Dec. 9, 2002
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Phoenix Come Calling to the Hearnes On Monday
The University of Missouri men's basketball team returns home on Monday for a 7 p.m. tip with the Phoenix of Wisconsin-Green Bay. This is a short turnaround for the Tigers (less than 48 hours) as they are coming off of a 78-72 win over Southern California at the John R. Wooden Classic, which ended at approximately 8:30 p.m. Columbia time on Saturday night.
Mizzou is looking to go 5-0 to start a season for only the second time in 11 seasons. The Tigers started last season with a 9-0 mark before falling to Iowa on Dec. 15. Before that, the last 5-0 start dates back to the 1991-92 season, when that team, which was coached by Norm Stewart and featured Anthony Peeler as the captain of the team, opened the season with an 11-0 mark.
The Tigers and Phoenix will be facing off for the first time since 1984, when Mizzou took an 88-59 win in Columbia, Mo.
About the UWGB Phoenix
The Phoenix enter Monday's matchup having won three of their last five contests and two of their last three sporting a record of 3-3. Their latest triumph came over Big 12 opponent Kansas State in Green Bay on Saturday night, 68-64.
K-State out-shot (44.6%-38.8%) and out-rebounded the Phoenix in the game, but UWGB got to the free throw line 30 times (making 23 of 'em) while K-State managed only 6-of-12 from the stripe, locking up the win for the Phoenix.
The folks from the land of the Packers and Lombardi are led by sophomore Matt Rohde, who is averaging 11.7 points per contest, and senior Greg Babcock, who is weighing in with 11.5 points per game.
Rohde also leads the squad in assists (19) and has made 11 three pointers this season, which ranks second on the squad behind sharp shooting Brandon Hansen, who is 13-of-30 from behind the arc this year.
Babcock is their leading rebounder and main force inside. He is averaging 6.5 boards per game while also being one of their most efficient offensive players, shooting at a 51.0% clip.
Tod Kowalczyk is in his first season as the head coach at UWGB and sports a record of 3-3. He inherits a squad that went 9-21 last season.
Tigers Rally in the Land of the Rally Monkey
Mizzou spent the weekend in the hometown of the 2002 Major League Baseball Champions, the Anaheim Angels. During their post-season run, the Angels' fans found a mascot their team could rally around when they were down in games called the rally monkey. Turns out, the monkey led them to a World Championship.
While the Tigers needed no such monkey business on Saturday night to pull out a 78-72 win over the USC Trojans, they did use a great rally after trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half.
Down 51-40 at the 15:41 mark of the second half, Mizzou outscored the Trojans, 38-21 the rest of the half on 13-of-25 from the field including 5-of-11 from three point land.
Freshman Jimmy McKinney took the game over scoring 10 of his 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field after the 16:00 media time out.
AJ's AG
Mizzou junior All-American candidate has been A.G. (all good) throughout his career at Mizzou. However, the talented big man has kicked his game into overdrive so far this season. He has recorded three double-doubles in four contests and has reached the 20 point plateau in two of the four games.
Arthur has completely dominated the paint during the Tigers last two wins. He has averaged 24.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest while shooting at a 60% (18-30) clip from the field. He recorded an amazing 38 minutes against USC, going for 24 points and 12 rebounds (six of which were offensive) in the Tigers come-from-behind win over the Trojans at the John Wooden Classic.
AJ also recorded a blocked shot in the game, leaving him just 10 blocks short of becoming Mizzou's all-time leader in blocked shots. He now has 140 career swats, trailing former Mizzou standout Steve Stipanovich for the all-time lead.
Classic Detective Show Revisited
No, this is not an ad for reruns the 1980's hit-detective show, "Simon and Simon" in which the two main characters were named ... you guessed it, Rick and AJ.
This is, however, a quick infomercial on the progress of three rising Tiger stars, juniors Ricky Clemons, Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson (a.k.a. AJ).
Much like fighting crime, like Simon and Simon did, Clemons' job of becoming the point guard and the leader of the team has been a full-time job. He has been up to the task, averaging 16.8 points and 5.5 assists per contest. He made a rather auspicious debut as a Tiger, going for 25 points against the Eagles of American University. He has also been money from the free throw line going a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line so far this season.
Paulding has been the quiet aggressor in the early going, averaging a smooth-jazz like 15.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest, both of which rank third on the squad.
Finally, AJ has been the man inside for Mizzou. The 6-9 center registered a career-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting against Sacramento State. He encored that awesome performance with 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Tigers 78-72 win over USC on Saturday.
The Man Behind the Mask
With 11:49 left to play in the first half of the Tigers' matchup with Austin Peay, Mizzou's own version of a masked avenger, freshman Jimmy McKinney, made his much awaited comeback and regular season debut for the Tigers.
Sporting a plastic mask to protect the area over his right eye where he suffered a fractured frontal sinus, the talent freshman came into the game to quite the ovation. He did not disappoint the fans that gave the ovations either. He scored eight points on 2-of-3 3-pt. shooting while handing out three assists in 16 minutes of playing time.
He was equally impressive in his second game as a Tiger putting in 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field in 22 minutes of playing time against Sacramento State.
McKinney saved his best for the second half in the Tigers' come-from-behind win over USC on Saturday. He registered a career-best 12 points in the contest, 10 of which came during Mizzou's second half flurry in which they went from down 11 at the 15:41 mark to tied with 9:00 minutes left in the game.
Legal Streaking
With the explosive offensive fire power the Tigers possess this season, Mizzou is likely to go on some pretty impressive offensive streaks during the 2002-03 campaign. Also, the flip side of a big scoring run is quality defense. Mizzou has held all three opponents to 40.0% or worse from the field so far and continues to instill what it calls "Mizzou Defense." Below is a list of some of the biggest offensive explosions the Tigers have produced this season while holding their opponent scoreless.
Opp. Streak Elapsed Time USC 12-0 1:49 (16:16-14:25-1st half) Sac. St. 13-0 3:39 (19:43-16:04-2nd Half) APSU 13-0 5:50 (5:50-Half-1st Half) USC 12-0 3:38 (18:03-14:03-1st Half) Sac. St. 12-0 3:32 (14:59-11:27-1st Half) Amer. 11-0 5:57 (11:22-5:25-1st Half)
Quick Out of the Gate
Mizzou has been extremely strong in the first half of all three of its contests so far. The Tigers are averaging 41 points per game in the first 20 minutes of games while holding their opponents to 30 and are shooting 42% from the field in the opening stanza.
The Tigers were superb on the defensive end in the first half last Saturday against Austin Peay. The Govs were hanging tight with Mizzou with the score at 29-20 with 5:41 remaining. However, Mizzou would use smothering, trapping defense and solid half-court offense to go on a 13-0 run the rest of the half taking a 42-20 lead into halftime.
The Tiger defense forced Peay into turnovers on eight straight possessions in the latter stages of the half and were able to pull away in the second half for a 81-46 win.
The Bench Marks Continue
For all of you poor souls that read my notes on a game-by-game basis, first off, my deepest apologies. Secondly, you know you just can't get enough bench marks.
With only 10 scholarship players on its roster this season, Mizzou will definitely rely on its bench for some offensive and defensive spark. So far, the bench has been up to the task registering 21% of the team's total offense (70-of-329 points) and 31% (57-of-182 rebounds) in the Tigers first four games. Freshman Kevin Young has provided three solid outings so far averaging 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game
Sophomore Jeffrey Ferguson was also solid against the Govs of Austin Peay pulling down eight rebounds and putting in seven points in 15 minutes of playing time.
Sophomore Najeeb Echols definitely brought a spark into the game for Mizzou against USC putting in three points and pulling down five rebounds (three of which were offensive boards) in just nine minutes of work.
According to the Pollsters
While it's true that the only poll that matters will come out after the first weekend of April, it is noteworthy to watch the polls as the season progresses. Here is a look at how the Tigers have opened in the polling in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll so far this season.
AP ESPN/Coaches Preseason #18 #18 Poll #2 #20 #18 Poll #3 #18 #17 Poll #4 #15 #15
Like a Bear Grabbing a Trout
The Tigers continue to develop into one of the top rebounding teams in the Big 12. 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 team's top rebounders.
The Tigers have carried that strong rebounding into this season. They out-rebounded their first three opponents by an average of 13.3 rebounds per contest, but finished equal with USC on Saturday night at 44 boards a piece.
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 Tigers turned the tables last season, out-rebounding opponents by nearly 4.5 reb. per outing. In the next column is a look at the progression Mizzou has made over the past four years on the boards:
Year Reb. Margin 1999-00 -5.0 2000-01 -0.6 2001-02 +4.4 2002-03 +10.0
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 three picks. Their first tilt with any of those three teams doesn't come until January 25th when they travel to Austin to hook up with the Texas Longhorns.
Below is a breakdown of where each school was picked by the Big 12 Coaches, media and ESPN.com in 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
Quin Snyder Leads Mizzou in Year Four
Exactly 104 games into his career as a head coach at Missouri, Head Coach Quin Snyder sports a 66-38 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).
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. deficit 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 the Laurie Family.
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. A web-cam is positioned on the southwest corner of the Hearnes Center and provides a live, 24-7 shot of the site as the building is being completed.
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.
The talented junior was en fuego in his first action of 2002-03 pouring in 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. 17 of those points came in the first half where he scored the Tigers first six and last six points of the half.
He poured in an equally impressive 14 points in the Tigers' win over Austin Peay, 81-46, while also pulling down a career best nine rebounds. The following Saturday, he was only 4-of-11 from the field, but bounced back with 7-of-8 free throw shooting to put in 17 points while pulling down seven boards against Sacramento State.
Despite struggling from the field (4-of-12) against USC, Paulding stepped up large when Mizzou really needed him. After collecting his fourth foul with 11: 48 left in the second half, Paulding was a man on a mission for Mizzou nailing two-three point baskets in a 1:52 span putting the Tigers in the drivers seat, 70-69 as they went on to a 78-72 win.
While he 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 Arthur Johnson has kissed several opponents' shots good-bye over the past two years. Possibly one of the most underrated big men in the country, Johnson has been a powerful presence in the middle for the Tigers.
Doc started 2002-03 with a bang picking up right where he left off with his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against American.
He was even more impressive in the Tigers' win over Austin Peay as he scored a game high 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting while also picking up three steals and a blocked shot.
The powerful big man was the show in the Tigers' next win, a 98-60 whitewash of Sacramento State. He went for a career-best 24 points while pulling down 10 rebounds for his second double-double in three games.
He went off again in the Tigers 78-72 win over USC on Saturday. AJ put in 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds (both of which were game highs) as the Tigers went on to a 78-72 win in the John R. Wooden Classic.
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 plus stint at Mizzou.
In fact, AJ needs just 10 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 139 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. He showed flashes of brilliance against American putting in 11 points while pulling down eight boards in 30 minutes of work.
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 Tigers' 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 Tigers' NCAA first round opponent, Miami (Fla.) in which he scored 11 points while pulling down 10 rebounds.
Chances are when the charismatic lefty puts 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. 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.
He put the newest weapon of his arsenal on display against Austin Peay, hitting 2-of-3 3-point shots en route to 10 points for the game.
The Crafty Veteran
Junior guard Josh Kroenke will be one of the Tigers' 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.
After struggling in the field in the opener against American, Kroenke hit two huge 3-pt. buckets in the Tigers' win over Austin Peay and finished the day with six points and a career-best five rebounds.
He stepped up big again in the second half of the Tigers win over USC on Saturday. He was 2-of-3 from three-point land in the final stanza and finished the game with a season-high seven points.
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 solid 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 Tigers' top shot blockers and is one of the best dunkers on the team.
Echols has now fully recovered from a knee injury he experienced 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 transferred from the College of Southern Idaho where he averaged 18 points and almost eight assists last season.
McKinney, who is a native of St. Louis, 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 a higher level every day. An extremely coachable young man, Kevin will have a year to learn from AJ, Tra and sophomore Jeffrey Ferguson.
Quin and Helen Snyder Announce the Formation of the "Q Foundation"
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.
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.
Construction Camera Will Showcase Mizzou Basketball Arena Project
Columbia, Mo.- The University of Missouri athletic department announced the launching of a new feature on its web site. Mizzou fans and supporters can now log on to www.mutigers.com and monitor the progress of the new arena that is being constructed just south of the Hearnes Center.
A camera has been mounted on the southwest corner of the Hearnes Center and is linked to the web site, sending a continuous picture the arena site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Tiger faithful can point their browsers to www.mutigers.com, click on the Arena Cam icon on the front page, and view the site, as it looks at that very minute.