Sports Shorts
Published July 9, 2008
Lawrence leaves basketball team
MU junior guard Keon Lawrence seemed to step up as a premier player on the Tiger basketball team last season in several big games. That won’t be the case this season, as Missouri will need a new player to step up after Lawrence declared his intention to leave MU on June 27. Coach Mike Anderson granted Lawrence the release from his scholarship and said he only wishes for his players to be happy. Last season, Lawrence had a team-high in points for multiple games including 18 points in Missouri’s upset of Texas, adding another 24 points in a loss at Texas Tech and 25 points in the road loss against Kansas. Lawrence averaged third on the team in points and rebounds per game, finishing behind senior forwards DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons, averaging 11 and 3.3, respectively. Lawrence said that he wants to leave MU to be closer to his hometown of Newark, N.J. Lawrence has yet to declare where he will continue his basketball career, but there is a chance that it will be Rutgers, a school that attempted to recruit Lawrence out of high school and is closer to his hometown. According to NCAA Division 1 rules, if Lawrence transfers to another Division 1 school, he would have to sit out for one season before having two eligible seasons remaining.
Daniel receives award
Senior quarterback Chase Daniel was named the Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year by the Big 12 conference on June 27. A panel of league media chose to give Daniel the award, making it the second year in a row that an MU athlete received the honor. In 2006-2007 former Missouri wrestler, Ben Askren, won the award. Winners must excel in not only athletics, but also academic achievement and citizenship. Last year Daniel led the Tigers to the Big 12 Championship game, provided them with a brief No. 1 national ranking and a Cotton Bowl victory. He threw for 4,306 and 33 touchdowns, numbers that made him a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Daniel will have another season to accomplish more for the Tigers and defend his new title as the Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year.
