UPDATE: Called after 55 votes. After falling behind 8-2 early, Smith wins comfortably, 57%-41%.
It's Mizzou 25, the tournament to decide the best, most influential, most likable Mizzou athlete of the past 25 years! It's like Who's Now or The Greatest Highlight, only, uhh, cool.
Mizzou 25 is set up in four 8-athlete regions: the Norm Stewart Region (basketball), the Larry Smith Region (football), the Joann Rutherford Region (all sports), and the Spider Region (fan favorites). Here's the Mizzou 25 bracket in all its resplendent glory.
Today, we finish Round One of the Norm Stewart Regional.
2/27: Derrick Chievous 67%, Arthur Johnson 32%
2/28: Melvin Booker 84%, Jason Sutherland 15%
2/29: Anthony Peeler 75%, Clarence Gilbert 24%
3/1: Doug Smith vs Kareem Rush
Doug Smith vs Kareem Rush |
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1987-91 |
1999-02 |
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Stats 87-88: 11.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.4 APG 88-89: 13.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.4 APG 89-90: 19.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.0 APG 90-91: 23.6 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 3.2 APG Record: 94-35 NCAA Tourney Wins: 2 |
Stats 99-00: 14.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.5 APG 00-01: 21.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.0 APG 01-02: 19.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.5 APG Record: 62-38 NCAA Tourney Wins: 4 |
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| Michael Atchison: A starter and double-figure scorer his first two seasons, 6’10" Detroit native Doug Smith erupted as a junior. In the process of leading the Tigers to a Big Eight championship and the top of the national polls, he was named Big Eight Player of the Year, won the league scoring race, earned second team All-America honors, and blistered Nebraska for 44 points (the second highest total ever by a Tiger). Despite the lure of the NBA – and an NCAA investigation-turned-probation for the Tigers – Smith returned for his senior season and won his second straight Big Eight Player of the Year award and another scoring title (averaging 23.6 points and 10.4 rebounds), in addition to yet more All-America recognition. In his last hurrah, he propelled the Tigers to the 1991 Big Eight Tournament title, capturing MVP honors with 92 points and 30 rebounds in three games, a sweet cap to a season marred by the NCAA's post-season ban. Doug Smith closed his career as the only Tiger ever to collect 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. A truly dominant interior player, Smith ranks second in points scored (2,184) and rebounds (1,053), third in blocked shots (129), and fourth in steals (178) in the first century of Missouri basketball. |
Michael Atchison: Perhaps the most elegant offensive performer in Missouri’s history, Kareem Rush, a 6’6" swingman from Kansas City, possessed a picture-perfect left-handed jump shot and an effortless style that made him one of the Big 12’s most dangerous scorers. The league’s Freshman of the Year in 1999-2000, Rush went on a scoring binge in conference play, including a 31-point effort in a win at Texas Tech. The next season, Rush missed half the league slate with a thumb injury that required surgery, but he still earned a spot on the All-Big 12 team, and he garnered national recognition by scoring 29 points against Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament despite wearing a specially-made cast on his shooting hand. Then, as a junior, Rush again made the all-conference team and led the Tigers to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Rush left school after his junior season for the NBA, but his career scoring average of 18.9 points per game ranks fourth in Missouri history.
The Boy: Quite simply the smoothest shooter I've ever seen. The Mos Def of left-handed basketball players. |
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