Mizzou Basketball’s Leo Lyons Will Return For
His Senior Season
Kansas City native led the Bi=
g 12
Conference in field goal percentage as a junior
Columbia, Mo. –
University of Missouri junior forward Leo Lyons announced that he has withd=
rawn
his name from the 2008 NBA Draft and will return to Columbia, Mo. next seas=
on.
Lyons made the decision on Thursday after meeting wit=
h Head
Coach Mike Anderson and his staff, as well as family members and teammates
throughout the last two weeks.
“I just felt li=
ke it
was the right decision,” Lyons
said. “I really want to graduate, and by staying at Missouri, that will happen. Graduating=
is a
goal that has been important to both my mom and I, so that weighed heavily =
into
my decision. Second, I want to become the best basketball player I can be. =
This
process over the last two weeks has allowed me to get feedback from NBA
organizations and now I get a chance to use that my advantage.”<=
/o:p>
A 6-foot-9, 240-pound
forward, Lyons was one of the Big 12’s most versatile big men a season
ago and showed a dramatic increase in scoring and rebounding as a junior. T=
he
Kansas City native led the club with 13.1 points per game and paced the Big=
12
Conference with 58.3 percent shooting from the floor (No. 23 nationally). In
Big 12 play Lyons<=
/st1:City>
averaged an improved 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds to earn a spot on the Big
12’s All-Improved Team by the league media. The team leader with six
20-point games last year, Lyons averaged 1=
6.1
points and 8.0 rebounds over his final 16 games, which included a career-be=
st
effort of 27 points and 18 rebounds against Oklahoma State.
Lyons h=
it
12-of-13 shots vs. the Cowboys, breaking the Mizzou
Arena record for field goal accuracy, while also setting the standard for
single-game boards. The 18 rebounds also tied for the most in a Big 12 game
this year. Overall Lyons
saw his statistical averages improve 5.7 points and 1.4 rebounds from his
sophomore season, making him the most improved player on the team and one of
the most improved players in the Big 12 Conference.
“Leo was able t=
o go
test the waters, get feedback about his NBA status and now he can use that =
to
his advantage,” Head Coach Mike Anderson said. “He went through=
the
proper channels to get the information and that’s going to allow him =
to
focus on becoming the best basketball player he can be next season.”<=
o:p>
With the official ret=
urn of Lyons, only junior
forward DeMarre Carroll’s future remains =
in
doubt for Mizzou. The 6-foot-8, 225-pounder also
entered the NBA Draft on April 24 and was second on the club in scoring (13=
.0)
and tops in rebounding (6.7) last season as a junior.