Safford emerges as contributor off Missouri's bench

~ The Tigers have received a boost in the post from their lone freshman.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A frustrating road trip to Starkville, Miss., no doubt put a damper on Missouri basketball coach Mike Anderson's New Year's celebration.

But Missouri's 12-point loss to Mississippi State on Dec. 30 wasn't without its bright spots, not the least of which was the play of 6-foot-8 forward Justin Safford.

Pressed into extended duty for the first time with the outcome of a game still in doubt, the Tigers' only freshman scored four points and grabbed four rebounds, three of them in the offensive end, in nine second-half minutes.

That performance came after a seven-rebound effort against Coppin State on Dec. 27 and has Anderson and his staff hoping Safford might be able to provide a lift to the Tigers' undersized frontcourt as Missouri (10-5) heads into Big 12 Conference play Saturday in a home game against No. 12 Texas (13-2).

"I think he's just kind of finding his way," Anderson said. "Now he's getting an opportunity to get some playing time, and I think he's producing in terms of showing what he's capable of doing. That was a positive in the Mississippi State game, to see Justin come out and compete and do some of the little things that we haven't been doing."

Anderson pulled Safford aside a few weeks back and laid out exactly what he needed to do to contribute.

"He told me every day I come out here, I've got to be consistent and do the things I've got to do to help the team win, just rebound and bring energy," Safford said.

For most of the season, Safford -- a mostly unheralded recruit from Bloomington, Ill., by way of Charis Prep in North Carolina -- had been buried at the end of the Missouri bench, usually only stepping onto the floor when the Tigers were leading by 20 points or more.

He saw a total of four minutes in games against Arkansas and Maryland and never took off his warm-up shirt against Michigan State, California, Purdue or Illinois.

But Anderson has been searching for some production up front coming off the bench with seniors Darryl Butterfield, Marshall Brown and Vaidotas Volkus combining to average only 11 points and 6.5 rebounds in the first 14 games.

"He got over his initial jitters coming in as a freshman and realized that there was a good opportunity for him to play," junior guard Matt Lawrence said. "I think he's got a knack for the ball, especially rebounding. He got some big offensive rebounds against Mississippi State, and he goes and gets the ball. He gets off the floor, he can jump really well and get a big defensive rebound."

Safford, who might have moved ahead of Volkus in the Tigers' rotation, also showed off a few of his offensive skills against the Bulldogs.

The lefty also stepped out and knocked down a pair of jump shots when left unguarded, finishing 2-of-3 from the field.

"Just starting off, I was kind of hesitant to really do much on offense until some of the guys told me I needed to shoot, I needed to be more aggressive on the offensive end," Safford said. "I took that to heart, and it's been working."

Safford, who seems continually more at ease around his teammates, still has a lot of polishing to do to his game. On one possession in a recent practice, he drove down the lane only to miss a layup off the left side of the basket. Another time, he sent a dunk attempt clanging off the back iron.

But he's also active inside, ripping down rebounds when they come off the rim, then sprinting down the floor to fill the lane on a fast break.

"You can see him out here in practice, he has highlights," Lawrence said. "He's dunking on people. I think with more game experience, you're going to see more of him coming outside of himself, running the floor, dunking on people and getting big rebounds."