Oct. 17, 2003

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The University of Missouri men's basketball team made its much-anticipated debut this morning in front of 4,218 rowdy fans at the Hearnes Center. The event, which began at 12:01 Saturday morning, was tabbed as Mizzou Madness, and that was exactly what the proceedings were - pure, fun madness.

All 12 Tigers were introduced to the spirited crowd after signing several hundred autographs for the fans as the clock made its way toward midnight. Following the racous introductions, complete with smoke, music and spotlights, head coach Quin Snyder addressed and thanked the Tiger fans for coming out for the season-opening practice at Mizzou. As the lights came up in the Hearnes Center, which is in its final year as the home for Tiger Basketball, Mizzou got down to business.

The Tigers went through several hustle and toughness drills to give fans an inside glimpse on what Mizzou will go through over the course of the next six months. While toughness and intensity were the focus of the drills, the Tigers let their athleticism shine through throwing down several highlight-reel dunks, much to the pleasure of the crowd.

Following the drills, junior Randy Pulley, senior Rickey Paulding, junior Jason Conley and freshman Thomas Gardner put their dunking skills on display with the finalists advancing after comparisons of crowd noise. Gardner's final dunk was unbelievable as he put down a monster two-hand throw down after leaping over a stationary freshman Spencer Laurie. Not to be outdone, Paulding pulled out all the stops and brought out his high school coach, Mark White, from the crowd. White kneeled in the lane and tossed a perferct ally oop as Paulding flew threw the air and crammed home a dunk from the pass. The win went to Paulding, but all were impressed with the high-wire act the Tigers put on display.

The Tigers wrapped up the night with a 12-minute scrimmage with the Gold taking out the Black, 28-13 on the shoulders of 10 points from sophomore Jimmy McKinney and eight points from senior Travon Bryant.

The Tigers return to work Saturday morning as they prepare for their season opener on Nov. 29 in Detroit, Mich. For more information on Mizzou Men's Basketball, log on to the home of Missouri athletics on the web, www.mutigers.com.