Anderson chooses life lesson over victory

~ Missouri coach remains committed to changing the program.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Two seasons into the Mike Anderson era, Missouri retains a whiff of the outlaw program he was hired to clean up.

But by sacrificing a victory Wednesday against Nebraska, Anderson hoped to prove a point that the current troubles are nothing like what got Quin Snyder terminated in 2006. If for only one game, Anderson put teeth into his no-tolerance policy prompted by several off-court incidents.

"When kids make mistakes, you've got to discipline them," Anderson said. "These are kids we're talking about. I'm a teacher, too, and I'm trying to teach them about life.

"There have been some hard lessons."

Unlike the final Snyder years, scandalized by academic shortcuts taken in the recruiting of point guard Ricky Clemons that landed the school on NCAA probation, Anderson insists he'll get the job done. He didn't yank Kalen Grimes' scholarship after last year's top rebounder was arrested for butt-ending another man with a sawed-off shotgun last summer in St. Louis, and said Grimes will graduate in May.

"I'm building a program, trying to change a culture," Anderson said. "How you do that is, you've got to admit the things you want in place. I want to see young men come in here and go out as men, and go out and be productive citizens."

Suspensions likely to end

The tough love is likely to last one game. Anderson hinted after the 66-62 loss that the four healthy players could be back for Saturday's game against Kansas State, a much tougher challenge given that the Wildcats upset No. 2 Kansas on Wednesday.

"It will be evaluated," Anderson said. "It's a possibility they could be back for the Kansas State game."

Players said the situation was not discussed after the game.

"We're just going to prepare, and we'll leave it up to coach," forward DeMarre Carroll said.

One game or not, Anderson got their attention. Dressed in street clothes on the bench, they watched while backups J.T. Tiller and Vaidotas Volkus gave the Tigers almost enough energy to win. They heard the standing ovation the coaching staff received for following through on Anderson's policy and felt the pain of Missouri's second loss in 12 home games.

"It hits home," Anderson said. "It's one thing when you say it, but it hits home when you're sitting there in street clothes and know your guys need you."

The late-night nightclub altercation last weekend that left guard Stefhon Hannah with a broken jaw that'll likely sideline him for the rest of his senior season is the latest in a series of off-court incidents involving Missouri players.

Darryl Butterfield was suspended following an arrest for assaulting a former girlfriend, a charge later downgraded to peace disturbance. Carroll was shot in the ankle outside a downtown club while trying to break up a fight, an innocent bystander, yet the coach's nephew probably used questionable judgment being in a place where weapons were being brandished. Last year, Mike Anderson Jr., the coach's son and a backup guard, was arrested for DUI and suspended for a game.

Nightclubs are off-limits for Missouri players, and Hannah, Butterfield, Leo Lyons, Jason Horton and Marshall Brown ignored that edict after the team returned from its first road victory of the season at Colorado. Anderson used only seven players against Nebraska, leaving walk-on guard Nick Berardini on the bench, with Carroll (38 minutes) and Keon Lawrence and Matt Lawrence (35 each) doing iron-man duty.

"We were just one or two stops away," Carroll said. "We just came up short, but we played our hearts out."

To Anderson, the fallout is part of growing up. He sees himself as a surrogate father with responsibility to mete out punishment to occasionally wayward children while molding them into young adults.

"I've got a passion about what I do," Anderson said. "These kids are my family and I'm going to try and do the best I can for my family."