Oct. 24, 2003
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Like We Always Do About This Time
Time to kick the tires and light the fires on the 2003-04 basketball season. Poised for an exciting campaign, the University of Missouri basketball team takes to the court on Saturday afternoon for the annual Black and Gold game. Tickets for the event are $5 with a portion of the proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Club of Columbia and Coach vs. Cancer.
The Tigers began a week of high-energy, enthusiastic practices last Saturday morning with "Mizzou Madness," which tipped of at 12:01 a.m. Saturday's Black and Gold game concludes a great week of work for Mizzou as they will take Sunday off before returning to work on Monday.
Credential Reminder
Just a reminder from your friendly media relations contact that credential requests for the upcoming season can be sent via e-mail to fleurys@Missouri.edu, fax at (573) 882-4720 or mail at PO Box 677, Room 330B of the Hearnes Center.
Please submit your season and single-game requests as soon as possible so distribution can occur during the Tigers exhibition games on Nov. 10 and Nov. 18. Also, for those attending Big 12 media day in Dallas next Thursday, the Tigers will hold court at the Renaissance from 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Tigers Picked to Win Big 12 in 2003-04 Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll
Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson named to Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Columbia, Mo.- The University of Missouri men's basketball squad was selected to win the Big 12 Conference in the Big 12 Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll, the Big 12 office announced on Wednesday. This marks the highest the Tigers have ever been selected in the coaches' preseason poll. In 2001-02, the Tigers were selected second and have never been selected below fifth according to the coaches.
Mizzou received eight of a possible 11 first place votes (coaches could not vote for their own team or players) in the poll, followed by Texas with three votes and Kansas with one first place vote. Last year, the Tigers were picked to finish fourth in the league by the Big 12 Coaches and finished in fifth.
Three Tigers players also received individual recognition heading into the 2003-04 season. Seniors Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson, who both earned second team All-Big 12 honors last season, were named to the Preseason Coaches All-Big 12 Team. They are the first Tigers to earn the distinction since preseason 2001-02 when junior-to-be Kareem Rush was tabbed with the honor. Junior Jason Conley also garnered preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors on Wednesday.
Paulding, who has been named to several preseason All-America teams by a variety of publications, is the Big 12's second leading returning scorer as he averaged 17.4 points per contest last year. Johnson is already Mizzou's all-time leading shot blocker with 197 career swats and can become the Tigers' all-time leading rebounder with just 194 more caroms. The dynamic duo from Detroit rank 22nd (Johnson with 1,268 points) and 23rd (Paulding 1,220 points) respectively in career scoring at Mizzou and have a good chance to move into the top five this season.
A transfer from Virginia Military Institute, Conley became the first freshman to lead the country in scoring as a freshman during the 2001-02 season when he averaged 29.5 points per contest. Last season, he averaged just over 22 points per contest at VMI before transferring to Mizzou in January. He will be eligible to compete for the Tigers following the first semester when the Tigers take on UNC-Greensboro on Dec. 21.
Other Tigers that received mentions in the preseason awards include junior guard Randy Pulley, who received votes for Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and freshman forward Linas Kleiza, who received votes for Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Tiger Basketball Squad Opens 2003-04 Season With Mizzou Madness
The University of Missouri men's basketball team made its much-anticipated debut last Saturday 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 raucous 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 perfect 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.
Preseason Hype, Prognostications and Items of Interest
Oh, one could say there is a pretty good buzz around the country about the Tigers heading into the 2003-04 season. Below is a listing of the preseason awards and predictions the Tigers of Ol' Mizzou have garnered over the summer:
Team Predictions #3-Lindys #4-Sporting News #5-Dick Vitale's Preseason Sensational 16 #5-Blue Ribbon #7-Athlon #7-Street & Smith's Final Four Qualifier-Lindy's Elite Eight Qualifier-Athlon Best Backcourt in the Country-Sporting News #1 in Lindy's list of Top 10 Frontcourts in the Country #5-Top 25 Recruiting Class for 2003-Athlon #11-Recruting Class in the Country-Lindy'sBig 12 Predictions Big 12 Champions-Blue Ribbon, Lindy's #2 in Big 12-Street & Smith's #1 Recruiting Class in Big 12-Street & Smith's #1 Recruiting Class in Big 12-Sporting News Top Backcourt in Big 12-Blue Ribbon