Oct. 26, 2004

Junior Jimmy McKinney and sophomore Linas Kleiza were named to the preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Team, it was announced on Tuesday by the conference office. The Tigers were also picked to finish fifth by the Conference Coaches last week.

Kleiza, who earned Freshman All-America honors from Rivals.com, is coming off of a solid freshman season in which he averaged 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game through 16 contests before suffering a season-ending shoulder separation at Colorado. The native of Kaunas, Lithuania recorded three double-doubles in his first four games as a Tiger and was a two-time recipient of the "Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week" award.

McKinney had a good year last season handling the duties at point guard and averaged 9.4 points and 3.2 assists per contest. He was one of the Tigers' top free throw shooters, knocking down 85 percent of his attempts, and was second on the squad in three-point field goals made with 36.

Up next for Mizzou is Big 12 Media Day in Kansas City on Wednesday before taking on Central Missouri State on Nov. 4. Please see below for a complete listing of Big 12 preseason Big 12 Award winners and for more information on Missouri Basketball, log on to www.mutigers.com