Missouri gets transfusion with two transfers

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri's bench is about to get a lot deeper.

Today, the No. 10 Tigers will be fortified in their game against North Carolina-Greensboro by the additions of shooting guard Jason Conley, a high-scoring transfer from Virginia Military Institute, and point guard Randy Pulley. Conley becomes eligible because Missouri has reached its semester break, and Pulley's academic records finally got the green light from the school.

Neither will start, but both should see a lot of action as Missouri (3-1) plays its first game since losing in overtime eight days ago to Gonzaga. Conley led the NCAA in scoring with a 29-point average as a freshman at VMI in 2001-02 and chose Missouri over Kentucky, Miami, Tennessee and Florida.

"As excited as they are, I think the team is really excited to have them with us," coach Quin Snyder said. "They're going to play. They're more acclimated to our team than people realize because they've been practicing so much."

After sitting out the second half of last season plus Missouri's first four games this season, Conley was asked if his debut felt like Christmas Eve.

"Better," he said. "Better."

Conley is used to being the go-to guy, but on a team that features seniors Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson, he just wants to contribute -- against a familiar opponent.

Conley averaged 25.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games against North Carolina-Greensboro.

"Everybody thinks I'm going to come in and score a bunch of points, but they might be fooled," Conley said. "My main focus is to come in and help out on defense. As far as my offense goes, if it comes, it comes."

Being a piece of the puzzle also has helped him relax in preparation for what is to come. The game against North Carolina-Greensboro, the first ever between the schools, is a warmup for the annual neutral-site game against Illinois in St. Louis on Tuesday.

"I thought by now I'd be pretty nervous but I feel great because I have so many good guys and great players," Conley said. "It's not like I'm going out there all by myself and doing it.

"I have them to help me and I'm going to help them, and that's how we're going to win."

The addition of Pulley, a Barton Community College transfer who once played for Saint Louis, could allow sophomore Jimmy McKinney to play more at shooting guard. McKinney has been playing the point, not his natural position.

Some on the team believe Pulley, who averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 assists at Barton, is the more important addition.

"One thing he has been doing a great job of in practice is pushing the ball up the court," forward Travon Bryant said. "We were looking at film and we didn't get any transition points against Gonzaga, and that kind of hurts."

Like Conley, Pulley said he won't be looking to put up big numbers. Unlike Conley, that's also not part of his job description.

"I can score, but we have so many scorers I don't have to average 20 points," Pulley said. "I just need to get everybody the ball in the right places."

With all this depth, Snyder faced several questions about playing time in a latest news conference on Wednesday. It's a problem he welcomes.

"I'm going to go home tonight and get out the Ouija board and just try to figure it out," he said jokingly. "I don't think it's my job to keep everybody happy. My job is to try to win the game."

Missouri enters today's game with a 20-game winning streak against unranked opponents at home. North Carolina-Greensboro (4-4) is coming off a loss at Coastal Carolina on Thursday and has dropped three of its last four.

Forward Jay Joseph is the top scorer for North Carolina-Greensboro with 18.3 points per game.