Two post players sign with Missouri basketball team

COLUMBIA — Missouri men’s basketball coach Mike Anderson announced on Monday the signing of two forwards that might help the Tigers fill the void left by the graduation of seniors DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons.

The addition of Tyler Stone and Jon Underwood comes less than two weeks after one of the nation’s top junior college prospects, Jarrid Famous, chose South Florida over the Tigers.

Stone, a three-star recruit according to rivals.com, is a 6-foot-7, 225-pound power forward from Memphis, Tenn., who averaged 15 points and eight rebounds in his senior year at Central High School.  Stone was also being recruited by Middle Tennessee, Tennessee State and Houston.

“Tyler comes from a basketball family,” Anderson said in a statement. “He has good size, strength and aggressiveness. He comes from an area where a lot of players have made an impact around college basketball. We like his instincts and are excited to have him become a Missouri Tiger.”

Underwood, a 6-9, 190-pound forward from Phoenix, Ariz., originally gave a verbal commitment to play at James Madison and was also being recruited by Oklahoma State, according to rivals.com. He averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks per game at Princeton Day Academy. He also led his team to a 33-3 record and received First Team All-American honors from the National Private School Athletic Association.

“With Jon, he gives us the ability to block and alter shots,” Anderson said. “He’s an athletic young man that can rebound and fits what we want to do. Like I say every year, these young guys are just freshmen, but in time we feel they can really develop and help our program.”

Underwood and Stone give Missouri the maximum amount of scholarship players for the 2009-2010 season, joining earlier signees Mike Dixon and Keith Dewitt, a 6-10 forward who might not be eligible to play next season.

The Tigers also return four post players, Keith Ramsey, Justin Safford, Laurence Bowers and Steve Moore. With the exception of Moore, all of the returnees saw significant time off the bench behind Carroll and Lyons for Missouri last season.