May 28, 2001

Pittsburg, Kan. - Pittsburg State University men's basketball coach Gene Iba announced that former University of Missouri standout Jeff Hafer has accepted the graduate assistant position on the Gorilla men's basketball staff.

Hafer, a Joplin, Mo., native, completed a four-year playing career at MU during the 1999-2000 season. He averaged 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, leading the Tigers to a second straight trip to the NCAA Division I National Tournament.

At the time of his departure, Hafer, whose MU career spanned 112 games, shared the Tigers' single game record for blocked shots (5), and ranked fifth on MU's all-time steals list (169). He was named to the Big 12 Conference All-Freshman Team in 1996-97 when he averaged 6.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game despite missing seven games due to injury.

Hafer was a first-team Missouri Class 5A All-State performer as a senior at Joplin High School in 1996, averaging 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game.

"I'm happy to be able to have Jeff Hafer join our basketball program," Iba said. "Jeff had a great reputation as a player both at Joplin High School and at the University of Missouri. I think he'll make a tremendous assistant coach at Pittsburg State."

Hafer, who is married to the former Anne Moore of Joplin, plans to pursue a master's of business administration degree at Pittsburg State University. The couple, who plan to reside in Pittsburg, are expecting their first child.