After surviving plane scare, Anderson now must halt Mizzou's tailspin -- without Clark
For a while Wednesday night, Missouri coach Kim Anderson had a more important matter at hand than his job as the first-year coach of Missouri's struggling basketball team.
Like his life, and the lives of the two pilots flying the twin-engine plane that had to make an emergency landing near St. Louis sometime after 5 p.m. At his weekly presser at Mizzou Arena on Thursday afternoon, Anderson told reporters he was on a recruiting trip to Illinois when he looked out his window and saw the right propeller "had stopped propelling."
He immediately checked the left side and was more than a little relieved to see it still was working. Anderson said he didn't know how much danger they were in when the plane was forced down, but was not disappointed to see the flashing lights of first responders all over St. Clair Regional Airport. The coach choked up as he thanked those who came to help.
One of the first responders even gave him a ride back to Columbia, where Anderson then went to work figuring a way to end the Tigers' 10-game losing streak. That task became even more difficult with the announcement Thursday afternoon that sophomore guard Wes Clark's season is over.
As preliminary reports indicated, Clark indeed dislocated his right elbow Tuesday night at South Carolina. He will not need surgery but will not be able to play for six to eight weeks, Anderson said. The Tigers have just more than four weeks left in their season, including the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The loss of Clark means Missouri could suit up as few as seven scholarship players against Mississippi State on Saturday. Freshmen Tramaine Isabell, Namon Wright and Tekie Gill-Caesar remain on suspension, though Anderson said he plans to meet with the three on Friday before deciding if any could return Saturday.
He said Clark's absence will carry no weight in his decisions on the suspended players. While Isabell is out because of attitude issues, Anderson has refused to say what team policies were violated by Wright and Gill-Caesar. They were suspended Saturday morning and have missed the past two games; Isabell has missed the past four.
Without Clark, virtually all of the ball-handling duties will fall on point guard Keith Shamburger. A senior transfer from Hawaii, Shamburger already is playing 36.6 minutes in conference play, the third-highest average in the SEC.
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If none of the suspended players return, Missouri truly would be left without a legitimate point guard. Freshman wings D'Angelo Allen and Jakeenan Gant moved into a guard position after Clark was hurt, but neither has any experience bringing the ball up the floor this season.
Mississippi State has lost its past two games to fall to 4-7 in conference and 11-13 overall. The Bulldogs are not known for full-court pressure, though, which is at least a small break for the Tigers.
These days, Anderson will take any break he can get.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
