 8.7 points and a team-best 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 7-of-13 games this season, a year after MU won the battle of the boards just 8 times in 31 games.

T.J. was held to 4 points Saturday vs. Nebraska, but added 7 rebounds and played the role of hero in the waning seconds of MU's 68-66 win. With MU clinging to its 2-point lead, Nebraska had the ball in its own court with 1.7 seconds left for an inbounds pass. Soyoye guarded NU's inbounds man, John Robinson, and promptly stole the pass to seal the Tigers' comeback win.

Soyoye had a double-double two games ago, as he scored a season-high 16 points vs. Coastal Carolina and added 12 rebounds. He ranks 5th in the Big 12 in rebounding, and is averaging 9.7 rpg in his last 6 games.

T.J. turned in an outstanding game vs. Indiana recently, when 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.

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

Soyoye has improved dramatically from the foul line. His season free throw percentage of 75.8% is up significantly from a mark of 63.1% last season, and Soyoye ranks 12th in the Big 12 Conference in that category. Included in his total is a perfect 9-of-9 effort from the charity stripe vs. Texas-Pan American.

RETURN OF GRAWER POWER
Following MU's Dec. 9th win over Saint Louis, MU Head Coach Quin Snyder called senior guard 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. Certainly 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.

Grawer has been held to an average of 2.5 points in his last two games, but he had his most efficient outing of the year just three games ago vs. Stetson, as he scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, all from three-point land. It was the most threes he's hit in a game since going 4-of-7 from deep last year at Colorado.

Grawer didn't pick up a ball from the time between MU's Dec. 21 game with Illinois and the Tigers' first practice on Dec. 27th after returning from the holiday break. The rest must have helped, because in that first practice back, he hit 10 three pointers in MU's 30-minutes scrimmage that night.

He had three points Saturday vs. Nebraska, but they proved to be quite valuable for the Tigers. He hit a three-pointer from the left corner with 14:59 left in the game, just moments after Nebraska had taken a 10-point lead. His shot spurred a 10-0 run that got MU back in the ballgame.

Previously at Indiana, 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.

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 3rd on the alltime MU career three-point field goal chart, with 159 entering the Colorado game. The alltime leader is Jason Sutherland, with 190.

Grawer also needs 1 more steal to pass former Tiger Mike Sandbothe for 4th on the career steals chart, and needs 2 assists to tie Sandbothe for 10th on the career assist chart.

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 13 games this season, the Tigers rank 3rd in the league with an average of 40.9 entering Wednesday's contest.

Mizzou is rebounding opponents by a +2.9 margin through 13 games, and they recently held their own against one of the nation's best front lines. Fifth-ranked Illinois held a slight 49-45 rebounding edge over the Tigers in their overtime triumph on Dec. 21st.

MU also had an impressive performance on the glass vs. the tall and athletic DePaul Blue Demons back in December.

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 Wednesday's game as the top offensive rebounding team in the Big 12 (14.92 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 Wednesday's game with a success rate of 68.9% as a team from the line, which ranks 5th in the Big 12.

MU had ranked near the top of the league however, but they had a recent three-game swoon where they shot a combined 53.3% from the line (40-of-75), including a season-low 51.7% effort from the line against Illinois, as the Tigers connected on just 15-of-29 freebies.

In MU's double-overtime loss at #25 Iowa, the Tigers were solid from the line, going 20-of-29 (69.0%). But the homestanding Hawkeyes were the benefactors of a whopping 50 attempts during the game, making 34 of them in their five-point win.

The Tigers got back on track last Saturday in the win over Nebraska, as MU connected on 13-of-17 freebies (including 8-of-8 by Kareem Rush) to shoot 76.5% for the game. MU held the Huskers to a season-low 10 free throw attempts, and the Tigers are now a perfect 8-0 on the year when attempting more free 7throws than opponents.

MU has been sharp from the line in the game's final moments. Thus far, the Tigers have made 77.5% (69-of-89) of its free throws in the final four minutes of games (including overtime), and 77.1% (54-of-70) in the final two minutes (including overtime).

STOKES FANS THE FLAMES
After taking awhile to make the typical freshman adjustments, point guard Wesley Stokes has emerged as a valuable member of the Tiger reserve. He of the unmistakeable coiff was possibly MU's MVP in the big 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 added 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in 24 minutes vs. #5 Illinois. Seven of his points came in the second half, as he helped MU rally from an 8-point deficit to force overtime.

Stokes has averaged 9.2 points a game in that three-game Big Ten swing, 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.'"

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.

He had a solid 8-point, 2-rebound and 2-assist outing vs. Stetson. Included in his point total was an eye-popping alley-oop dunk from Clarence Gilbert that will likely make quite a few highlight reels this season.

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 13 games, Paulding is averaging 6.8 points a game, which is 6th-best on the squad.

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, shows that Tiger freshmen Wesley Stokes and Travon Bryant will be the first native Californians 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.