Ramsey develops knack for big plays

Junior Missouri forward made impressive blocks.

By Lenny Goldman

Published Feb. 19, 2009

After Missouri's last-second thriller against Kansas, coach Mike Anderson made sure he gave credit to an effort that went unrecognized by most. That "blue-collar" workmanship that wins games but gets no glory.

"I told our guys if I had a game ball, one game ball, I'd give it to a guy you guys wouldn't even imagine," Anderson said after the KU game. "I thought Keith Ramsey, I thought he was the guy who kept us in it. The way we were shooting the basketball we could have easily been 25 points down. But his fight and his resolve, his stats may not show it, but his fight, he fought enough for our other guys to start picking it up."

While Ramsey was probably happy about his coach's compliment, a little reorganization from the fans couldn't hurt.

So, last Saturday afternoon against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Ramsey put on a show that electrified Mizzou Arena. His stat line was far from spectacular with five points, four rebounds and three blocks, but two explosive plays were all it took to give him some glory.

"Coach likes my energy, that's why he keeps putting me in there," Ramsey said. "Points don't matter too much to coach. They really don't matter too much for me, but I would like to get more. But if I continue to bring the energy, I'll be okay."

Ramsey first put Tiger fans on their feet when he spiked down a Nebraska layup attempt. The thud created from the block might have tipped the Richter scale.

"I love blocking shots," Ramsey said. "I've been doing that for a long time. When I was younger Dikembe Mutombo used to be my favorite player because he used to block everything."

Highlight number two came on the offensive end when Ramsey pounded through a one-handed dunk.

Missouri had started the afternoon out slow against Nebraska. The Tigers led 25-19 at halftime, but with Ramsey's explosive style, he was able to get the rest of the team going in the second half. Missouri put up 45 points after the break, going on to win 70-47.

"Keith is very very important to our basketball team," Anderson said. "The game kind of changes when he's out there. We're a little faster with him out there and certainly, defensively we're a lot better when he's out there."

And with the combination of a few big plays and constantly grinding to make the small ones, people are finally beginning to notice, so much so that they can't take their eyes off of him.

"As long as he's having fun, it just feeds into the whole arena," freshman guard Kim English said. "And then when they get loud on the replays, we get happy and try to sneak up and look at it."