ATHLETICS

Tiger Basketball Ranked No. 6

The University of Missouri men’s basketball team was ranked sixth in the nation according to the first “official” poll of the season, the ESPN/USA Today Preseason Poll that was released on Oct. 30. The No. 6 ranking is the highest the Tigers have been ranked in a preseason poll in school history. Mizzou has been ranked as high as eighth in the Associated Press Preseason poll.

The poll has Mizzou, which went 22-11 last year and recorded a first-round win in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, as the country’s sixth-best squad, with the University of Connecticut taking the top spot. The rankings also served as reaffirmation that Mizzou will be playing one of the toughest schedules in America this season. Seven Tiger opponents (No. 5 Kansas, No. 7 Syracuse, No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Gonzaga, No. 13 Illinois, No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 24 Oklahoma State) earned spots in the preseason poll. In addition, a total of eight Big 12 teams either were ranked or received votes in the poll.

In addition, the men’s basketball squad was picked to finish second in the Big 12 according to the 2003-04 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll. The Tigers were picked to win the conference by the Big 12 coaches.

This marks the first time in the seven-year history of both the coaches’ and media polls that the projected winner has been different. The media and coaches were also different on their top three selections. The media went with Kansas, Missouri and Texas, while the coaches selected Missouri, Texas and Kansas. Both agreed on spots 4-12 going in order of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Nebraska and Baylor.

Three Tiger players again received individual recognition heading into the 2003-04 season. Senior Arthur Johnson was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and was selected to the preseason All-Big 12 Team along with fellow senior Rickey Paulding. Junior Jason Conley also garnered preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors. Johnson and Paulding had already been named All-Big 12 by the coaches and Conley had received Newcomer of the Year honors as well.

Johnson is already Mizzou’s all-time leading shot blocker with 197 career swats and can become the Tigers’ all-time leading rebounder with just 194 more caroms. The talented big man recorded a league-leading 19 double-doubles last year and now has 36 double-doubles for his career. He earned All-Big 12 second team honors last year and was also named to the Big 12 All-Improved team. Paulding is the Big 12’s second leading returning scorer as he averaged 17.4 points per contest last year. He also was tabbed with All-Big 12 second team honors last season. Johnson and Paulding rank 22nd (Johnson with 1,268 points) and 23rd (Paulding 1,220 points) respectively in career scoring at Mizzou and have a good chance to move into the top five this season.

A transfer from Virginia Military Institute, Conley became the first freshman to lead the country in scoring as a freshman during the 2001-02 season when he averaged 29.5 points per contest. Last season, he averaged just over 22 points per contest at VMI before transferring to Mizzou in January. He will be eligible to compete for the Tigers following the first semester when the Tigers take on UNC-Greensboro on Dec. 21.

Two other Tigers received votes in two different catergories. Junior guard Randy Pulley garnered votes for Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year while freshman forward Linas Kleiza pulled votes for Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year.

Mizzou will open its season Nov. 29 when it takes on Oakland University in Detroit. For tickets, call 1-800-CAT PAWS or 884-PAWS in Columbia. For more information on Mizzou men’s basketball, log on to the Mizzou Athletics web site.

Note: Points were awarded 12 for first, 11 for second, 10 for third, etc.

2003-04 Preseason Media — All-Big 12 Team

• Andre Emmett, Texas Tech
• Arthur Johnson, Missouri
• Keith Langford, Kansas
• Rickey Paulding, Missouri
• Wayne Simien, Kansas

  Others receiving votes:

• Tony Allen, Oklahoma State
• Kevin Bookout, Oklahoma
• David Harrison, Colorado
• Aaron Miles, Kansas
• Michel Morandais, Colorado
• Brandon Mouton, Texas
• Jake Sullivan, Iowa State
• James Thomas, Texas
• Antoine Wright, Texas A&M

Preseason Player of the Year — Arthur Johnson, Missouri (C, 6-9, Sr., Detroit, Mich., Pershing HS)

Preseason Newcomer of the Year — Jason Conley, Missouri (G, 6-5, Jr., Silver Springs, Md., VMI)

Preseason Freshman of the Year — Drew Lavender (G, 5-7, Fr., Columbus, Ohio, Brookhaven HS)

Note: Points were awarded 11 for first, 10 for second, nine for third, etc.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

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Last Update: November 15, 2007