Tigers receive big lift from freshman Lyons

~ The Missouri forward came off the bench Monday night and flashed his potential.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Quin Snyder has spent the pre-Big 12 portion of this season trying to figure out which of his bench players will earn the most playing time.

"If certain guys step forward and assert themselves, I think you'll see a more steady rotation, but until that happens I'm going to keep trying to find who's playing well on a given night and who's got there head in the right place," Snyder said.

On Monday, in a 73-44 win over Louisiana-Monroe, freshman forward Leo Lyons may have moved to the head of the class, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds in just 16 minutes. Missouri (7-4) opens Big 12 play Saturday, at home, against Oklahoma State.

Lyons' showing Monday was a big improvement over the two previous games, when he played a combined 16 minutes with two points and a rebound in each game.

"I've been pretty brutally honest with him this past week about the way I think he's been playing, especially relative to what he's capable of doing," Snyder said. "It's good to see him respond the way he did."

Missouri players said Snyder chided Lyons for not playing as hard as he could and for not playing up to his potential. Snyder "told him to wake up a little bit and he definitely did that," Marshall Brown said.

Lyons sparked an 18-0 first-half run by scoring on back-to-back possessions with a turn-around jumper, a steal and a length-of-the-court run to a layup.

The performance "was an example of his ability but it can't be a tease," Thomas Gardner said. "He can't do it one game and not do it in the other games. If he can stay consistent and understand his role and the things he needs to do in order to get successful, he's going to help us a lot."

Gardner said Lyons creates matchup problems because of his vision and his ability to put the ball on the floor. He also is capable of making the mid-range jumper and providing electrifying dunks.

Lyons' youth has evidenced itself in his tendency to commit turnovers, and in erratic shot selection.

"Once he plays hard every play, man, he's a totally different player," Jimmy McKinney said. "I think he's one of the most talented players on the team, so we've just got to get him to play hard every possession."