Oct. 14, 2005

Columbia, Mo. - - The University of Missouri men's basketball program tipped off the 2005-06 campaign with its first practice of the year on Friday evening, but the lights, cameras, cheerleaders and flashy intros of Midnight Madness were absent ... that was by design.

Instead, Head Coach Quin Snyder and his young Tigers sprinted out to the center of Norm Stewart Court, not amidst a standing ovation or the glare of a spotlight, but simply to stretch. Friday evening marked the beginning of the 2005-06 season across the college basketball landscape and that's the way Snyder and the Tigers approached it.

"This is how we wanted it," senior center Kevin Young said. "We wanted this first practice to be as a family and we wanted to get to work. This is my senior season, my last `first' practice and I felt like we accomplished some good things tonight. I liked the leadership Jason Horton showed at the point and I liked the intensity our new guys played with. It was a good first practice.

"We worked out as a team quite a bit over the summer, but tonight we had a chance to start putting some of that together," Young continued. "We didn't turn the ball over. We didn't take many bad shots and that's what we have to do to keep getting better."

While Friday served as a milestone for Young, it marked the initial collegiate practice for a pair of Mizzou newcomers, Matt Lawrence and Leo Lyons. A native of Kansas City, Kan., Lyons was excited to kickoff his college career on Friday and lauded his teammates' intensity level throughout the two-hour session.

"There was a lot of coaching going on out there tonight," Lyons said. "The intensity level went up a notch and it was already good during our preseason workouts. It's exciting to get that first practice under my belt, but I'm not content with it or anything like that. Coach Snyder is making us better and showing us how to win. This was the first step."

The Tigers return to practice on Saturday, but fans can catch a glimpse of the 2005-06 squad prior to that workout at the Homecoming Parade at 8:30 a.m. in downtown Columbia. Fans will also be able to watch the Tigers practice in person, one week from tonight at the Black & Gold Game on Oct. 21 at Mizzou Arena. Doors open at 7 p.m. and admission is free.