Snyder faces a must-win season at MU

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- By now, Quin Snyder is used to coaching for his job.

More than ever, that's the case for the man who replaced Norm Stewart but to this point has been known more for a recruiting scandal and diminishing returns on the court. Coming off a 16-17 season capped by a first-round NIT loss, Snyder has three years to go on his contract but knows it could be NCAA or bust now.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't hear a whisper about something someone in the administration said," Snyder said. "'He's got two more years, $190,000 times two, the inference being buy me out.

"If it comes to that, if I'm not doing the job, that's the way it goes and another door will open."

In any case, Snyder insists there's no extra pressure heading into his eighth season at Missouri. He also believes the program, having survived the Ricky Clemons saga and the one-year, off-campus recruiting ban that accompanied it, is stronger for it.

"I think the guys that have been through it have a much greater appreciation and greater hunger, they thirst for that camaraderie," Snyder said. "We've got to stay on it, but I think we've got a chance to develop an identity that is conducive to winning.

"I don't know if people will be patient enough to allow it to occur, but there's nothing I can do about that."

Nothing the players can do, either, aside from play better.

"It's really exterior stuff we can't control," guard Thomas Gardner said. "All we can control is how hard we work in practice and how we work as a team.

"Coach Q is the same guy, the same energy, and every day he comes to work just like us."

Snyder believes the program is on firmer footing than three years ago when a Kareem Rush-led team made it to the final eight of the NCAA tournament. Maybe so, but there's a talent void given the departure of forward Linas Kleiza, the top scorer and rebounder last season, for the NBA after his sophomore season.

What Snyder will miss most about Kleiza, a player at his creative best when he stayed close to the lane, was his ability to grab the key rebounds. The Tigers had a rebounding edge of only one in their exhibition opener last week against Division II Bemidji State.

The top returning rebounder, senior center Kevin Young, averaged only 4.9 last season. Missouri's top recruit, 6-9 Leo Lyons, could help out in this area, though.

"I'm worried about it, I've been worried about it," Snyder said. "I think we'll figure out ways to score, but the times Linas won games for us was not so much hitting the big shots as it was getting big rebounds.

"When he wanted the ball he'd go get it."

Despite a relationship that was at times contentious, Snyder would much rather still have Kleiza around. He said Kleiza's freelancing wasn't unusual for a college star.

"Sitting him down, drawing a line, I think those things helped him get to where he is now," Snyder said. "He was proud of his experience here. I think all great players in some ways are hard to coach."

This season might be more of an ensemble effort. Heading into Tuesday's opener at home against Sam Houston in the first round of the preseason NIT, Snyder is counting on more consistency from Gardner, Jimmy McKinney and Jason Horton, along with forward Marshall Brown.

Gardner is the top returning scorer with a 10.4-point average, but must improve poor 27-percent 3-point shooting. McKinney averaged seven points, Horton six and Brown five.

"Anytime you lose a guy of that caliber, it's an opportunity for other guys to step up," Snyder said. "There's a void there that people have to fill, and sometimes with that need it frees them up to attack a little more."

That's Snyder's eternal optimism. But the players seem to feel that way, too, shrugging off the Big 12 coaches' prediction for a lowly eighth-place finish that could easily spell the end of the Snyder era.

"I don't really care and I don't really concern myself with that," Brown said. "I'm always going to have high expectations. I think we're going to do really well and you can't really worry about what everybody else says."

The early-season schedule is conducive to a fast start, although it might include a semifinal matchup against Duke in the preseason NIT, along with games at Arkansas and Davidson and the annual Braggin' Rights game against No. 17 Illinois.

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Missouri Glance

Coach: Quin Snyder (seventh season, overall record 116-80)

Last year's record: 16-17, 7-9 Big 12, T-8th; lost to DePaul 75-70 in first round of NIT.

Returning starters: G Thomas Gardner, G Jimmy McKinney, PG Jason Horton, C Kevin Young.

Key subtractions: F Linas Kleiza, now with NBA's Denver Nuggets; G Jason Conley.

Key additions: Top freshman recruit is F Leo Lyons, 6-9, who averaged nearly 21 points and eight rebounds at Coastal Christian Academy. Matt Lawrence, 6-7 G-F, averaged 17.9 points and 8.1 rebounds at Lafayette High School in suburban St. Louis.

Reason to hope: Gardner, McKinney and Horton all were touted recruits that have not quite met expectations. The early-season schedule is conducive to a fast start.

Reason to mope: Rebounding remains a problem. This appears to be a team on the slide, given Snyder's mediocre 32-31 record the last two seasons.

Quotable: "Through adversity I've gotten better in a lot of ways and our program right now is on firmer footing than it was three years ago before we went to the elite eight. Our culture is evolving the right way." -- Snyder.