Hannah will face K-State hostility
By Graham Watson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/31/2007
MANHATTAN, KAN. — Missouri guard Stefhon Hannah knows tonight's crowd at Bramlage Coliseum will not welcome him with open arms. In fact, suggestions have been made on various Kansas State message boards to taunt Hannah with baby rattles and chants of "Mama's boy" because of his mother's influence on him choosing Missouri over Kansas State for his final two years of eligibility.
"I think it's funny," Hannah said. "I can't wait because I haven't really gotten chewed out by the fans yet. The rest of my teammates have. I just want to experience it."
Although Hannah admits he wanted to go to Kansas State initially, he said choosing to play for coach Mike Anderson at Missouri was one of the best decisions he's ever made.
Now, it's time to prove it. Advertisement
Hannah's first outing against the Wildcats at Mizzou Arena was unimpressive. He picked up two fouls just over eight minutes into the game and sat the bulk of the first half. He finished with a Big 12 season-low seven points on two-of-nine shooting, including missing all five of his 3-point attempts. He also had four fouls and led the team with three turnovers as Missouri fell 85-81.
"I wanted to win, and then once I got into foul trouble I didn't know how to get back into my rhythm," Hannah said. "I didn't help the team at all."
That game broke a two-game Big 12 losing streak for the Wildcats, and they've won five straight since. Kansas State is 4-2 in the Big 12 and tied for fourth with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Missouri is 2-1 since the teams' last meeting.
Much of that success has resulted from Hannah being more efficient. In the last three games, Hannah is averaging 14.7 points on 45.3 percent shooting, and 4.3 assists. He's also had four fouls just once in the last three contests.
Limiting fouls will be key for the Tigers tonight. In the last game, Kansas State shot 43 free throws and made 86 percent. Missouri was also outrebounded 41-17, the Tigers' largest margin of the season.
Since that game, however, Missouri has outrebounded two of its three opponents and kept the mistakes to a minimum. Missouri is averaging just 13 turnovers and creating almost 16.
"We need to do all things that to me add up to playing to win," Anderson said. "We've been doing that these last few games, and we've learned some things since (Kansas State)."
