Mizzou Basketball Head Coach Kim Anderson added to his staff on Friday as Paul Rorvig, an associate director at the NCAA Eligibility Center the past four years, was named Director of Basketball Student-Athlete Development.

In his role with the Tiger Basketball program, Rorvig will serve as a team liaison for academics and compliance, while also assisting with the team’s video operations.

Rorvig brings a unique combination of college basketball and NCAA Eligibility Center knowledge to the program. The Odessa, Mo., native played collegiately at Lafayette College and the University of Central Missouri before moving into a graduate assistant coaching role for the Mules in 2005.

In 2010, after a three-year stint coaching and teaching at Shawnee Mission North High School, Rorvig began working for the NCAA Eligibility Center. While in Indianapolis he helped manage the high school review process, assisted in educational outreach efforts for the national office and conducted reviews for high schools exhibiting academic irregularities.

“We have been aggressive putting together our staff and being able to attract Paul and bring him back to the state of Missouri is a tremendous addition to our program,” Anderson said. “Paul has a wealth of knowledge in a variety of areas and that’s what makes him such a great fit for Mizzou Basketball. He has a strong background in the game and played and coached for us at Central Missouri. He also has great insight into NCAA compliance and Eligibility Center issues. He will be a tremendous resource for us in our everyday operations including recruiting, video operations and game preparation.”

A former player and graduate assistant coach under Anderson at Central Missouri, Rorvig graduated from UCM with a pair of degrees. He earned his undergraduate degree in Social Studies Education (2005) and completed his Master’s degree in Secondary School Administration (2007). On the hardwood, Rorvig earned three letters for the Mules (2002-05) and played in 69 career games.

“I’m incredibly excited to be coming home to the state of Missouri and want to thank Mike Alden, Coach Anderson and everyone at Mizzou for this tremendous opportunity,” Rorvig said. “Growing up in the state, Mizzou Basketball holds a special place in my heart and to have a chance to work for Coach Anderson and the program on a daily basis is a dream come true. I also want to thank everyone at the NCAA. I had some great colleagues in Indianapolis and appreciate all the work we put in together over the last four years.”

In high school Rorvig played for former Tiger Jed Frost at Odessa High School. He finished his prep career with 355 career three-point makes, then a state record. He also recorded Odessa High School records for career points (1,877), three-point percentage (.392) and blocked shots (172). His 905 career three-point field goal attempts ranks 11th all-time nationally in high school basketball history.

— MU Sports Information —

The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has suspended University of Missouri sophomore wide receiver Levi Copelin from athletic competition for the 2014-15 season.

STATEMENT FROM LEVI COPELIN

“The reason I am suspended is that I recently bought an over-the-counter nutritional supplement from a local store, and used it as part of my workout routine.  Unfortunately, I used it without clearing it with my strength coaches or trainers.  This supplement is legal and available to the public, but it isn’t approved by the NCAA, and as a result of using it, I failed an NCAA drug test.  This was a stupid mistake on my part, and I’m very sorry that I put myself and my team in this situation.  This is a hard lesson to learn, as I never had the wrong intentions. I also understand there aren’t any shortcuts to success.  There’s nothing I can do except dedicate myself to representing me, my family, my team, and Mizzou the right way going forward.  I’m very grateful to my coaches and my teammates for giving me a chance to overcome this.”

STATEMENT FROM HEAD FOOTBALL COACH GARY PINKEL

“This is a very unfortunate situation, but one that Levi created for himself.  He’s paying the price for this mistake, and I commend him for owning up to it and taking responsibility.  Our strength coaches and trainers rely on our players to be careful of what they do on their own, and to always get approval from them first.  We’re disappointed that Levi didn’t follow this guideline, but we will support him during this time, and have high expectations that he will handle all of his responsibilities in the classroom, in the community and on the field in a first-class manner.”

— MU Sports Information —

Former University of Missouri standout center A.J. Ricker has been named assistant football coach for his alma mater, as announced today by Mizzou Head Coach Gary Pinkel.  Ricker will join the staff as offensive line coach, after spending the past season in the same role at Illinois.

Ricker comes to Mizzou with eight years of coaching experience under his belt.  He began his coaching resume as a graduate assistant at Western Michigan under former Mizzou assistant Bill Cubit, serving in that role for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, before advancing to a full-time assistant role as offensive line coach in 2008.  He moved to St. Joseph’s College (in Rensselaer, Ind.) as offensive line coach in 2009, and served the 2010 season as the program’s head coach before later returning to WMU for the 2011 and 2012 seasons as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Ricker was born in Windsor, Mo., and graduated from high school in Klein, Texas before coming to Mizzou.  He was a 1st-Team All-Big 12 center for Pinkel as a senior in 2003, as part of the first bowl-eligible team at MU since 1998.  He started 47 consecutive games at center for the Tigers from 2000-03, which established a record at any position at MU at the time (it now stands 5th-alltime on the MU consecutive starts chart, 2nd among centers).  He served as a two-time team captain at Mizzou.

“We’re really excited to have A.J. join our staff,” said Pinkel.  “When we had this opportunity, we wanted to bring a young coach in who had experience, and A.J. fits that perfectly.  We feel like he’s one of the best young offensive line coaches in the country, and we talk all the time about being Mizzou Made.  He understands our system, he loves Mizzou and he can’t wait to get started,” he said.

“Obviously, coming home is a big deal to me,” said Ricker.  “But I want people to know that’s the not the important thing, I’m coming here to do a job to teach the game and do it at a really high level.  My biggest focus is to get there and take what I’ve learned at all my different stops, roll my sleeves up and get to work to help us win a lot of ballgames.  Certainly, it’s an honor to coach at your alma mater, and I’m grateful to Coach Pinkel and his staff for having the faith in me to bring me on.  They’ve done a heck of a job of building this program and I’m really pleased and excited to be part of it,” he said.

According to Pinkel, Ricker becomes only the second former player of his to serve as a full-time assistant coach, with Matt Eberflus (at Toledo as a full-time assistant from 1994-99, and at Mizzou from 2001-08) being the other.  “That’s a neat thing for me personally, it’s kind of an honor for one of your former guys to want to teach the same game you helped him to learn.  I think I’m the only Don James player to ever be a full-time assistant for him, so that kind of thing means a lot,” he said.

Ricker earned his undergraduate degree from Mizzou in agriculture in 2004.  Following his graduation, Ricker signed a free agent contract with the NFL’s Chicago Bears and was allocated to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe in 2005.  In 2006, and for part of 2007, he was a member of the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm before retiring from his playing days.  In 2011, he was married to the former Lauren Mattaliano, and the couple has an infant son, Andrew, who was born in February of this year.

— MU Sports Information —

Mizzou Basketball Head Coach Kim Anderson continued to add to his impressive recruiting class on Monday as the program announced the signing of Seattle, Wash., combo guard Tramaine Isabell (Seattle, Wash./Garfield H.S.) to a financial aid agreement. Isabell will attend the University of Missouri this fall and play basketball for the Tigers starting with the 2014-15 season.

A 6-foot-1, 185-pounder from Garfield High School, Isabell is a strong, physical player that will be asked to play multiple positions in backcourt. He joins current incoming freshmen D’Angelo Allen and Namon Wright as state champions during their high school tenure. Allen won three state titles at Dallas Kimball and Wright won as a junior at Pacific Hills in Los Angeles.

Named the Washington Class 4A Player of the Year by the Associated Press, Isabell averaged 23.6 points and 3.5 assists per game as a senior and was simply fantastic on the state’s biggest stage, scoring 34 points in a 68-59 win over third-ranked Richland to claim Washington’s Class 4A state crown. The win was sweet redemption for Isabell. Playing for Lakeside High School as a junior, he led his club to the Class 3A title game in 2013, where LHS fell to Rainier Beach (62-59) in overtime. Isabell scored a team-leading 21 points in that loss, but left nothing to chance as a senior, helping clinch the state title game with key free throw makes in the final minute. Garfield finished the season 25-1 with Isabell leading the way.

Earlier in the season Isabell won the Las Vegas Championship Most Valuable Player Award thanks to a 47-point outburst vs. Las Vegas High School. He scored 34 of his 47 points in the second half, hitting 9-of-12 three-pointers (6-of-6 from three after halftime), while adding nine rebounds and three assists. For his efforts as a senior Isabell was named first team all-state (all classes) in addition to being named first team all-metro and first team all-King County. He also won the Class 4A Regional Sportsmanship Award.

“This is a great addition to our program,” Head Coach Kim Anderson said. “Tramaine is a strong, physical guard and his versatility to play either backcourt spot fits how we want to play offensively with multiple ball-handlers on the court. Tramaine is coming off a fantastic high school career in the Seattle-area and played for two great programs.

“What I really like about Tramaine is his passion for winning,” Anderson continued. “He is a tough kid, he scores the ball really well and wants the ball in big-game situations. We continue to need some backcourt depth throughout our classes and the addition of Tramaine helps us in that area.”

Isabell began his high school career at Lakeside, playing for three seasons. As a sophomore he averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals for the Lions and was named third team all-district. As a junior he averaged 19.9 points, 5.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game, helping LHS to that aforementioned state final appearance. His team finished 2013 with a 24-5 record, the best in school history. Isabell was named first team all-Metro and first team all-district. Both the Seattle Times and Associated Press named him second team all-state.

— MU Sports Information —