June 20, 2007
Columbia, Mo. - St. Louis-area Tiger fans can get their first look at Mizzou Basketball newcomer Justin Safford (Bloomington, Ill. / Charis Prep) on Saturday (June 23) when he competes in the 11th annual Demetrious Johnson Charitable Foundation All-Star Game in St. Louis.
Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the campus of Harris Stowe State College at 3026 Laclede Avenue in the Emerson Performance Center. Tickets for the event are $10 and will be sold at the door. The 11th annual event will also be televised on CCIN on the Charter Cable system.
Safford follows in the shoes of current Tiger teammates Keon Lawrence (2006 MVP) and J.T. Tiller, who competed in the event last season. Like Lawrence and Tiller, Safford will be part of the 11-member National Team, which will take on the St. Louis Metro All-Stars, a team composed of area standouts.
A 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward, Safford comes to Mizzou after an outstanding prep campaign at Charis Prep in Goldsboro, N.C. Listed as one of the nation's Top 20 post-graduate players (prep school) by Dave Telep and Scout.com, Safford averaged 17.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots for Crimson Tide, who finished the year with a 36-8 overall mark. A three-star performer by Rivals.com, Safford earned a number of high-major scholarship offers (including Oklahoma, Providence and Virginia Tech) during his final season after transferring to Charis Prep from Bloomington Central Catholic High School in Bloomington, Ill. A three-year starter for the Saints, Safford earned honorable mention Class A all-state recognition as a senior and was a first team All-Cornbelt Conference pick, averaging 15.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. The lefty missed most of his junior campaign due to a pinched nerve in his back, but still managed to earn all-league consideration in 2004-05.
Safford will be one of two newcomers for Mizzou this season, joining junior transfer DeMarre Carroll. As a sophomore, Carroll averaged 10.9 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Commodores. In SEC play, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward averaged 12.1 points and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds, including an 18-point, nine-rebound effort at NCAA Champion Florida on Jan. 28, 2006.
With the addition of Safford and Carroll, the 2007-08 season will be a highly-anticipated one for MU. After going 18-12 and finishing in the upper division of the Big 12 Conference standings last year (despite being picked 12th by preseason publications), the Tigers return all-five starters and 12 total letter-winners. Head Coach Mike Anderson's squad also returns 96.6 percent of its scoring, 96.6 percent of its rebounding, 98.5 percent of its assists and 94.7 percent of its steals. Last season, Anderson and his staff tied the Mizzou rookie record with 18 wins and the six-win improvement for the Tigers was the most since the 1993-94 campaign.
For more information on the University of Missouri Basketball program, please visit our website at mutigers.com.