April 9, 2001
Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri men's basketball team celebrated a season of accomplishment with its season awards finale, held tonight at the Columbia Performing Arts Center.
Under second-year Head Coach Quin Snyder, the Tigers achieved a 20-13 record, and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before running into eventual national champion Duke. Missouri's first-round NCAA win over Georgia was the Tigers' first in the tournament since 1995.
Here's a recap of the awards handed out at the ceremonies:
? The Joyce A. Walls Memorial Award for Most Outstanding Player went to sophomore forward Kareem Rush. Rush led the Big 12 in scoring (21.1 ppg), and was a first-team all-Big 12 selection despite missing seven games late in the year due to torn ligaments in his shooting hand.
? The Wilbur "Sparky" Stalcup Award for Most Inspirational Player went to senior guard Brian Grawer. Grawer averaged 8.4 points per game this season, and ended his Tiger career among the top-10 school leaders in three-point field goals (2nd - 210), steals (2nd - 195), free throw percentage (3rd - 83.7%), and assists (8th - 330).
? The George R. Edwards Award for Academic Ability went to Grawer for the second straight year. Grawer was named to the Big 12 Conference Academic First Team for the second consecutive year, and was a Verizon/Co-SIDA District VII Academic All-American. Grawer scored a hat trick on the evening, as he also earned the Coaches' Award, which represents a combination of leadership, desire, commitment, and teamwork among intangibles.
? The Most Improved Player Award went to junior guard Clarence Gilbert. Gilbert was the fourth-leading scorer in the Big 12 during the 2000-01 season, averaging a career-best 16.5 points per game. He became known as one of the most explosive scorers in the league, and earned national player of the week honors by ESPN.com after he scored a Big 12 record 43 points in leading MU to its memorable 112-109 four overtime win over Iowa State on Jan. 13th. Gilbert also led the Tigers in assists.
? The Michael F. Alden Award, which goes to the reserve who contributes the most for team morale, went to senior forward Johnnie Parker for the second straight season. Parker came off the bench in 23 of 29 appearances during the season, and contributed 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while serving as a team co-captain.
? The Black and Gold Award, which goes to the player who best displays sacrifice by taking the most charges during the year, went to freshman guard Wesley Stokes.
? The Best Defensive Player went to senior forward Tajudeen Soyoye, while other awards were presented to freshman center Arthur Johnson (leading rebounder and leading field goal percentage), Gilbert (most assists) and senior student managers Andy Herbert and Kris Anderson.
? Team captains were also announced for next season, and those voted to represent the team for the 2001-02 season (as voted by players and coaches) were Clarence Gilbert and Kareem Rush.