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Your mission is simple. You have $15. Choosing one player for each position, craft the best Mizzou starting five with the names below. Because I couldn't stop, I'm offering two one-dollar options at each position. (And at power forward, I'm offering three, since in the end Kleiza and Thomas were basically the same in terms of points and mediocre teams.) Because sizes were just too different back in, say, George Williams' or Norm Stewart's day, we're limiting this list to only players from 1970 to the present.
For background info on some of these players, do a Ctrl-F search here.
| $ | PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
| $5 | Melvin Booker (1990-94) |
Willie Smith (1974-76) |
Derrick Chievous (1984-88) |
Doug Smith (1987-91) |
Steve Stipanovich (1979-83) |
| $4 | Larry Drew (1976-80) |
Anthony Peeler (1988-92) |
Ricky Frazier (1979-82) |
John Brown (1970-73) |
Arthur Johnson (2000-04) |
| $3 | Phil Pressey (2010-13) |
Jon Sundvold (1979-83) |
Kareem Rush (1999-02) |
DeMarre Carroll (2007-09) |
Kim Anderson (1973-77) |
| $2 | Lee Coward (1986-90) |
Marcus Denmon (2008-12) |
Al Eberhard (1970-73) |
Curtis Berry (1978-81) |
Jevon Crudup (1990-94) |
| $1 | Keyon Dooling (1998-00) Brian Grawer (1997-01) |
Rickey Paulding (2000-04) Clarence Gilbert (1998-02) |
Byron Irvin (1987-89) Jim Kennedy (1974-77) |
Kelly Thames (1993-98) Linas Kleiza (2003-05) Malcolm Thomas (1983-85) |
Nathan Buntin (1986-90) Greg Cavener (1981-85) |
Share your selections in comments. Here are some of my favorite groupings.
- The Best Team I Can Come Up With: Drew, Denmon, Frazier, Brown, and Cavener. The back court would outrun everybody, and Brown and Cavener would grab every single missed shot on both ends.
- Personal Favorites: Booker, Denmon, Rush, Thames, and AJ.
- Mean As Hell: Booker, Gilbert, Eberhard, Brown, and Crudup with $1 leftover.
- Do You Like Personality?: Pressey, Gilbert, Chievous, Berry, and AJ.
- The Recency Effect: Pressey, Denmon, Rush, Carroll, and AJ.
- All-Athlete: Dooling, Paulding, Frazier, Brown, and Stipo, I guess? Basically Dooling, Paulding, and anybody else.
- Keyon and the '70s Crew: Dooling, W. Smith, Eberhard, Brown, and Anderson.
- Marcus and the '80s Crew: Coward, Denmon, Chievous, D. Smith, and Cavener.
- I Love the '90s: Booker, Peeler, Rush, Thames, and Crudup.
- I Love the '00s: Pressey, Denmon, Rush, Carroll, and AJ.
- Bad White Dudes: Grawer, Sundvold, Eberhard, Brown, and Stipo.
- And with three extra dollars, you can actually just buy the 1979-80 team: Drew, Sundvold, Frazier, Berry, and Stipo.