Leading the way going into the year are a pair Junior studs who have been the impetus for the Tigers move up from the basement of the Big 8.  Stewart’s first recruit was Junior John Brown and he and backcourt mates Larry Drew have become the vangaurds with their will to win and their skill to lead the Tigers upward.  The times they are a changing and with Brown at the front of the mob as they assaulted the great programs of the Big 8 such as the Kansans the Tigers were in good hands.  Brown is a gifted all-around player and combine that with his toughness and desire make for one heck of a guy to build your program around.  Brown came to Missouri to make a difference and change the way this program is looked at and to make a difference whatever the means necessary. Throw in the fact that Brown does not take any prisoners when it comes to winning and you have one heckuva of a leader even if he does not look the sort. Brown might not score twenty points a game but he has a nice jump shot from the wings and will get his buckets inside with a variety of moves and his toughness.  He is just the type of guy you want to follow as he plays every possession like it was his last.  Drew is from just down the road in KC and might be as good of a catalyst as there is in this league.  Drew’s forte is his ability to weave through the key and get to the hoop with his incredible quickness.  Drew can finish with the best of them but is just as adept at bringing the defenses in and hitting his teammates for open looks.  In the past he has not had the kind of teammates he could trust outside of Brown to put the ball in the hoop either in half court sets or on the run.  That has supposedly all changed this year as Stewart has brought in a slew of high flying wings who can flat run and gun and especially finish with flair.  For too often Drew has run the fast break almost solo and now we will see how he will do running the ‘show’ for the Tigers with some studs around him.  Stewart has brought in one blue chipper all the way from Ft. Lauderdale to give Drew a bit of a push.  Stewart convinced Keyon Dooling to come to Columbia but only after the confident 6’3 playmaker made a package deal and convinced Stomin’ Norman to bring along his best friend and sidekick Clarence Gilbert.  Gilbert will be JV bound for sure but he has some upside and is a terrific defender and loves to shoot from behind the arc but Dooling is the real deal as he much like Drew can penetrate and score or dish and like all young kids nowadays can shoot the three a bit.  Dooling will learn from the master on how not just be great yourself but make your teammates better because after all being a point guard is all about not how many points you score but how good the guys are around you.  Of course Drew did get to play with one stud last year and without question the most important player on the Mizzou roster is coming back for his sophomore year after one of the biggest break through and entertaining years this program and for that matter this league has seen in quite some time!  

The man who stirs the drink and is the game changer for this program is none other than sophomore Steve Stiponovich.  Stipo is a homegrown talent who the fans love because of his talent first but also his attitude towards life.  Stipo is the consummate center who brings a little extra with his ability to score from the perimeter.  It is, however, his style for a seven footer (well he and Big Bill are only 6’11 right) and his uncanny ability to handle the ball that sets him apart from most big men.  Stipo has been compared to a big redhead from the San Diego area in his passing ability and definitely has all the skills to dominate any given game.  His biggest weakness is penchant for disappearing in games and a curious trend of weird injuries. The kid had a lot of pressure coming into Columbia as he was hailed as the savior of the program and the Great White Hope and the pressure got to him a bit.  The Big Blonde Bomber actually shot himself with a pistol he found at his house after an all-nighter and tried to cover it up in his first year here but this did not come out until after the season ended.  He also has recurring knee problems but none of these things take away from his huge popularity in Columbia.  If he was playing in a metro area or for one of the major programs in this league or any other the blowback on this incident might have been huge but so far there has been very little of that in these here Ozark Mountains.  He is one of theirs and the fans adore him and his great low post game even if he can’t jump over a beer can.  Speaking of beer cans this kid loves the stuff and junk food and has been known to have a little too much fun.  He was only a freshman last year and he was going to enjoy his youth but his impact on this program cannot be laughed at.  With all of this Stipo still played in 29 games for the Tigers and was the dominant big man they have long needed to compete with the monsters of this conference.  He is no Chamberlain or Kurland yet but with those guys soon to be gone the fans of Mizzou are counting on their favorite big man to dominate the Big 8 and finally get the Tigers to the Promised Land they so badly want and deserve to enjoy.  But with the new arena and all of the high hopes around Coumbia you got to wonder just what makes that little old ant…

Sophomore Jon Sundvold is the sidekick in crime with Stipo to become the Inside/Out combo every team needs.  And the best thing is they will be doing this together for years if Sundvold is near as good as he showed in his first year here.  Sunny is more of an offensive weapon especially from the perimeter than anyone else on this roster.  A great shooter with unlimited range, Sundvold can also run the team and the pair seemed destined to become the Ozark Mountain folk heroes this team needs.  He actually started the season next to Drew at the two spot in the backcourt but in the tough Big 8 Stewart wanted a little more size and defense at the shooting guard and he put Sundovold in a sub role primarily to shoot threes.  He accepted his role off the bench as a swing guard with gusto.  He came in with Stipo and the two are very close and play together nicely as an inside-outside attack.  Sunny may not be a terrific athlete but as the game changes to more of a three point attack this is the kind of guy you need to win.  He is a gamer who will do whatever it takes to win and for the Tigers that meant three-point shooting and he is one of the best in the land. 

One of the weaknesses of this program in the past has been it’s lack of athleticism.  That is all about to change as the Tigers might have some up and coming studs on the wings.  Stewart has brought in a group of highflyers to challenge incumbent Sophomore Derrick Chievous for playing time at the three with some carryover at the two spot which in this league you need to have bigger athletes to compete.  Stewart has even gone the JC route to bring in some talent including a flashy lefty scorer from Vegas (through a JC in Oklahoma) and a jumping jack from here .  He does have some upperclassmen as well to compete such as senior all-around stud Med Park a returning starter.  Fellow seniors Thornton Jenkins, Lionel Smith, Ron Coleman and ‘Old’ Dan Pippin will be in the mix as well but these Tigers are nowhere near the size or athleticism of the new kids.  This group will be at best role players for Stewart though Park’s defense and experience will almost assuredly get him some PT.  Chievous is a 6’7 slasher (he can flat get to the rim and loves to draw fouls) that burst on the scene and is the quintessential three and maybe more importantly was a huge part of how this team is groing to recruit.  The Band-aid (the kid loves wearing band-aids all over his body) is the first player that has come to Columbia from the East Coast as a big time recruit.  In the past the Tigers have only recruited regionally and primarily most of their players have been from the Show Me State.  You sure want to dominate your own state but if you want to compete nationally you need to recruit nationally and this Big Apple product opened up the door for that.  This season Stewart is bringing in a whole slew of kids from out of state and is developing some kind of pipeline between Missouri and Michigan so there will be some street kids from Detroit joining these corn fed kids soon enough.  The kid who will perhaps challenge Chievous the most right away is sophomore to be Ricky Frazier, the Charleston High School legend.  The Tigers are taking advantage of the new portal rules and have sniped Frazier from just down the road in St. Louis.  Frazier had a terrific first season for the Billikins but had some issues and Stewart somehow got this tremendous athlete to transfer.  Frazier at 6’6 is a true forward who can do it all including bang inside with the big boys on the court or fly down the wings and he never takes a bad shot.  Frazier will be given every opportunity to play and possibly even start right away at the three or at least after a few games as he has to sit out a few games due to academics.  As far as Chievous he can flat score and will start for the Tigers with his only downside being he is not a great long-range bomber and in today’s game that is heavily valued.  Still, a kid that can score like he does will play as volume scorers always find a spot on any roster in the country and Chievous is all of that and then some

The key to the success of this team will undoubtedly be how quick the young ‘hounds’ that Stewart has brought in will acclimate to D-1 basketball.   This group of perimeter players would no doubt dominate in lower leagues but Stewart is asking some of them to step in right away and contribute.  The talent is there and with all of these stud wings coming in there will be some great competition in the practice gym but how that carries over to the real court will define how the Tigers season ends up.  Stewart does have some depth up front as well but these guys will be pushed by this incoming group of studs.  Stewart has loaded up the front end of the out of conference schedule with games against three Big 10 schools and rival Arkansas who just transferred to the SEC.  Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State plus the road trip to the powerhouse Razorbacks are four of the first five games so these new kids will be tested right out of the gate.  But when you are compared to that kid from North Carolina like the two kids from Kansas City are then you want to be challenged.  Anthony Peeler and Kareem Rush come in with all the hype and fanfare that you can get in a town like this.  They will definitely be in a fish bowl in Columbia but this town has not seen athleticism like this EVER.  The funny thing is as athletic as they are (and they are) this duo will not be able to just allow on their supreme athleticism to dominate.  In today’s ball you have to be able to shoot the rock from deep and no matter how high your vertical jump is if you can’t hit threes you won’t play much.  And the one thing these two have in front of them is some guys who can shoot. 

The Tigers do have some depth up front coming back but will be looking forward to some new blood to infuse their talent and size behind Stipo and Brown.  Junior Kim Anderson is only 6’7 but can play the center though he is much better suited as a forward.  Another small town Missouri kid (Sedalia) Anderson is a solid defender and about as cerebral as they get.  He gets muscled out sometimes and the Tigers sure would not mind getting a little bigger down low next to Stipo or behind him for that matter.  Anderson is the type that will not mind if he gets pushed aside into a supporting role as he is all about the Tigers.  Stewart loves this kid as he will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Heck, Anderson stepped in last year when Stipo missed some games and threw up some monster offensive numbers but overall he is the kind of jack of all trades (but master of none) that every team needs.  Fellow Junior Al Eberhard is also undersized and cerebral but will bang and can hit a15 footer.  Eberhard and Brown had come in together and complement each other when they are in but with Stipo coming aboard the Tigers had to sit one of them and at only six foot six Eberhard was the obvious choice in this land of Giants.  Eberhard was better suited for coming off the bench as a defensive specialist and banger on the boards.  Final year guys Charles Henke, Bob Reiter, Gene Jones and former star Bill Stauffer are too small and there time has probably come and gone in Columbia though this group had some remarkable seasons for the Tigers. Stauffer at only six four was not too long ago the leading scorer on this team but that seems like Ions ago.  The rest of this group are a little bigger than that but not thick enough for the battles of the midway in this league.  Stewart is loyal and will give them their shot but if the new bigger and improved post players are half of what they are saying this duo will be lucky to get on the court once league play starts and some of the kids Stewart brought in have got their feet wet.  For instance there is a trio of freshmen who are all 6’9 or above that are looking to make their mark this season.  Two of these kids go 250 plus and the one who is only 6’10 222 is a freak of an athlete who could be the best of the bunch.  Doug Smith, the super freak, and Arthur Johnson headline the new Michigan freeway (as well as wing Rickey Paulding who will give Peeler and Rush all they can handle in a dunk competition and possibly even Mickey D’s AA Albert White who is having issues getting enrolled for the Wolverines) to Columbia and Jevon Crudup is coming from Maryland to give Stipo and company the kind of big body support every program has got to have to survive.     

The Missouri Tigers are the snake bit team of the Big 8. Coach Norm Stewart has a solid program that just seems to find a way not to get over the hump.   There is a lot of upside with a roster of players that is turning a new leaf and the Tigers will be on the prowl trying to get to the promised land of college basketball.  Of course in this league that means beating the mighty Jayhawks and nobody is a bigger foe to those blue bloods than the Tigers who even in their bad years have made a habit out of beating their not so neighborly rivals.  But these Tigers seek bigger goals and the main one is to go dancing again and become a consistent challenger for Big 8 crowns and get some national recognition.  Of course to do that they got to win when they actually do get to the postseason and that means playing a bit better in crunch time of those games.  Easier said than done for sure but Stewart does think he finally has the ‘hounds’ to get the job done in Columbia.