UPDATE: Called after 80 votes. Peeler wins surprisingly easily.
One round is in the books for Mizzou 25, the tournament to decide the best, most influential, most likable Mizzou athlete of the past 25 years!
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 Harold "Spider" Burke Region (fan favorites). To see where the bracket currently stands, click here.
Here are the Norm Stewart Regional Semifinal matchups:
3/14: Derrick Chievous vs Melvin Booker
3/15: Anthony Peeler vs Doug Smith
Who faces Melvin Booker in the Elite Eight? Let's find out!
(Since weekend matchups get fewer votes overall, I'm just going to have this one up all weekend.)
Anthony Peeler vs Doug Smith |
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1988-92 |
1987-91 |
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Stats 88-89: 10.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.8 APG 89-90: 16.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.8 APG 90-91: 19.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.0 APG 91-92: 23.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.9 APG Record: 96-33 NCAA Tourney Wins: 3 |
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 |
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| Michael Atchison: Perhaps the most dizzying all-around talent ever to play at Mizzou, Anthony Peeler could slash, pass, score and defend the perimeter as well as any Tiger in history. A 6’4" guard from Kansas City’s Paseo High, Peeler was the Big Eight Newcomer of the Year in 1989, as he helped the Tigers reach the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In his sophomore season, Peeler showed his remarkable versatility, averaging 16.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.0 steals en route to being named first-team All-Big Eight. He also became just the eighth Tiger to score 40 points in a game as he drilled Iowa State for 42, including a perfect 20 for 20 from the free throw line. After he lost the early part of his junior season to academics, Peeler returned and averaged 19.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Peeler was even more dominant as a senior, winning the Big Eight scoring title and Player of the Year honors, and leading a group of young role players to the NCAA Tournament. But the most vivid memory of that season came in a loss, when he scored an electrifying 43 points at Kansas. His 1,970 career points rank him third all-time, and he remains number one in assists (497) and steals (196). | 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. | |
UPDATE, 4:00pm: Just for fun, here's a nice clip of both of them in one of the more dominating NCAA tourney performances of the Norm Stewart era (even though Rich Daley was technically the coach for this)...