Nov. 7, 2002
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Tigers Continue Exhibition Season Against Midwest All-Stars
Ranked 18th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, the Missouri Tigers (24-12, last season, 9-7 in Big 12 Conference play) play their second and final exhibition of 2002-03 season on Friday as they take on the Midwest All-Stars in the Hearnes Center. Mizzou picked up 81-80 overtime win over the EA Sports All-Stars last Saturday night.
The Tigers will be without the services of touted freshman Jimmy McKinney for Friday's contest and for the next three weeks. McKinney suffered a fracture of his frontal sinus above his right eye with 12:11 left in the second half of the Tiger's win over the EA Sports All-Stars. He is expected to miss only one Tiger regular season contest, the season opener at Hearnes against American University on Nov. 22.
About the Midwest All-Stars
The Midwest All-Stars are also playing their second 2002-03 game this Friday. The All-Stars are bringing with them a Missouri familiar, former UMKC forward Myron Brown along with a whole slew of Midwest natives.
Former Univ. of California (Pa.) guard Chauncey Willis just missed a double-double scoring 19 points while pulling down 9 rebounds in the All-Star's 63-113 loss to the University of Florida. The Gators jumped all over the All-Stars early as they fell behind 62-24 after the first half. The head coach of the squad is Chris Grier.
Tigers Take EA Sports Out of the Game in Overtime Win
The Tigers are coming off of what proved to be a thrilling overtime victory over the EA Sports All-Stars, 81-80 last Saturday.
Junior All-American candidate Rickey Paulding sparked the Tigers with 22 points (13 of which came in the second half and overtime) including the three-point shot that sent the game to overtime with just 0.06 second left to play. Junior Ricky Clemons, who was solid in his preseason debut as a Tiger at point guard, put in 13 points and handed out five assists.
Junior big men Travon Bryant and Arthur Johnson also gave quality efforts. Both just missed double-doubles as Bryant put in 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds while Johnson had eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
The Tigers were able to overcome shaky (11-of-35) free throw shooting by utilizing solid offensive rebounds pulling down 18 of them, outscoring EA Sports, 18-10 in second-chance points.
Bench Marks
Depth and health have been hot topics for everyone associated with Tiger basketball throughout the summer and heading into the 2002-03 season. With only 12 players on the squad, the bench will play an extremely vital role in the success the Tigers will experience in the coming months.
While it is early, (heck, its not even the first game of the regular season) the Tiger bench did show some good signs in their 81-80 overtime victory over the EA Sports All-Stars last Saturday. Freshman Jimmy McKinney rotated with junior Josh Kroenke playing the off-guard spot, putting in five points while pulling down six rebounds in just 14 minutes before leaving the contest with an injury.
Fellow freshman and big man Kevin Young also made the most of his five minutes played, snaring three offensive and three defensive rebounds, for a total of six boards (still working on my addition).
Sophomore Najeeb Echols also provided some spark for Mizzou. The talented swingman scored four points including two on a fast break dunk going 2-for-3 from the field while pulling down five rebounds.
4 Sure
The fourth place spot has been the vogue place to pick Mizzou to finish this season in the Big 12. The Big 12 Coaches, media from around the league and ESPN.com have all picked the Tigers to finish in the No. 4 spot behind Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and ahead of Texas Tech.
The Tigers have some time to get their feet under them before they face any of the top four picks. Their first tilt with any of those four teams doesn't come until January 25th when they travel to Austin to hook up with the Horns.
Below is a breakdown of where each school was picked by the Big 12 Coaches, media and ESPN in their preseason polls:
School Coaches Media ESPN Kansas 1 1 1 Oklahoma 2 2 2 Texas 3 3 3 Missouri 4 4 4 Texas Tech 5 5 5 Oklahoma St. 6 6 6 Iowa St. 7 7 7 Baylor 8 9 8 Colorado 9 8 9 Nebraska 10 10 10 Kansas State 11 11 11 Texas A&M 12 12 12
A Quick Look at Mizzou
Mizzou enters the season with 10 scholarship players on the roster and will suit up only 12 players overall. What the Tigers lack in depth, they will more than make up for in talent and desire. Mizzou will be led by junior captains Rickey Paulding, Arthur Johnson, Travon Bryant and Josh Kroenke.
Paulding and Johnson are both All-America candidates heading into 02-03 and both have tremendous potential. Bryant will probably be the Tigers most improved player this season after tireless work in the weight room this summer. Kroenke is the elder statesman of the squad and will provide a lethal marksman from three-point range, and a great deal of leadership to the squad.
Add to the equation, talented newcomers Jimmy McKinney (Fr., G., Vashon HS) and Ricky Clemons (Jr., G., College of Southern Idaho), and Mizzou has the talent to make a run at the Big 12 Championship in 2002-03.
Men's Basketball Picked 18th in ESPN/USA Today Pre-Season Poll
The Tigers were ranked 18th in the nation according to the first "official" poll of the season, as the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll was released on Thursday.
The poll has Mizzou, which went 24-12 last year and reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994, as the country's 18th best squad, with the University of Arizona Wildcats edging out Big 12 foe Kansas for the No. 1 spot. The poll also reaffirmed the belief the Tiger's 2002-03 schedule is going to be an undertaking of enormous magnitude. Three of the Tigers upcoming opponents (No. 2 KU, No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 5 Texas) are ranked ahead of Mizzou and four total (including No. 25 Illinois) were ranked in the poll. Five other Tiger opponents (Syracuse, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Iowa State and USC) received votes.
Tiger head coach Quin Snyder and juniors Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson participated in Big 12 Media Day in Dallas last Thursday. Mizzou doesn't open its regular season until Nov. 22, when it welcomes 2001-02 Patriot League Champion American University to the Hearnes. For ticket information on Tiger Basketball, log on to www.mutigers.com.
Quin Snyder Leads Mizzou into Year Four
Exactly 100 games into his career as a head coach at Missouri, head coach Quin Snyder sports a 62-38 mark. He has led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons and the Tigers have progressed one round further every season. Snyder and the Tigers most recent post-season run yielded an appearance in the Elite Eight, MU's first trip to the round of eight since 1994.
Snyder guided his first squad to an 18-13 overall record, and he was named National Rookie Coach of the Year by Basketball Times. In 2000-01, the Tigers went 20-13, despite playing one of the nation's toughest schedules, and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Snyder's mission is to continue to build on the foundation the Tigers have built over the past three years and take them 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).
Cleaning the Glass
While Mizzou lost almost 55% percent of its scoring when senior Clarence Gilbert graduated and junior and current LA Laker Kareem Rush departed for the NBA, the Tigers still boast the teams top rebounders.
Leading the way is Arthur Johnson, who averaged 7.9 rebounds and 12.2 points per contest. Juniors Travon Bryant and Rickey Paulding were also solid on the glass averaging 5.4 and 3.9 boards per game.
The emphasis on rebounding and toughness has grown more and more apparent every season since Head Coach Quin Snyder arrived at Missouri. After being out-rebounded by 5.0 boards per game in his first season at Mizzou, the Tiger's turned the tables last season, out-rebounding opponents by nearly 4.5 reb. per outing. Below is a look at the progression Mizzou has made over the past three years on the boards:
Year Reb. Margin 1999-00 -5.0 2000-01 -0.6 2001-02 +4.4
It is merely coincidence (yeah right) that AJ, Tra and Rickey's freshman season was the 2000-01 season.
Pre-Season Picks
Here's a brief look at where MU is being picked by a handful of preseason polls:
FoxSports.com 10th Sporting News 18th Lindy's 9th Street and Smith's 24th
Picking Up Where They Left Off
Mizzou ended the year last season on an unbelievable hot streak which was ended by Big 12 foe Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.
The run began with consecutive wins over #5-seed Miami (93-80) and #4 Ohio State (83-67) in Albuquerque, N.M. That put the Tigers in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1994, and the 6th time in school history. Mizzou then notched its 1st win in six tries against UCLA, as they came back from an 8-pt. defecit to win, 82-73 in San Jose, Calif., putting the Tigers in their third Elite Eight in school history.
October 1, 2004
That is the forecasted opening date of the Tigers new arena that they will call home for the next several years. The ground breaking for the state-of-the-art building was Sept. 21, 2002. The yet-to-be-named facility is penciled to cost $75 million , and was kick started by a generous $25 million donation by local entrepreneur Bill Laurie.
The State of Missouri will contribute $35 million in bond appropriations. The additional $15 million will be raised through athletic fund-raising efforts.
The Hearnes Center will continue to be utilized by MU Athletics Olympic sport programs. Fans will be able to monitor the progress of the new arena as it grows from the ground up, by logging on to www.mutigers.com starting Nov. 13. A web-cam will be positioned on the southwest corner of the Hearnes Center and will provide a live, 24-7 shot of the site as the building is being completed. Log on to www.mutigers.com starting on the 13th to check it out
Going Vertical
Over the past two seasons, 2002-03 Wooden Award Candidate Rickey Paulding has dazzled Mizzou fans with a dizzying array of rim-rocking dunks and high-flying action.
While the talented junior is known best for his crazy athleticism and above-the-rim antics, Paulding has become one of the most well-rounded players in the conference.
One of the indicators of Paulding's dedication and desire to become a well rounded player was his increased accuracy from the perimeter. After going 12-of-56 (including a stretch where he went 0-for-22) from the three-point arc during his freshman season in 2000-01, Paulding was the Tiger's most accurate marksman last season, which is pretty impressive considering he was on a team with two of the most prolific shooters (Clarence Gilbert and Kareem Rush) in MU History.
He shot a team-high 44% (50-of-113) from the land of trey including 53.3% in the NCAA Tournament. Rick averaged 18.3 points and was named to the All-West Region Team during the Tigers run to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.
Detroit-Block City
Pardon the Kiss reference, but AJ has kissed several opponent's shots good-bye over the past two years. Possibly one of the most underrated big men in the country, junior and Detroit, Mich., native Arthur Johnson has been a powerful presence in the middle for the Tigers.
Arthur has led the Tigers in blocks and rebounds each of the last two seasons while averaging 10.7 points per game over the course of his two-year stint at Mizzou.
In fact, once the regular season hits (just 20 days from now), AJ will need just 14 blocked shots to surpass former Tiger great Steve Stipanovich for the all-time MU blocked shots mark. AJ sits in second on the chart right now with 136 swats right behind Stipanovich's 149.
Possessing great hands and a veritable plethora of quality interior moves, Johnson has been named All-Big 12 honorable mention each of the last two seasons and was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team following his 71 blocks last season.
Trav"On Fire"
Since arriving at Mizzou, junior Travon Bryant has been one of the hardest workers on the team. Bryant's hard work payed off at the end of last season when he earned a starting spot on the squad for 25 of the Tiger's final 29 games.
His play in the final five games was nothing short of awesome. He averaged 7.8 points and 8.4 rebounds during that stretch that included an outstanding effort against the Tiger's NCAA First round opponent, Miami (Fla.) in which he scored 11 points while pulling down 10 rebounds.
Chances are when the charismatic lefty continues put up a shot, it is probably going to go in. Tra was one of the most accurate Tigers last year shooting just under 58% from the field last season. He also developed the ability to step outside and hit the three this past summer, a weapon that will make him hard to guard on the perimeter for big men around the league.
The Crafty Veteran
Junior guard Josh Kroenke will be the one of the Tiger's fearless leaders this season. A great hustler, Kroenke goes after loose balls with reckless abandon and is not afraid to defend against the best guards in the country.
The native of Columbia has become one of the Tiger's most lethal spot up shooters and will be called upon to continue to contribute quality minutes whenever his in the game.
Super Sophomores
Najeeb Echols and Jeffrey Ferguson enter their second year with a sense of urgency. The two outstanding athletes made good contributions in their freshman seasons.
Ferguson proved invaluable down low for Mizzou. He averaged 7.1 minutes per contest last season putting 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per contest. He is one of the Tiger's top shot blockers and is one of the best dunkers on the team.
Echols has now fully recovered from a knee injury he experienced toward during his senior year of high school. Jeeb has looked more athletic and explosive in early season practice and will get to move back to his more natural position at guard and small forward after spending much of the year at power forward last season.
With Arms Wide Open
The Tigers welcome three newcomers to the squad this season. Junior Ricky Clemons, and freshmen Kevin Young and Jimmy McKinney join a Tiger squad that lost three starters from a year ago.
Clemons has fit in nicely at the point for the Tigers. A natural floor leader, Clemons poured in 21 points in his first action wearing a Tiger uniform last weekend during the Black and Gold scrimmage. A transfer from the College of Southern Idaho, Clem averaged 18 points and almost eight assists last season.
McKinney, who is a native of St. Louis, continues to impress with his effort and great court savvy. The 6-3 freshman #2 guard displays a high level of maturity and will be called upon to play both the off-guard and point guard position.
Kevin Young, who has been tabbed as the "Jamaican Sensation" by the media relations office, has dropped 53 pounds since coming to Mizzou in June. While Young has dropped the pounds., he has picked up his play to higher level every day. A extremely coachable young man, Kevin will have a year to learn from AJ, Tra and sophomore Jeffrey Ferguson.
Mizzou Black Tops Mizzou Gold in Men's Black and Gold Game
Junior Ricky Clemons leads Black squad with 21 points
Oct. 26, 2002
Columbia, Mo.- The University of Missouri men's basketball team held its annual Black and Gold Scrimmage on Saturday morning in the Hearnes Center. With just under 3,500 Tiger fan's in attendance, MU Black edged out MU Gold, 43-36 on the shoulders of 21 points by junior point guard Ricky Clemons. Clemons was 8-of-11 from the field including 3-of-5 from the three-point line.
Junior Arthur Johnson also had a solid scrimmage for MU Black pouring in 11 points while pulling down 11 rebounds. MU Black was more efficient from the field shooting 48.6% compared to MU Gold's percentage of 36.8% despite being out-rebounded by the Gold, 24-11.
After a slow start from both squads, MU Black jumped out to a 24-14 lead after the first half. MU Gold opened the second half with a 7-0 run to pull within three at 24-21. MU Gold was sparked in the second half by strong play from junior Rickey Paulding, who made two highlight reel dunks and finished the contest with 17 points and six rebounds. Junior Travon Bryant also registered a solid effort rolling for eight points and a game-high eight rebounds. Bryant has added a new dimension to his game for the upcoming season, the three point shot, going 2-of-2 from behind the arc.
Quin and Helen Snyder Announce the Formation of the "Q Foundation"
Non-profit organization will benefit educational and academic enhancement throughout Missouri.
Sept. 27, 2002
Columbia, Mo.-University of Missouri men's basketball coach Quin Snyder and his wife Helen announced the launching of the "Q Foundation." The organization's primary focus will be to encourage the educational ambitions of young men and women by promoting educational opportunities and literacy.
The Q Foundation will look to support educational institutions, ranging from pre-school to high school, and provide scholarship opportunities for educational enhancement. It will also focus on developing community center literacy programs in economically disadvantaged areas as well as promoting literacy through participation in reading programs.
"Helen and I are thrilled to be embarking on this endeavor," Snyder said. "We have always been passionate about education on all levels and in all forms. Through this organization, we hope to help create and enhance the educational opportunities our young people are receiving in the state of Missouri and beyond."
. The foundation will feature a board of directors that will oversee and guide the foundations undertakings. The President of the Board will be Coach Snyder's former Duke teammate: current ESPN personality and attorney Jay Bilas. Other board members include former Duke and current NBA star Shane Battier as well as several prominent business leaders from around the country and throughout the state of Missouri. For more information on the Q Foundation, call 573-882-1495.