Missouri is 6-0 and ranked 11th in the country heading into Saturday’s Braggin’ Rights Game against No. 12 Illinois (7-0) at the Savvis Center in St. Louis.
Illinois coach Bill Self isn’t surprised.
“I think they’re better than last year,” said Self, referring to the stunning, confidence-building run the 12th-seeded Tigers made to the NCAA elite eight. “Why? Because they’re more balanced. Last year you put all your emphasis on [Kareem] Rush and [Clarence] Gilbert. Our fans will judge our team based on what happens Saturday.”
Mizzou’s balance sheet was frightening in last week’s 93-78 victory over Memphis. All five Missouri starters reached double figures.
The Tigers also are terrorizing teams with defense, board work and blocked shots. Opponents are shooting only 35 percent from the floor and turning the ball over 17.8 times. Missouri’s big men, meanwhile, are grabbing 45.2 rebounds per game and swatting away 4.7 shots. Unlike Illinois, Mizzou also is getting off to great starts. Memphis was in a 15-0 hole before it woke up.
Like many experts, however, Self overlooked a critical ingredient in his pregame analysis:
Mark White.
Mark White?
White may not be famous outside the walls of Renaissance High in Detroit, but Missouri coach Quin Snyder and his two best players–shooting guard Rickey Paulding and center Arthur Johnson–surely must owe him a Christmas ham by now.
It was White who first introduced Johnson to Paulding, setting in motion the close friendship that led the pair to decide they wanted to play college ball together. Enter Missouri, and Snyder, who three years ago found the answers to his needs in what many outside observers view as an unlikely pairing.
Paulding, is a sleek slasher, averaging 18.2 points at shooting guard. Johnson, is a 6-foot-9-inch, 265-pound crasher who averages 18.2 points, nine rebounds and is only four blocks shy of breaking the school’s career record of 149. Where Paulding is quiet, respectful and humble, Johnson is loud, boisterous and emotional.
Johnson jokes that Paulding was so shy the first time he met him “I thought he was mute.”
“That was just him being funny,” Paulding said. “I talk, but he’s just a lot more open than I am. He was so friendly and so comfortable to be around it kind of made me open up.”
Asked what exactly drew them together, Johnson struggled to find anything they have in common except the thrill they get from playing the game.
“We’re both cool guys,” he said. “And we both love basketball.”
Enough said, perhaps, except for the key role White played in this chemical equation. White coached Johnson for two years at Detroit’s Pershing High before taking a coaching job at Renaissance, where Paulding was one of the school’s rising stars.
Johnson paid White a visit one day, White introduced him to Paulding, and somehow something clicked.
That summer, Paulding and Johnson played on the same AAU team and the master plan to keep playing together–if they could–was hatched.
Snyder, one of the few coaches desperate for both a big man and a shooter, brought both in after watching Paulding lead Renaissance to the Detroit Public League crown and Johnson spark Pershing to second in the state in Class A.
But there was one more hurdle to cross.
During their recruitment, Missouri committed a secondary violation of NCAA rules. Paulding and Johnson were declared ineligible initially when their mothers were given seats on a charter flight from Detroit to Columbia, Mo. The NCAA reinstated the two players after Jeannete Johnson and Paulding’s mother, Virginia Robinson, each paid $1,200 for the trip.
It turned out to be a small price to pay for the thrills, excitement and leadership Paulding and Johnson have provided, especially last March when Paulding averaged 18.3 points to lead the Tigers’ NCAA tournament run.
Johnson said both he and Paulding are not surprised by the 6-0 start.
“That’s the main reason we came here,” Johnson said. “We still haven’t done everything we want to do yet, but we’re only juniors. We still have a lot of time to accomplish all the goals we have set for ourselves.
“It feels good right now because we’re doing it together. But we’ll continue to get better. That’s what makes it so enjoyable, knowing there is more to come.”
– Snyder agreed Friday to a two-year contract extension through 2008. The school said the deal is worth slightly more than $1 million a year the next five years.
