A Rush for success - Junior star has MU anticipating big year

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Quin Snyder has watched Kareem Rush improve in the two seasons that both have been at Missouri. Now comes the scary part: Snyder believes his junior forward, already considered one of the nation's best players, can get even better.

"(Even though) people are talking about him the way they are now, he should still get better," Snyder, entering his third season at Missouri after replacing Norm Stewart in 1999, said last weekend as the Tigers opened practice. "And he can. There is a lot more there."

The 6-6 Rush led Missouri to a 20-13 record last season, averaging 21.1 points per game despite playing part of the season with an injured left (shooting) hand. He scored 29 points in the Tigers' 94-81 loss to Duke, the eventual champion, in the NCAA Tournament.

The strong showing against Duke -- where Snyder played and served as an assistant coach before coming to Missouri -- along with Rush's presence, has college basketball prognosticators predicting better things this season for the Tigers.

High expectations

In its preseason rankings, released last week, ESPN tabbed Missouri as the nation's eighth best team and one of 10 expected to compete for a berth in the Final Four. And while the AP's preseason Top 25 is still weeks away, Snyder doesn't know if his team deserves such high praise -- yet.

"I don't think they're accurate right now," Snyder said. "We have some questions marks that are too difficult to answer. What I've told out guys (is) I do think we're better. We can be a better team than we were last year.

"We're capable of doing much more, and that to me is exciting."

Some of those question marks won't get answered until injuries heal. Clarence Gilbert, 16.5 points per game last year, will miss the next two weeks with a near stress fracture in his right foot. He's expected to play plenty of minutes at his normal shooting guard spot while sharing time with sophomore Wesley Stokes at point guard.

"It's a strange thing and it's a little bit frustrating, because he doesn't feel a whole lot of pain," Snyder said. "He's got to be careful not to exert himself. If he stays off it, like anything else, the wear and tear goes away."

While Gilbert is expected to be ready for the season opener against Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 13, Missouri isn't sure when they'll find out if Uche Okafor, a 6-11 junior college transfer from Nigera, will be eligible.

Okafor signed a contract to play professionally in Russia before moving to the U.S. and the NCAA is still weighing a decision on how that affects his eligibility.

"The first thing we have to improve on is actually having enough guys to practice," Snyder said. "The idea of coach (Tony) Harvey shooting off is not something I relish, although he might want to.

"We're awfully thin right now. It's been a little crazy in that regard."