Nov. 3, 2004
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Tigers Host Mules in Exhibition Opener
The University of Missouri will play the first official contest in its new home on Thursday evening when it welcomes the Central Missouri State Mules to the Paige Sports Arena for the first of the Tigers' two exhibition contests. After calling the Hearnes Center home for 32 years, the Tigers will begin a new era of Mizzou basketball with the tip set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network with Mike Kelly and Gary Link calling all of the action. The contest can also be seen on the Mizzou Sports Network with Dan McLaughlin and Jon Sundvold with the call. The game can be seen locally on KMIZ. Please see the chart of Page 5 for a complete breakdown of the coverage.
Coach Quin Snyder leads Mizzou into the 2004-05 season after becoming the fourth coach in Mizzou school history to reach the 100-win plateau, while doing it in the shortest amount of time. He has led the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances in five years including an Elite Eight appearance in 2002.
Let the Games Begin
Mizzou enters the 2004-05 season with a lot of familiar and unfamiliar faces on its roster. The Tigers return a solid group of contributors from last year's squad that should be both exciting and fun to watch. While Mizzou returns only 38.9 percent of its scoring and 47.2 percent of its rebounding, there are several candidates that can fill the void left by departed seniors Rickey Paulding, Travon Bryant, Josh Kroenke and Arthur Johnson. Senior Jason Conley, junior Jimmy McKinney and sophomores Thomas Gardner and Linas Kleiza spearhead a group of hungry returnees that are anxious to make an impact at the Paige Sports Arena and beyond in 2004-05.
The Bigs
The Tigers' leading returner in both scoring and rebounding is sophomore power forward Linas Kleiza. Coming off of the bench last season, Kleiza was ferocious, averaging 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in 23.1 minutes per game before dislocating his shoulder against Colorado after 16 games. In those first 16 contests, Kleiza recorded three double doubles and reached double figures in scoring in nine games and pulled down nine or more boards 10 times.
Kleiza has both great touch and power on the offensive end and has worked to become a better defender in the off season. Kleiza earned Freshman All-America honors from Rivals.com and received votes for Big 12 Freshman of the year despite playing only 16 games in 2003-04.
Junior big men Kevin Young and Jeffrey Ferguson will also have an opportunity to make their mark. Young has been an effective substitute on the defensive end over the course of his first two years at Mizzou and plays with a fire and intensity that is contagious. He has worked tirelessly this summer to evolve offensively and hopes to give Mizzou another offensive threat in the low post to go along with Kleiza.
The Guards
With the graduation of Paulding and Kroenke, opportunity abounds at all of the guard positions. McKinney, Conley, Gardner, sophomore Spencer Laurie and senior Brian Dailey will all need to contribute for the Tigers to be successful.
McKinney will more than likely have the opportunity to return to his more natural position of shooting guard this season. McKinney has played in 62 of the Tigers' 63 games over the course of the last two seasons and has done a solid job, averaging 9.0 points and 3.3 assists per-contest.
Conley will have the opportunity to showcase his game for a full season for the first time since 2001-2002 when he led the country in scoring as a freshman at Virginia Military Institute (29.3 ppg.). After sitting out two semesters as a transfer student athlete, which included the first five games of last season, Conley started his career at Mizzou with a bang, scoring 19 points against UNC-Greensboro. After averaging only 3.4 points per game after the first 14 games as a Tiger, Conley went wild at the end of the year averaging 13.0 points per-game and shooting 48.6 percent from the field in Mizzou's last 11 games.
Gardner burst onto the scene about midway through last season, starting 14 of the Tigers' last 15 games. He was the squad's best on-ball defender and will be Mizzou's emotional leader throughout the upcoming campaign. Gardner reached double figures in scoring six times and shot 89.7 percent from the free throw line, the highest percentage on the squad.
Laurie played a big role in several Tiger wins (see at Indiana) last year and will compete for the point guard spot after a solid freshman campaign. The Springfield, Mo., native has gained 10 pounds this summer and has worked extremely hard in the Tigers' strength and conditioning program.
The Newcomers
The Tigers welcome an exciting group of newcomers to Columbia for the 2004-05 season. Glen Dandridge, Marshall Brown, Kalen Grimes, Jason Horton and transfer Marcus Wakins will all have an opportunity to compete for playing time this season and all four bring a different contribution to the table. Regarded by many as one of the top 15 recruiting classes in the country, these newcomers are an outstanding group of student athletes that will bring both athleticism and excitement to the PSA floor.
Dandridge, a forward/guard combo from Goochland, VA., has outstanding range and great size. He has worked on his ball handling skills and has been in the weight room throughout the summer.
Joining Dandridge in the Tiger freshmen backcourt is point guard Jason Horton. The Dallas area standout has amazing ball handling skills and can create his own shot if need be. Horton is adept at finding the open player and will play a major role in the Tigers' plans at point guard. The younger brother of Michigan standout Daniel Horton, he averaged 19.7 points and 5.8 assists over the course of his outstanding senior year and led Cedar Hill High School to a 35-2 record and an appearance in the Texas State Championships.
One of the top 10 forward prospects in the country, Brown brings a high level of athleticism and poise to the court as a freshman. The native of Austin, Texas, will play both the three and four positions and will challenge immediately for playing time.
Wrapping up the talented freshmen class is Missouri's 2004 Gatorade Player of the Year Kalen Grimes. The big man from Hazelwood Central High School in St. Louis, Mo., is a monster on the boards and will provide bulk down low for the Tigers. Grimes averaged 14.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game his senior year and was the MVP of the Suburban North Conference.
Watkins, who played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Texas A&M, played in 55 of the Aggies 56 games over the course of the past two years. The talented shooting guard posses highlight-reel athleticism and is capable of some big-time finishes at the rim. He averaged 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore, knocking down 49.1 percent of his shots from the field.
About the Mules
Central Missouri State returns nine letterwinners from last year's squad that went 18-10 on the year including 10-8 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. Coached by former Tiger great Kim Anderson, CMSU is led by the 1-2 punch of Derek Weber (13.8 ppg.) and former Tiger big man Pat Schumacher (13.2 ppg., 7.0 rpg.). This is the Mules first trip to Columbia since 1993 and their sixth visit to the Mizzou campus in school history. Even though Thursday night's contest won't effect the all-time series standings, here is a quick look at the all-time meetings between the two schools:
MU leads, 10-22-9-07 MU, 43-18 at Warrensburg, MO 12-17-07 MU, 34-16 at Columbia, MO 2-6-06 MU, 46-16 at Warrensburg, MO 12-18-08 MU, 38-16 at Columbia, MO 12-19-08 MU, 46-12 at Columbia, MO 2-6-09 MU, 36-14 at Warrensburg, MO 2-9-10 MU, 28-27 at Warrensburg, MO 2-10-10 MU, 20-19 at Warrensburg, MO 2-8-12 CMSU, 30-26 at Warrensburg, MO 1-13-13 MU, 23-22 at Columbia, MO 1-25-36 CMSU, 51-24 at Columbia, MO 11-27-93 MU, 69-66 at Columbia, MO
Quick Hits
Mizzou holds a 10-2 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools ... Thursday night's contest will not count toward that series mark ... the last time the two squads met, Mizzou won 69-66 in Columbia ... CMSU Head Coach Kim Anderson was an assistant on the Tiger sideline for that game ... Anderson was an assistant under Tiger Coaching legend Norm Stewart for 11 seasons at Mizzou ... Anderson also is one of the great players in Missouri Basketball history and was the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year in 1977 ... he still ranks 22nd on the Mizzou scoring charts with 1,289 points ... Anderson enters his third year as head coach of the Mules ... he is not the only Tiger returning to Columbia as Lamont Frazier (1991-94), who is an assistant on Coach Anderson's staff, and Pat Schumacher (1999-2000), who played for Coach Snyder his first season at Mizzou, will make the trip with CMSU.
A Peek at the Paige Sports Arena
On September 21, 2002, a new and exciting phase for Missouri Basketball began with the groundbreaking for a brand new, $75 million state-of-the-art facility. The new arena is an imposing place to play for opposing teams and provides unbelievable options for the Tigers when it comes to player development. In addition to more seating, with a capacity of 15,061, there are a host of other exciting additions:
Ø 26 Luxury Suites Ø State of the art training room Ø Expanded locker room facilities complete with film room and player lounge Ø Practice gym Ø Basketball office complex Ø Box office and team store Ø Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame
Paige Sports Arena houses all the up-to-date technologies desired in a modern sports facility. Both men's and women's basketball programs have video game film viewing theaters; all coaches offices and meeting rooms have cable TV hook-ups and both private (suites, clubs) and public (concession stands, retail store) areas throughout the arena have direct-game and cable televisions in place. Adjacent to the west side truck dock are dedicated and secured television production and satellite truck parking areas with permanent patch-in panels. The audio-video room within the arena is also linked to Missouri's two major sports venues - the Hearnes Center and Memorial Football Stadium. The arena contains a center-hung scoreboard-video board as well as 30" high video ribbon board located above the luxury suites where the lower and upper seating bowl transition occurs.
New Editions
No, I am not going to break into a rendition of "Cool it Now" or "Candy Girl" (as much as you all would enjoy that) but Mizzou has two members of its staff that are beginning new editions of their careers. And like the group "New Edition," you might say that the newest members of the Tiger coaching family are old school.
Associate Head Coach Melvin Watkins joined the Tigers in July after six years as head coach at Texas A&M and a two year stint as head coach at UNC-Greensboro. Watkins has brought a wealth of experience and energy to the Tiger bench. The other new face on the Tiger bench is assistant coach Jeff Meyer, who most recently was an assistant at Butler University for three years. Meyer brings 25 years of coaching experience to Mizzou including 16 years as a head coach at Liberty University. He also joined the Tiger bench in July.
Tiger Men's Basketball Picked to Finish Fifth by Big 12 Coaches
The University of Missouri Men's Basketball squad was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 Conference in 2004-05 by the leagues' coaches, it was announced by the Big 12 Conference Office. The Tigers received 80 votes in the poll. Kansas and Oklahoma State tied for the top spot in the preseason poll, marking the first time in conference history that two teams have shared the top spot in the poll.
The Tigers enter the season with eight returning letterwinners and five newcomers on the squad. Senior Jason Conley, junior Jimmy McKinney and sophomores Linas Kleiza and Thomas Gardner will lead the Tigers' attack when they make their debut in the new home of Mizzou Basketball, the state-of-the-art Paige Sports Arena. Mizzou opens the regular season on Nov. 15 when they take on Brown in the opening round of the Guardians Classic in Columbia.
Kleiza and McKinney Receive Preseason Big 12 Honors
Columbia, MO - Junior Jimmy McKinney and sophomore Linas Kleiza were named to the preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Team, it was announced by the conference office. The Tigers were also picked to finish fifth by the Conference Coaches.
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.
Coach Quin Snyder
6th Year at MU
100-63
Entering his sixth year at the helm of the Mizzou basketball program is Quin Snyder. Missouri's 15th head coach, Snyder has built a program that has joined the upper echelon of college basketball. With a focus on developing players academically, physically, skillfully and socially, Snyder's squads have enjoyed trips to the post season in each of the last five seasons including four trips to the NCAA Tournament. Mizzou has averaged exactly 20.0 wins per contest during Snyder's five-year tenure at Mizzou. The intense competitor the Tiger players call "Coach Q" won his 100th career game last season when Mizzou defeated Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament. He became the fourth coach in Mizzou school history to reach the 100-win plateau and Snyder will have a great opportunity to add to that total with a contract that will keep him as a fixture on the Tiger bench through 2007-08.
Heading into 2004-05, Mizzou returns several of its top players from a year ago including senior Jason Conley, junior Jimmy McKinney and sophomores Thomas Gardner and Linas Kleiza. Snyder and his staff have also gathered a sixth straight Top 25 recruiting class to augment the already talented roster. Mizzou has moved to a new state-of-the-art home this season, the Paige Sports Arena, which holds around 15,000 rowdy Missouri fans and gives the Tigers an unbelievable opportunity to build on the foundation of success that has been established.
Given the success and excitement Snyder's squads have generated in his five years at the helm, it is not surprising that Tiger fans are looking for big things from Mizzou in 2004-05. In 2003-04, Snyder led the Tigers to wins over Top 20 teams such as Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. He also saw his second recruiting class of Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, Travon Bryant and Josh Kroenke complete outstanding careers at Mizzou. Johnson and Paulding both jumped into the Top 10 on the Tiger scoring charts and Johnson finished his career as the Tigers' all-time leader in blocked shots and rebounds. That outstanding class also finished their career having played in the most NCAA Tournament contests of any class in school history with eight.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Snyder, 37, attended Mercer Island High School in the state of Washington. A two-time state player of the year, Snyder led the team to the 1985 state championship. During this time, Mercer Island achieved a No. 1 ranking in USA Today's high school polls. Snyder was named a McDonald's All-America player, being the first ever chosen from the state of Washington.
Snyder and his wife, the former Helen Redwine, a native of Charlotte, N.C, have one son, Owen Redwine Snyder, born on December 25, 2002.