Special Sports Section
Basketball Bonus
Published Thursday, November 13, 2008
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Joining forces
Missouri's DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons are different on and off the court, but they share a goal: to push the Tigers into the top half if the Big 12 before pursuing pro careers.
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Missouri Men
Odd couple finds common ground
By STEVE WALENTIK of the Tribune’s staff
Their playing styles are as distinct as the way they wear their hair.
Missouri Women
Learning from lumps
By STEVE WALENTIK of the Tribune’s staff
Last season proved difficult for everyone affiliated with the Missouri women’s
basketball program. The Tigers went 10-21 overall, lost 14 of 16 Big 12
Conference games and weren’t all that competitive in a lot of them.
BIG 12
Sooner can wait
By STEVE WALENTIK of the Tribune’s staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — It all started with a text message sent to Jeff Capel in
April, when the Oklahoma basketball coach was attending the Final Four in San
Antonio.
One more hill to climb
By STEVE WALENTIK of the Tribune’s staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — If you consider she’s been a first-team All-American three
times, has been Big 12 Conference player of the year twice and has been voted
national player of the year by The Associated Press once, that her name has come
up on all-academic and all-defensive teams, and that she’s established 16 NCAA
records, including 92 consecutive games — and counting — with a
double-double, you might think Oklahoma center Courtney Paris has done about
everything there is to do in college basketball.
Columbia College
Cool customers
By SAM MILES of the Tribune’s staff
Sitting in the front row of seats near the scorer’s table at the Southwell
Complex, Bob Burchard, now in his 21st year as the Cougars coach, looks out on
the court and likes much of what he sees.
Cougars learn from past failure
By SAM MILES of the Tribune’s staff
For many teams, a 17-15 season that ends with a loss in the conference finals
isn’t all that bad. It might not be great, but it isn’t bad. For Columbia
College Coach Mike Davis, it’s something else entirely.
Stephens College
Stephens about to take the next step
By MATT NESTOR of the Tribune’s staff
The Stephens basketball team has grown step-by-step through Coach Dane
Pavlovich’s first five seasons. The Stars went from a one-win team in his
first year to a team that won a program-record 14 games, thanks to a remarkable
13-5 record down the stretch, last year.
Hickman High School
Hickman out to build on late run last season
By TIM DAVIS of the Tribune’s staff
There’s not much the Hickman boys basketball team knows about itself heading
into the season.
Kewpies hoping to reload without Anderson, others
By RUS BAER of the Tribune’s staff
It doesn’t usually take much to get Tonya Mirts excited about the game of
basketball, but for some reason the veteran Hickman coach seems especially
jazzed about what the upcoming season could bring.
Rock Bridge High School
State champs now the hunted
By RUS BAER of the Tribune’s staff
For years, the Rock Bridge girls basketball program longed for respect in its
own town. By the end of a historic postseason run last season, the Bruins had
won the respect of Columbia, the state and even the nation.
Rock Bridge will rely heavily on Dressler
By JOE WALLJASPER of the Tribune’s staff
You can’t accuse Jim Scanlon of being an impartial observer, but he firmly
believes that Rock Bridge senior center Jordan Dressler is the best high school
player in Missouri. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound Dressler was an all-state pick last
year and will play collegiately at Toledo.
Douglass High School
Replacing top scorers a challenge
By ALEX RADMAN of the Tribune’s staff
The Douglass Bulldogs graduated five seniors from last year’s team, including
leading scorers Cameron Scott and Landon Boone, so Coach Lynn Allen has some
work to do to improve on last season’s 13-7 record.
