18 MISSOURI Tigers

Here's a deep thought: a Tigers bench with the bite to play well into March

TO HEAR him now, it's hard to imagine that loquacious junior guard Kim English was teased, even bullied sometimes, as a youngster in his Baltimore neighborhood because of his first name and persistent stutter.

"I didn't talk too much in school," English says, "only at home around people I was comfortable with." It wasn't until he took up basketball at age 13 that he found another outlet to do his talking. As English matured and his skills improved, his stutter became less pronounced. "Subconsciously, I guess the confidence in my game made me more confident in myself," English says.

A gym rat, English spent the summer trying to develop a midrange jumper and fine-tune his ballhandling skills in pickup games, which included the occasional matchup against NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Rudy Gay, both of whom hail from Baltimore. In between sessions English studied tape of Anthony, Stephen Curry and Rip Hamilton in an effort to incorporate Melo's fluidity, Curry's poise and Hamilton's off-ball movement into his game.

These new skills should be a boon to a Tigers team that is the deepest in coach Mike Anderson's five-year tenure. The addition of Ricardo Ratliffe, who led Central Florida Community College in points (27.4) and rebounds (11.3) last season, gives the Tigers a bruising presence down low. "We wanted a very physical team," Anderson says. "Sometimes, you can get one guy and it just trickles to everybody else." Ratliffe's presence will bolster a frontcourt that already includes junior forward Laurence Bowers, who led the Tigers in blocks (48) and finished second in rebounds (193) despite playing with an injured wrist, and senior forward Justin Safford, who was having a breakout season before tearing his left ACL last February.

"I know all that work that I put in is gonna pay off for us," English says. He's certain the results will soon speak for themselves.

PROJECTED STARTING FIVE

Coach Mike Anderson (5th season)

2009--10 record 23--11

Big 12 10--6 (5th)

NCAA tournament Second round

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Returning starter

*Junior college stats

SCHEDULE

Nov. 18 Western Illinois

Nov. 20 North Florida

Nov. 23 Wyoming*

Nov. 24 Providence or La Salle*

Nov. 28 Arkansas Pine Bluff

Nov. 30 Georgetown

Dec. 2 at Oregon

Dec. 8 Vanderbilt

Dec. 11 Presbyterian

Dec. 16 Oral Roberts

Dec. 18 Central Arkansas

Dec. 22 Illinois

Dec. 27 Northern Illinois

Dec. 30 Old Dominion

Jan. 5 North Alabama

Jan. 8 at Colorado

Jan. 12 Nebraska

Jan. 15 at Texas A&M

Jan. 17 Kansas State

Jan. 22 Iowa State

Jan. 29 at Texas

Feb. 2 at Oklahoma State

Feb. 5 Colorado

Feb. 7 at Kansas

Feb. 12 Oklahoma

Feb. 15 Texas Tech

Feb. 19 at Iowa State

Feb. 23 Baylor

Feb. 26 at Kansas State

March 1 at Nebraska

March 5 Kansas

*2010 Cancun Challenge

KEY GAME

Even if Missouri were to win just two games this season, fans might be somewhat consoled if those victories constituted a sweep of the archrival Jayhawks. Kim English and the Tigers will get their first shot this season at Allen Fieldhouse in February, where the team is 0--11 since 1999.

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PHOTO

DAVID E. KLUTHO

KIM ENGLISH The chatty guard, who honed his skills this summer against Melo and Gay, has a game that speaks for itself.